Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Bear Stearns and Negative Media Coverage

Well, once again, Enron comparisons are running rampant. As you have probably heard, Bear Stearns, which is in the process of being acquired by JP Morgan Chase, had an ESOP. Bear Stearns' stock ownership among employees was no where near the level of Enron (estimates put the size of the ESOP around 3%), employees had much diversification in their primary retirement plan, a 401(k) plan, and the stock ownership was primarily among the top executives and senior executives.  However,...

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Posted by ESOP at 10:04:17 AM in News Link (17) | Comments (0)

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Does your company advertise that it is employee owned?

For many companies, every day is spent trying to decide how to properly market the company to customers, potential customers, employees, and shareholders. If you’re an employee owned company, does it change they way you describe your company? Does it change your advertising or marketing practices?   In 2005, the ESOP Company Survey, which was done jointly by The ESOP Association and the Employee Ownership Foundation, asked companies if they advertise the fact they are employee...

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Posted by ESOP at 10:31:21 AM in ESOP Message (39) | Comments (0)

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Open Book Management – Does Your Company Practice?

In employee ownership circles, the term Open Book Management (OBM) is often discussed and there are numerous companies that incorporate the practice and theories into their workplaces.   The theory behind OBM is that all employees are provided information on the financials so they can and, hopefully, will make better and more informed decisions as workers and in the case of an ESOP company, as owners. The employees are also provided with training so they can properly read and understand...

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Posted by ESOP at 10:32:40 AM in ESOP Message (39) | Comments (0)

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

How Do You Motivate Employee Owners?

The ESOP Association recently released a new video, “Creating a High Performing Company,” and one of the topics discussed in the video is motivational techniques.    Some companies offer prizes and gifts, and in the case of one company, a flat screen television for the person who suggested an improvement in a manufacturing process that saved the company money. Some companies recognize the work and contributions of employee owners at meetings, in company newsletters,...

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Posted by ESOP at 11:58:45 AM in ESOP Message (39) | Comments (0)