9/29/2004

Martha Stewart still going strong

Last Friday, September 24, 2004, it was annouced that Martha Stewart's contract would be renewed. According to the article that I read on msnbc.com, Martha will be receiving $900,000 a year for the next five years. It was also mentioned that she will be eligible for annual bonuses of 55% to 150% of her base salary. It should be noted that Martha will not receive any salary or bonuses in prison, but she will be allowed to receive this compensation will on home confinement.

When I first heard about this I was flabbergasted! Why would Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. make such a bold move as to renew Martha's contract? Any normal person found in Martha's situation would have been fired, yet Martha Stewart still has a job. So did Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. make a good decision? After looking at the economic benefits that the company would receive be renewing Martha's contract, I feel that they did.

Martha Stewart still has a strong image in the homemaking industry, and you can't just push her away for being thrown in prison. If Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. was to do this some other company may hire her. It should also be known that a lot of people still enjoy Martha Stewart's ideas and the way she does things. Martha Stewart has made some bad choices in the past and I really don't agree with them. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. on the other hand, has made a good economic decision, and that is a really good thing.

2 comments:

Ernie said...

Martha Stewart unfortunately is still a big draw in the home interior and cooking markets. She messed up, but she shouldn't have to pay for it the rest of her life. In society we need to accept that high profile celebrities and their cases usually go severly under-punished. In the end, I think people will eventually forget about Martha's mishap and move on. The company was wise to keep their ties with her. Also, would the company even continue to exist without Martha? I doubt that it would.

Dr. Tufte said...

-1 Spelling error in Rufio's post.

One in Bryce's comment too.

The post and the comments are all good. The message here is that optimizing managers still think Martha Stewart (the employee) is valuable to Martha Stewart Omnimedia.