The Real World Of Employee Ownership

Using data from an extensive study of employee-owned companies in Ohio, where employee ownership is a well-developed trend, this book offers a strong empirical portrait of firms with Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). It describes how these plans work and places their emergence and change in a historical context. John Logue and Jacquelyn Yates examine firms that have succeeded in employee ownership and those with failed plans. Some companies, they find, are committed to the concept of employee ownership, and others merely use ESOPs as a financing tool.Detailed information resulting from multiple surveys allows the authors to draw well-grounded conclusions regarding the question of why some employee-owned firms outperform others. The bottom line, they find, is that employee-owned firms that "do it all," implementing features such as employee participation and communication about finances, training, and cultural change, systematically outperform their conventional competitors. They also have an advantage over firms that understand employee ownership incompletely, if it all, and yet claim to adopt its methods.

With a growing prominence of sophisticated econometric research in the field of New Economics of Participation (NEP), it is of particular value to learn about real-world examples of participatory and labor-managed firms in the advanced market economies through extensive case studies. In this volume, the authors present such case studies.

The historical relationship between capital and labor has evolved in the past few decades. One particularly noteworthy development is the rise of shared capitalism, a system in which workers have become partial owners of their firms and thus, in effect, both employees and stockholders. Profit sharing arrangements and gain-sharing bonuses, which tie compensation directly to a firm’s performance, also reflect this new attitude toward labor. Shared Capitalism at Work analyzes the effects of this trend on workers and firms. The contributors focus on four main areas: the fraction of firms that participate in shared capitalism programs in the United States and abroad, the factors that enable these firms to overcome classic free rider and risk problems, the effect of shared capitalism on firm performance, and the impact of shared capitalism on worker well-being. This volume provides essential studies for understanding the increasingly important role of shared capitalism in the modern workplace.

Are you considering starting an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) or converting your company to an ESOP? Or maybe making the big leap to a 100% employee-owned company? If you want your company to perform at its absolute peak and you want the people who make that happen (you included) to receive the ultimate financial return—that of an owner—Create Amazing is your practical field guide to creating an amazing company and leaving a great legacy. There are more than 10,000,000 employee owners in America today. The results of employees owning a piece of the pie has been proven throughout American history, even before ESOPs became IRS law in 1974. Employees with even a small capital interest in their firms' successes are more likely to stay, have greater loyalty and pride, are willing to work hard, and make more suggestions for improvement. Economic injustice caused by wealth disparity is quickly becoming the hottest debated topic in America especially in combination with the most regressive recession in America's history and the nation's hopeful new commitment to equalizing opportunities across all people. Employee ownership is not the only answer for economic justice but it can be a critical puzzle piece for tens of millions of Americans where the current inherent disadvantage of circumstance stands in their way. Create Amazing demonstrates how ownership can provide the ultimate competitive advantage to a growing company—and the nation. The vast majority of what's been published about employee ownership comes from academe—compelling research from Rutgers, the feds, and several national ESOP associations. Create Amazing puts ESOPs feet-on-the-ground, written by Greg Graves, a CEO who has walked the talk. Graves operated one of the most successful ESOPs in American history. Graves shares: • The history of employee ownership in America and the principles of its purpose • Why employee ownership is a viable solution fiscally and futuristically • What an ESOP is, what it does, and what's happening in Washington, DC, to promote this model • How ESOPs work, and how they're structured legally, fiduciarily, and financially • A deep dive into the impact of ESOPs on America and on employee owners personally If you're a business owner considering an ESOP start-up or transition to employee ownership, if you are a current employee owner who believes your firm can do more, or if you simply believe that our nation needs a shot of steroids to be both more productive and more just, this is the book that speaks from a real-world, executive-to-executive perspective about the process, the problems (and how to avoid them), and the deliverables. Create Amazing explores how employee ownership—done the right way—sparks an ownership mindset among employees and can be a catalytic force for economic prosperity and corporate endurance.

"Rejecting the myth that short-term profits are the only indicator of business health and wealth, John Abrams shows how building a company to serve the needs of people (employees and owners), community, and the environment can be a successful business plan as well. Part entrepreneurial business plan, part guide to democratizing the workplace, and part prescription for strong local economies, The Company We Keep marks the debut of an important new voice in the literature of American business."--Publisher's description

With a growing prominence of sophisticated econometric research in the field of New Economics of Participation (NEP), it is of particular value to learn about real-world examples of participatory and labor-managed firms in the advanced market economies through extensive case studies. In this volume, the authors present such case studies.