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To: Cautious_Optimist who wrote (419)6/3/1999 9:50:00 PM
From: Carl R.  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 668
 
Repricing options on every dip is ridiculous. That motivates employees to screw things up for awhile, then make things run smoothly, and so forth to get maximum volatility. How does that benefit investors? The whole option situation is completely out of hand. The biggest problem is that options don't appear on the face of financials so companies are motivated to use them as a substitute for other motivational tools. A company would be stupid for example to offer profit sharing, which would reduce earnings, instead of options, which are invisible (note - they are not free, just invisible).

Options should be limited to key people, and should be long term options at a relatively low strike price. That way the option recipient benefits most by assuring the steady appreciation of the companies stock. Also, then there is no need to re-price the options. Suppose that an employee received some options last year that expire in 2001 with a strike price of 20. Should this continue to motivate the employee, or does the strike price need to be reduced? 20 is still an achievable target from here, especially given the time involved. And what about the guy who got options two years ago with a strike price of 10? He just took a beating, but so did investors. Options are a special reward for earning money for investors, not a matter of right, so this is fair.

Carl



To: Cautious_Optimist who wrote (419)6/4/1999 9:15:00 PM
From: arnie h  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 668
 
John: Thanks for my question about why I should be voting for the current Proxy proposals. Your views on repricing options have the same spin as offered by management. From the perspective of an investor, and a long term one at that, I don't see why we would want to continue the services of people who need to get options repriced whenever the stock price drops and never, ever buy stock on the open market. The amount of insider selling and total lack of insider buying hardly makes one comfortable that the people running this outfit have much confidence in what they do. It is hard to make a case that these are outstanding people. My guess is the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker can do a better job.
I voted against all management proposals except for retaining Arthur Andersen.

Arnie