In July 1994, United employees agreed to accept pay and benefit cuts in order to get a majority of the airline's stock. United Chief Executive Gerald Greenwald, hoped that the ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) would give employees a sense of empowerment and that they would make better business decisions because they would have a stake in the long-term performance of the company. The failure of the ESOP can be attributed to the conflict of interests between shareholders and employees. The new plan dramatically changed the culture of the company. Some employees felt that as owners they were free to do whatever they liked, and managers felt unable to discipline workers.
See "ESOP's fable forces airline to the brink", Chicago Tribune, July 13, 2003