Requirement, Guidance, Advice and Implication: A Brief Look at a Couple of Recent ESOP Legal Events
Several recent legal events have given the ESOP community a great deal to consider…
The Role of Management in an Employee-Ownership Company
What is the function of senior management in the governance of ESOP companies? Simply put, the function of management in an ESOP company is the same as in any other company – to manage very well to achieve strategic objectives and to participate in the strategic operation of the company by giving the board feedback on how the strategic plan is being successfully implemented and, more important, where it is failing.
The Wealthy and Powerful Discover Inequality
Even the rich are admitting that inequality is bad for business…
Equal Exchange: Doing Well by Doing Good
In 1983, Rink Dickinson, Jonathan Rosenthal, and Michael Rozyne were all recent college graduates and working for a food co-op warehouse in the Boston area. They began to question the system: What if food could be traded in a way that is honest and fair, a way that empowers both farmers and consumers? What if … Read More
Herman Miller: Unrelenting Pursuit of Reinvention and Renewal
Herman Miller is widely recognized as the leader in the office furniture industry and has built a reputation for innovation in products and processes since D. J. De Pree became president over 90 years ago. Herman Miller is one of only four companies and the only non-high-technology enterprise named to Fortune’s “Most Admired Companies” and “The 100 … Read More
Got Stock? Employers Take Note – Future Employees Want Their Share
New research from Fidelity shows that over 80 percent of employees say that a company stock plan influences their decision to change employers…
Wawa Inc.
The Wawa associates have an ESOP which plays a key role in Wawa’s culture of ownership. This case explores the role of incentives and levers of control to create a successful retail chain.
ESOP Governance Collaborators: The Board of Directors
Many closely held company boards only meet in the virtual world of corporate counsel’s template minutes and perform their important functions without much more thought than what is required to make a signature. In ESOP-owned companies (or any structure that provides for broad ownership among employees of the company) the landscape changes, and the independent role of the board of directors as well as its oversight function become significantly more important.
The Benefits of Outside Directors in ESOP Companies
Selling a business to an ESOP often requires significant changes to the company’s governance structure. If your board of directors has consisted solely of family members, or close friends, you may not welcome this change, but outside directors can help you run the business more judiciously and effectively…
The SAIC Solution: Built by Employee Owners
This book is a guide to implementing principles and practices developed and used by SAIC to drive exponential growth, global expansion, and diversification across science and technology customers and markets…
The Millionaire Truck Driver And Other ESOP Miracles
I hate to say it, but here goes: too many Americans, including highly-educated and experienced business people, have just plain given up on this country’s manufacturing industries, believing low-cost producers in China and elsewhere are unbeatable. And many of these same knowledgeable people would also tell you that solving the country’s retirement savings crisis is … Read More
Mary Ann Beyster
Engineer and philanthropist Mary Ann Beyster discusses free enterprise, broad-based ownership, innovation and the documentary film ‘We the Owners’ with Harold Channer in this two-part video interview.
Money Left on the Table: An Analysis of Participation in Employee Stock Purchase Plans
This paper analyzes participation decisions in employee stock purchase plans. These plans allow employees to buy company stock at a discount from the market price and resell it immediately for a sure profit. Although an average employee stands to gain $3,079 annually, only 30% of individuals take advantage of this risk-free opportunity. Participation is more … Read More
Taking an Employee-Owned Company to the Next Level
All employee-owned companies must pay attention to succession planning. BL Companies has elected to face this challenge head-on…
“We The Owners” Film Garners Awards, Attention and National Distribution
Most people know either first-hand or through someone close to them what it feels like to not be valued, to not have a say, to not have control, or to be demotivated at work. A feel-good movie about three companies – New Belgium Brewery, Namasté Solar, and DPR Construction – that strive for the opposite is a welcome relief.
Choosing Between Government Procurement Preferences and Employee Ownership
Adworkshop currently is considering a transition to 100 percent employee ownership over the next 10 years. Unfortunately, employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) companies have encountered obstacles when trying to participate in procurement programs…
Sometimes EXIT is Spelled ESOP
In this 20-minute radio interview, Martin Staubus, executive director, Beyster Institute at the Rady School of Management is interviewed by host, Bill Black on ExitCoachRadio.com.
The Better Exit Strategy: ESOPs Satisfy Business Owners And Preserve Their Legacy
On Chicago’s North Side, decades after other manufacturing companies went bust, migrated to the South or outsourced everything to China, S&C Electric – a $700 million-a-year maker of equipment for utilities – stood independent, profitable and debt free. Then, its controlling stockholder, John C. Conrad, died at age 89, and like so many family companies … Read More
SRC Holdings: Winning The Game While Sharing The Prize
SRC Holdings Corporation, formerly Springfield Remanufacturing Corp., is a well-known manufacturing enterprise comprised of numerous companies spread across 12 Business Units…
ESOP and 401(k) Coordination Tips in a Post-Disclosure World
After several postponements, 401(k) fee disclosure was mandated by the Department of Labor (DOL) before July 1st of 2012. So what kind of impact have we seen in the ESOP world? Has it been successful in helping plan sponsors and participants understand the costs of their 401(k) plans?
Wunnerful, Wunnerful! The Lawrence Welk ESOP
In 1964, the famous television bandleader Lawrence Welk went for a drive in the country north of San Diego, Calif. planning to invest in a grove of orange trees. Instead he bought a motel and a nine-hole golf course. One of the keys to their business success has been their philosophy of treating their employees like family…
Sharing Ownership, Profits, and Decision-Making in the 21st Century
Ownership and decision-making are key issues in the economic restructuring taking place as economies struggle to emerge from the Great Recession, and technological change and globalization continue to place new demands on workers and firms. Corporate, labor, and policy leaders are increasingly recognizing the potential role of employee ownership, cooperatives, profit sharing, and other ways … Read More
Can Employee-Owned Companies Reboot the Economy?
If owners of businesses are reaping the rewards of economic growth at the expense of workers, then why not just try to increase the number of workers who also own a piece of the firms that employ them?
The Citizen’s Share: Reducing Inequality in the 21st Century
The idea of workers owning the businesses where they work is not new. In America’s early years, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison believed that the best economic plan for the Republic was for citizens to have some ownership stake in the land, which was the main form of productive capital. This book traces the development of that share idea in American history and brings its message to today’s economy, where business capital has replaced land as the source of wealth creation.
Zingerman’s Community of Businesses: Broad-Based Ownership, Governance, & Sustainability
Inc. Magazine’s “coolest small company in America,” Zingerman’s Community of Businesses (ZCoB), is an exemplar positive organization known for its culture and award-winning food. This case covers the ZCoB’s decision in 2013 to migrate toward broad-based employee ownership and the iterative, inclusive process by which Zingerman’s Partners Group researched and crafted a new ownership design … Read More