The Oxford Health Plans Inc. Company

The Oxford Health Plans Inc. Company Executive Summary The decline in profitability of Oxford Health Plans Inc. Company representing a loss of $291.3 million coupled with the plunge in the stock price of its shares of up to 80% drop, necessitated changes to improve the company’s financial status. The events arose because of the company’s weak internal financial systems.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on The Oxford Health Plans Inc. Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company took steps among them, shakeup of its top management and pay cuts with the Ex-CEO getting a 61% pay cut. The company also sought financial bailout to the tune of $700 million to stabilize its financial position. The company also employed motivation to retain its employees through incentives involving share allocation at lower prices. Winslow, the author of the article holds the opinion that despite all these measures, the financial status of the compa ny is not likely to improve. He further argues that the incentive plan of awarding employees shares at lower prices may not be effective, as the value of the shares is not projected to increase and the company’s rating is at its lowest; B-minus as per Standard Poor. He blames the financial difficulties faced by the company on poor financial systems used by the company However, due to the restructuring and down sizing, more revenue will be generated and costs reduced. The financial loans will help the company to return to solvency. Already the company shares have shown signs of increase in value and the proposed junk bond offerings of $350 million will contribute to improvement of financial status of the company. The incentives to employees will serve to motivate them and lead to a raise in volume output. Cost Cutting The company must balance between cost reduction and the retention of talented employees. In the Oxford Health Plans Inc. Company, the management sought to increa se cuts in the bonuses of top executives (Winslow, 1998, p.B8). Most of these executives did not get any bonuses because of the losses incurred by the company. Outsourcing is another strategy that is useful in cost cutting.Advertising Looking for critical writing on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A new management team to replace the current team with less pay package is useful in cost cutting like in the case of Oxford Health Plans company, the ex-CEO, Wiggins was paid more than the expected pay of the new CEO, Norman D. Payson. On the other hand, employees’ retention through share allocations acted as an incentive. Employee Retention and Work Incentives Good business management requires the productivity of the staff to increase over time. This is achieved through motivation and incentives awarded to the work force to increase output and increase staff retention (Baye, 2008, p. 58). The d ecline of profitability of a company would encourage employees seeking better work elsewhere. The management of Oxford Health Plans Company avoided loss of employees by facilitating employee ownership of the company through shares. The filing notes granted by the company to employees at an effective price of $17.25 a share, aimed at motivating the employees and giving them job security. The Oxford Health Plans company, as a way of motivating the employees also used the bonus allocation. The bonus plan should provide for compensation for the extra efforts of an employee (Baye, 2008, p.62). The executive vice president, Jeffrey H. Boyd based on an objective evaluation by the compensation committee, received a bonus of $250000 to compensate for his efforts and contributions to the company. However, this bonus plans were inappropriate because the financial performance of the company was low. Financial Bailout To stabilize the financial status of a company during times of low performance , a company might seek external sources of funding in form of secured and unsecured loans. The company can also seek internal funding like allowing the employees to invest in the company through shares. In the Oxford Health Plans company, the company resorted to tackling the poor performance through the board and hiring of new management team. The company also planned to issue junk-bond offering of $350 million to enable it to overcome the financial crisis.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on The Oxford Health Plans Inc. Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Conclusion The Oxford Health Plans company resorted to pay cuts of its top executives because of dwindling profits and rewarded employees for extra efforts. Despite the poor performance of its shares in the stock market, the strategies involving staff motivation and cost cutting increased the prospects of the company making a financial turnaround. Thus , it is apparent that among other strategies, incentives and work bonuses are important to achieve high productivity of a company. Reference List Baye, M. (2008). Managerial Economics and Business Strategy. New York: McGraw Hill. Print. Winslow, R. (1998). Wiggins, Ex-CEO of Oxford Health, Took 61% Cut in Total Pay Last Year. The Wall Street Journal, B8.

A Righteous Day by Mudrooroo Nyroongah

A Righteous Day by Mudrooroo Nyroongah 'A Righteous Day' written by Mudrooroo Nyroongah on 26TH January (Australia Day), in 1988, is a poem set in the first person voice that has been composed in response to the depressing day of the Bicentenary of European Settlement. As the "righteous" day is reflected by the persona, this contrasts with the 'White' Australians celebrating a "successful" colonisation in high-spirited ways, because to the Aborigines it is a day of mourning as they view it as Invasion day. The poem underlines the fact that despite the hardships Aborigines have experienced as a result of White Colonisation, it would be ideal if they shifted from prisoners of society to proactive citizens of Australia who will stand tall with pride and win their internal battles in the face of adversity.The beginning of the poem is rather ambiguous as it includes the persona's view on modern and new, yet quite useless, materialistic items.English: From frontpiece of Legendary Tales of the...The first two lines suggests that the persona has spent a "lifetime" until now, assimilating with the white man's foreign and materialistic world of insignificant and 'useful' materials in life. He questions whether these new "inventions" are a necessity in life, where he views these as just an indication of the white man's senseless 'progress' and 'success'. The third line, which uses the strong imagery "Protecting my wrists from the slashes of insecurities", is the reason for the persona's attempt in fitting into a foreign culture, as he desires to preserve his life and to survive, despite possessing nothing but insecurities. The phrase also refers to the stereotypical Aboriginal culture where many have attempted suicide especially among young males, because they have felt useless as they have been degraded to the point where they have been deprived of their dignity and self-worth.In lines 4-6, he emphasizes the...