United States Steel: A Corporation with a Soul — John Shaqi
United States Steel: A Corporation with a SoulCotter, Arundel
History
United States Steel: A Corporation with a Soul
Cotter, Arundel
United States Steel Corporation
Latest figures show that there are now more than 66,000 employees and
their families interested in the plan, that is, that number are either
paying for stock or, having paid, are drawing their annual bonuses. As
it is likely that there are still more employees not now on these lists
but owning stock bought more than five years ago it seems fairly safe
to assume that the number of employees who, as stockholders, have an
interest as part owners in the great organization that they work for is
not less than 70,000.
And in this number are included employees from all ranks, including
workmen, so-called office boys, elevator operators, and executives. The
plan was designed to be, and is, catholic in its scope.
Naturally, the stock subscription plan has not been regarded with favor
by those whose interests lie in fomenting dissent between capital and
labor and the plan has been attacked in many ways. One of these is the
charge that it is a money-making scheme under which the Corporation
purchases its own stock cheap and sells to the workers at a profit. As
a matter of fact, the operation of the plan is a continual source of
expense to the Corporation which has so far spent on it an aggregate
of $9,160,000. It has, however, profited from the plan in one
way--increased loyalty, efficiency, and coöperation.
Only “the men who occupy official or semi-official positions and who
are engaged in directing and managing the affairs of the Corporation
and of its several subsidiary companies” were concerned in the
profit-sharing portion of the plan, generally designated as special
compensation. This was more or less an adaptation of Carnegie’s method
of rewarding his assistants for good service, with the difference
that it held out no allure of return for effort selfishly directed,
but only that done for the good of the entire organization. It was a
yearly distribution to the men above described of a small percentage
of the profits above $80,000,000, part of the bonus being paid in cash
and part in stock of the Corporation. At the time of the promulgation
of the plan it was made plain that there would be no increases in
salaries of officials. All additions to salary would come through these
bonuses, and in basing them on the profits of the Corporation and not
of the separate subsidiary companies a powerful motive for loyal and
harmonious effort for the good of the Corporation was created.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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