How do you Pay for Performance in a downward economy Essay

How do you Pay for Performance in a downward economy - Essay Example A stock option plan gives the employee the opportunity to buy the stock of the company they work for at a discounted price. The workers typically obtain instant capital gains when they exercise their stock options. A good attribute of stock options is that the wealth of the company is being shared with the people that create the corporate empire. The pension plans of companies should not include any investment in common stocks of the firm. One of the lessons from the demise of Enron was the necessity for diversification in employee pension plans. The shaky economy is causing a lot of problems for the workforce in America. Massive layoffs, downsizing, and divesture strategies are hurting the economy. The unemployment rate in the United States in September 2011 was 9.1% (Bls, 2011). People have become hesitant of asking for raises when employees don’t automatically give them because they fear being singled out for future downsizing initiatives. "The communication of economic challenges is an opportune time for financially stable companies to tell their employees that they are taking care of them† (Ceridian, 2011). Loyalty from both sides has decreased a lot in the 21st century. Employees are more willing than ever to quit a job in search for a better employment opportunity. An example of a current labor confrontation among a union and an ownership team is the National Basketball League labor dispute. The NBA players are in lockout because the owners want lower the salaries of its employees. The NBA owners instead of offering higher salaries are looking to decrease the total compensation of the players by a minimum of 12.28% (Myfoxboston, 2011). The entertainment sporting industry has been hit hard by the recession. Last year NBA owners lost $300 million. Employees across every industry are seeing their salaries stagnant compared to the traditional