Well another group of employees has seen its retirement savings disappear now that J.P. Morgan Chase has purchased Bear Stearns for $2 a share.  Over 14,000 employees owned almost one-third of the company's shares.  Remember Enron?

The issue here again comes down to the failure of senior management (and really all management) to understand that they have more than a responsibility to increase shareholder value.  They also have a responsibility to make decisions that keeps the organization viable.  They have a fundamental responsibility to understnad that every decision they make not only affects the shareholders, not only affects its employees, but also affects at least 4 times the number of employees.

Yes, every employee, on average, uses their income to support an additional 4 people--spouses, children, parents, etc...  Then add in the vendors who rely on your organization for their income, and the multiple of four for each of their employees, and the reality of that repsonsibility becomes very clear.

Fiscally sound decisions that take into consideration an organization;s employees, and all those that depend on it, will also positively affect shareholders.  Maybe the return won't be grandiose, but it will be positive.  Maybe the return will gain momentum over the long term instead of the short term.  But at leat the organization remains viable, people remain employeed, and most importantly, employees do not lose their hope for the future or their retirement funds.