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Employee ownership has been around for decades--even centuries--and a wide variety of American companies have adopted it. This article looks at the possible effects of creating an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), reasons to consider taking that path and guidelines on how an ESOP could be structured.

Although ESOPs (employee stock ownership plans) have been providing significant corporate tax benefits since 1974, many finance professionals are unaware of the tremendous tax benefits provided by employee ownership. At [...]

J. Robert Beyster has led Science Applications International Corp. through many economic vacillations since launching the company 33 years ago. Yet SAIC, the United States' largest employee-owned research and engineering […]

The financial and social benefits of employee ownership are discussed.

This paper investigates the incentive effects of CEO stock ownership compared to those of stock option pay. It is argued that although both reward executives for increasing shareholder wealth, options fail to penalize executives when stock prices drop after the date of option grant. Moreover, due to these risk asymmetries, effects of these two forms of financial incentives likely diverge at high levels of firm risk. These hypotheses are tested with a sample of 250 large firms studied during the 1990s. Results indicate that at high levels firm risk stock ownership had positive effects on firm performance but stock option pay had negative effects.

Employee stock-ownership plans can help grow the company's top line by inspiring workers to think and act like owners. At last count, more than 14 million people throughout 15,000 U.S. [...]

Companies can protect their interests by negotiating a noncompete pact with prized employees and first exploring the tax consequences prior to termination of life insurance policies. Noncompete pacts should indicate a reasonable time frame and a reasonable geographic area. Firms can also increase their cash flows via an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) as firms obtain a tax deduction for the fair market value of the stock they contributed to an ESOP.

The issue of non-CPA ownership of CPA firms has been the subject of widespread discussion and debate for many years. The focus here is not to continue that debate but [...]

Employee stock ownership plans, gain sharing, stock option programs and other salary-based incentive plans will help companies enhance productivity, profits and customer service. The shift in a company's ownership culture also gives employees the right, as part-owners, to access financial information and give their views on management issues. Meanwhile, the success of employee ownership programs usually depends on human resource professionals who are charged with handling performance management, succession planning, compensation and communications., CEOs and HR professionals find that employee understanding of the stock ownership program builds participation and success. On the first Tuesday in February, Stephen Sheppard, CEO, and five vice presidents [...]

As employees gain ever-greater shareholdings in their companies, the unique governance needs of the employee-owned corporation become more crucial. The author has found that employee involvement with the corporate board offers many benefits, but demands extra effort for long-term company success. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.), During the last 20 years, approximately 15 million American workers have become owners of stock in their companies through broad employee ownership plans. Vehicles include ESOPs (about 10 million participants), [...]

In recent years, economists have developed theories implying that employee-owned firms (EOFs), of which important examples are producer cooperatives (PCs), will all either fail as productive units in the long [...], This study examines data on French producer cooperatives for the years 1970-79 to test the widely accepted theoretical prediction that employee-owned firms either will fail as commercial undertakings or degenerate into capitalist firms as the proportion of hired workers who are not members of the cooperative firm increases. Contrary to this prediction, the authors find a high rate of survival among the producer cooperatives studied, with many cooperatives still healthy after fifty years of operation, and they find no evidence of degeneration--either in terms of the proportion of hired workers, productivity, profitability, or capital-intensity. The findings do, however, suggest that the firms' financial structure became increasingly inefficient with age.

This year's meeting of the National Association of Directors of Nursing Administration (NADONA) had a noteworthy visitor and guest speaker - specifically, the president of the American Nurses Association (ANA). [...]

C & I Engineering exemplifies benefits of employee ownership Dave Mann, a chemical mechanical project engineer, believes he's controlling his own destiny by being a part owner of his company. [...]

AF0028 If Jack Kahl has said it once, he's said it a thousand times: 'When I walk through the company doors at Manco in the morning I want to find [...]

GREENVALE AP, one of the UK's largest suppliers of fresh potatoes, has been bought by its own management for [pound]12.5m. The offer, made by the company's directors with the backing […]

A couple of years ago, Susan DeMarco and I were doing our radio talk show, Chat & Chew, on the topic of sweatshop goods. A lady from Jackson, Mississippi, called [...]

Eighteen months ago, Neil Barrows joined Edmonton-based PCL Constructors Inc. as a project co-ordinator on the massive redevelopment of Pearson International Airport in Toronto. The former Winnipegger had just completed [...]

Twenty-four employees of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP are buying the Big Five accounting firm's Columbus-based retail consulting division. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Tom Rubel, president and CEO of the new [...]

STV Group Inc., Douglassville, Pa., is taking the company private, with employee stock [...]

A majority of Batavia Metal Products Corporation's company stock has been purchased by a senior management team. The team is comprised of Arnold Keller, president and CEO, David McMullen, director [...]

OMAHA, Neb. -- The employees at Travel and Transport took control of the company when their employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) boosted its stake to 70%. The move makes the […]

Despite their popularity in concept, employee ownership programs are confusing to a lot of people. Realizing this, a handful of Web sites are rising to the occasion to help employers [...]

Sir Stuart Hampson, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership and an Institute of Management companion, believes mutuality enhances competitive performance My company has just gone through the process of rewriting [...]

Company: Beta Group Inc. Principals: Michael Grilli, chairman of the board, Frank Romeo, president Location: 6 Blackstone Valley Place, Lincoln Founded: 1982 Type of business: Engineering, science and planning firm [...]

One of the most common reasons that business owners knock down their share price is to avoid payroll and other taxes tied to stock gifts for employees. Here's why: From [...]

Quick Solutions Inc., a Columbus-based information technology services provider, has implemented an employee stock ownership plan, putting ownership of the company into the hands of its 300 employees. The ESOP [...]

An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) is a qualified retirement plan that enables employees to become beneficial owners in the company. While they've been around for years, ESOPs seem to [...]

Businesses large and small are looking for new ways to adapt to the changing marketplace and stay on the cutting edge. Employers value staff who can provide vision, innovation, quality [...]

An IPO in which the dominant shareholder is the company's own employee stock option plan is a rarity. But Sawtek's CFO is bullish on the concept. Ray Link had had [...]

HERE'S a wakeup message delivered recently to speculators in Farmer Bros. Co.: Don't start counting your beans yet. The ongoing saga of 77-year-old Torrance-based Farmer Bros. continues, with the coffee [...]

NEW YORK -- Retailers constantly struggle to find ways they can make their employees feel more involved in the company. One approach that is making some headway is the employee [...]

Corella Cos. has sold its 20 percent stake in a Salisbury, Md., avionics plant to employees after bringing the former Grumman Aviation Co. operation back to life. Employment at the [...]

* Hardware Distribution Warehouses, Shreveport, La., celebrated its fifth year of employee ownership on July 29, and Chairman and CEO Kenny Beauvais says the plan has brought nothing but success. [...]

PLATO, MN -- The Pinske Edge has announced that it is now a 100% employee-owned company. The announcement of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan & Trust (ESOP) was made to [...]

We are living and working in tough times. The health care industry is changing, budgets are shrinking, and a national emphasis on quality means our outcomes need to keep getting [...]