Another group continuum represents incentive plans that, through the cooperation of all members of the organization, create a culture of ownership. These common incentives are profit sharing, stock option plans and employee ownership plans (ESOPs). According to Coates (1991), “profit sharing plans are defined as an arrangement in which companies contribute, on the basis of profits, to the employees' individual account” (p.19). It can be distributed as cash (added to the paycheck) or in a deferred form, where the employer contributes to a retirement trust (Kruse, 1993, p. 5). One benefit is that employees, by increasing their productivity and quality of work, contribute to the growth of the company and ultimately help themselves by earning higher bonuses (Coates , 1991). Kruse (1993) wrote that “profit sharing can motivate employees to work harder to increase profits, primarily by increasing productivity,” and “can also contribute to economic stability and reduce unemployment” (p. 2 ). Despite the distinctions, benefit sharing tends to have weaknesses and criticisms. Coates (1991) notes that one drawback is the difficulty in finding a correlation between increases or decreases in productivity and profit sharing gains (p. 20). Not only may upper management have difficulty measuring it, but also an average worker may have difficulty relating their work to their profit sharing (Noe, Hollenback, Gerhart, Wright, p. 558). Additionally, during economic downturns, employees may react negatively to the lack of profit sharing (Coates, 1991). Another disadvantage mentioned by Coates (1991) is the "free rider" problem, where "the employee who ignores his responsibility, I believe other workers will take over", and despite minimal work effort,.. .... middle of paper ......st). The Employee Ownership 100: the largest American companies majority-owned by their employees. Retrieved April 26, 2014 from http://www.nceo.org/articles/employee-ownership-100Noe, RA, Hollenback, JR, Gerhart, B., (2010). Human resources management: achieving a competitive advantage. New York, New York. The McGraw-Hill. (pp. 555-561). Shanney-Saborsky, R. (2000, January - February). ESPOs and the culture of employee ownership: balancing questions of remuneration and equity. Compensation and Benefits Review 32. No. 1. (p. 72-80). Retrieved April 26, 2014, from http://0search.proquest.com.catalog.lib.cmich.edu/docview/213667392 Weitzman M., Kruse DL (1990). Profit sharing and productivity. Pay for productivity. EDAS Blinder. Washington, DC. Brookings Institution. (pp. 109-110). Accessed April 22, 2014, from http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/weitzman/files/profitsharingproductivity.pdf