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Technology Stocks : Oracle Corporation (ORCL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Qualified Opinion who wrote (17735)	1/5/2003 11:56:42 AM
From: MeDroogies	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 19079

Options are a useful tool for motivation and loyalty. The problem is when they become oppressive. Case in point is any dotcom that used options to underpay employees. The management found ways to cash out in many cases, but the employees were left underpaid, and with worthless options. Abuses like this make options look bad. Another is that exhibited at ORCL - delivering huge numbers of options to high level management. Management is paid well to begin with, and often have expenses covered to a very large degree. The additional options become "entitlement". I disagree with that kind of corporate behavior. In general, I support the use of options. Limiting a company's exposure to abuse, bad PR, and dilution is very important though. Most companies don't engage in option programs that can handle this. A company I worked for gave me options that, at one point (before vesting) were worth well over $1mm. By the time I'd vested, I had less than $30k in value left. Not alot of motivation to continue working hard... Meanwhile, upper management had found ways to cash in. Then, after this looting had occurred, I was laid off because the company was short of cash. The company is still around, but because I was laid off, I had 3 months to exercise options that will take 5 years to get back to a strike price. I'm not bitter, though. I knew the risks. But I wish it had been handled better by the company.