WhatsApp, Wal-Mart and the Surprising Stock Market Value of Workers

WhatsApp, Wal-Mart and the Surprising Stock Market Value of Workers

SUZANNE MCGEE

The Fiscal Times

February 27, 2014

How much are you worth as a worker? 

That’s an easy question for the 55 employees at WhatsApp to answer right now. In the wake of the bombshell news that Facebook not only acquired the tiny messaging service company at the anything-but-tiny price of $19 billion, pundits and observers of all kinds have been crunching the numbers¹. It turns out that at that price, each employee is worth some $345 million.

The tradition, of course, is to value a company using all kinds of other metrics. For publicly traded firms, the price/earnings ratio is a traditional measurement, with others including price to cash flow, revenue or book value. When it comes to privately traded companies, you have to get a little more creative (unless you’re an insider), which is why the “per employee” number has made  such a splash, along with the $42 per WhatsApp user price tag².

Related: Mark Zuckerberg Says $19B for WhatsApp Is a Bargain. Is He Right?

The traditional valuation metrics make sense from an investor’s perspective. After all, when a shareholder invests, he’s not acquiring³ a bunch of employees but the right to profit from an increase in the revenues and profits that those employees generate. The employees themselves are simply a means to an end⁴.

Still, putting tradition to one side for a moment and focusing instead on the market value of employees can also be informative, in a completely different way. That’s particularly true in light of the longstanding debate over what kind of minimum wage (state or federal) is appropriate these days.

News of those ultra-valuable WhatsApp employees sent⁵ Jack Ablin, Chicago-based chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank, to do some number crunching of his own. It turns out that Facebook’s own employees are apparently seen by investors as immensely valuable, although at about only a tenth the level as those of WhatsApp.

The energy, health care, utilities and tech sectors all fare well in the market cap-to-employee analysis, but energy and utilities are both capital-intensive industries⁶, Ablin notes. Similarly, some companies, particularly some real estate investment trusts, have very large asset bases relative to the number of their employees. At Healthcare Property Investors (NYSE: HCP), for example, each employee’s contribution to future profits might be valued at $111 million based on the number of employees and the REIT’s market capitalization.

The takeaway from all that: tech, along with health care, is where you can best see the value of employees to a company’s stock. “The truly elite thinkers among today’s students would be well advised⁷ to pursue career paths in those fields if they want to make sure they are on the advantaged side of the income equality divide,” Ablin suggests.

At the other end of the spectrum, let’s ponder Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT), which has about 2.2 million employees worldwide and has a market capitalization around $240 billion. Collectively, the efforts of those employees generated net income of $4.43 billion in the just-ended fiscal year, up from $3.78 billion the previous year. Based on the company’s valuation, the market values each employee at about $109,000, on average. Now, consider that perhaps 900,000 of those employees in the United States alone make less than $25,000 a year, according to the company’s own admission.

No, I’m not trying⁸ to cram together apples and oranges by suggesting that employees should collect salaries that reflect the value that investors ascribe to their collective efforts. Companies — unless they are deliberately established as partnerships or worker-owned co-operatives — are set up to act in the best interests of their investors, not their employees. As interpreted by Wal-Mart and other businesses whose jobs require significantly less skill and education than those at companies like Facebook or Google, that has meant wages that often fall just above — and sometimes even below — the poverty line⁹.

Still, some high-level numbers show that how focus on rewarding investors has affected workers¹⁰. If you go back 30 years, corporate profits bounced around at a level that was about 7 percent to 8 percent of the GDP of the United States¹¹. Employee compensation was between 56 percent and 57 percent of GDP¹². Today, those figures are closer to 12 percent and 52 percent, respectively¹³. In other words, a significantly greater chunk of the country’s economy is accounted for by corporate profits, while paychecks make up a smaller portion. And that 52 percent is the lowest number on record in more than half a century. The 12 percent? Well, that matches the highest level recorded since 1949.

Add to that the fact that the minimum wage, adjusted for inflation, has actually fallen by more than $3 an hour — or 30 percent — since it peaked in 1968¹⁴. Today’s $7.25 an hour will buy you about what $1.60 bought you back in the year that Martin Luther King¹⁵. Jr. and Robert Kennedy were assassinated¹⁶. More of Ablin’s number-crunching earlier this week brought him to the conclusion that based solely on inflation, today’s minimum wage should be above ¹⁷ an hour. If you throw productivity into the mix — reflecting the increased value that employees are generating for their companies, a figure that shows up in both the GDP numbers and in the Wal-Mart profit statement — the figure should be north of $15 an hour.

Related: CBO Says Minimum Wage Hike Would Cost 500,000 Jobs

Now, that’s an aggregate number, of course. Clearly, not all companies in all industries will be able to afford to fork over that much money, at least as things stand today¹⁸. But given that roughly two-thirds of economic activity in the United States is driven by consumer spending, surely if companies like Wal-Mart — which clearly can afford to boost wages — pay employees at a higher rate, that will show up in higher rates of consumer spending.

Perhaps Wal-Mart employees will begin buying their groceries at the store rather than relying on food drives and food banks? Perhaps a local restaurant or a day care service will find that there is more demand for their business, and either volume or price increases will help offset their own higher costs?

Some companies are already thinking about this state of affairs in a new way¹⁹. Costco, for instance, has made a strategic decision to use some of its profits to finance higher employee salaries²⁰. The tradeoff for those higher costs? Higher productivity — and potentially higher customer satisfaction. Now the Gap is following the same path, announcing its plan to boost the minimum wage it pays to $9 an hour this year and $10 by the end of 2015.

Of course, this isn’t just “be nice to your underpaid workers” week in the retail industry. Gap clearly feels that by paying more, it’s more likely to attract the workers it needs: those able to guide and advise customers, not just stack shelves.

Related: 1,400 Real World Minimum Wage Increases Show No Impact on Employment

Employees at companies like McDonald’s and Wal-Mart are least likely to have other, more attractive options. Even so, there’s a solid business case to be made in favor of executives at both companies placing a higher value on their employees, as reflected in their wages. Motivated and happy employees generate good PR for their company, not lousy news headlines. They generate sales. Their spending keeps other businesses going, whose employees can in turn now pick up lunch at McDonald’s twice a week instead of only once.-0

That would, however, require a big shift in the way companies think about profits. If every dime of additional productivity is destined for the shareholders of a company, without even a penny being directed toward its workers (who generate those productivity gains), well, little will change regardless of what dollar number is established as a minimum wage²⁰.

Explanation :

1.        In the wake of the bombshell news that Facebook not only acquired the tiny messaging service company at the anything-but-tiny price of $19 billion, pundits and observers of all kinds have been crunching the numbers.

ð  Present Perfect Continous

ð  S + HAVE/HAD + BEEN +V-ING

2.      . When it comes to privately traded companies, you have to get a little more creative (unless you’re an insider), which is why the “per employee” number has made  such a splash, along with the $42 per WhatsApp user price tag².

ð  Present Perfect Tense

ð  S + HAS/HAVE + V3 + COMPLIMENT

3.      After all, when a shareholder invests, he’s not acquiring³ a bunch of employees but the right to profit from an increase in the revenues and profits that those employees generate.

ð  Present Continous Tense ( Negative Form)

ð  S + IS/AM/ARE + NOT +V-ING + OBJECT

4.      The employees themselves are simply a means to an end.

ð  Simple Present Tense

ð  S + IS/AM/ARE + COMPLIMENT(ADJECTIVE,ADVERB,NOUN)

5.       News of those ultra-valuable WhatsApp employees sent⁵ Jack Ablin, Chicago-based chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank, to do some number crunching of his own

ð  Simple Past Tense

ð  S + V2 + OBJECT + ADVERB

6.      energy and utilities are both capital-intensive industries⁶, Ablin notes.

ð  Simple Present Tense

ð  S + IS/AM/ARE + COMPLIMENT(ADJECTIVE,NOUN,ADVERB)

7.       The truly elite thinkers among today’s students would be well advised⁷ to pursue career paths in those fields if they want to make sure they are on the advantaged side of the income equality divide.

ð  Past Future Tense

ð  S + WOULD/SHOULD + BE + COMPLIMENT

8.      No, I’m not trying⁸ to cram together apples and oranges by suggesting that employees should collect salaries that reflect the value that investors ascribe to their collective efforts

ð  Present Continous Tense (Nigative Form)

ð  S + IS/AM/ARE + NOT + V-ING

9.      As interpreted by Wal-Mart and other businesses whose jobs require significantly less skill and education than those at companies like Facebook or Google, that has meant wages that often fall just above — and sometimes even below — the poverty line⁹.

ð  Presesnt Perfect Tense

ð  S + HAS/HAVE + V3 + COMPLIMENT

10.   Still, some high-level numbers show that how focus on rewarding investors has affected workers

ð  Present Perfect Tense

ð  S + HAS/HAVE + V3 + COMPLIMENT

11.    If you go back 30 years, corporate profits bounced around at a level that was about 7 percent to 8 percent of the GDP of the United States

ð  Simple Past Tense

ð  S + WAS/WERE + COMPLIMENT (NON VERB)

12.    Employee compensation was between 56 percent and 57 percent of GDP

ð  Simple Past Tense

ð  S + WAS/WERE + COMPLIMENT(NON VERB)

13.   Today, those figures are closer to 12 percent and 52 percent, respectively

ð  Simple Present Tense

ð  S + IS/AM/ARE + COMPLIMENT

14.   Add to that the fact that the minimum wage, adjusted for inflation, has actually fallen by more than $3 an hour — or 30 percent — since it peaked in 1968

ð  Present Perfect Tense

ð  S + HAS/HAVE + V3 + COMPLIMENT

15.    Today’s $7.25 an hour will buy you about what $1.60 bought you back in the year that Martin Luther King

ð  Present Future Tense

ð  S + WILL/SHALL + V1 + OBJECT + ADVERB

16.   Jr. and Robert Kennedy were assassinated¹⁶

ð  Simple Past Tense

ð  S + WAS/WERE +  COMPLIMENT

17.    today’s minimum wage should be above ¹⁷ an hour

ð  Past Future Tense

ð  S + SHOULD/WOULD + BE + COMPLIMENT

18.    Clearly, not all companies in all industries will be able to afford to fork over that much money, at least as things stand today

ð  Present Future Tense

ð  S + WILL/SHALL + BE + COMPLIMENT

19.   Some companies are already thinking about this state of affairs in a new way

ð  Present Continous Tense

ð  S + IS/AM ARE + VERB-ING+ COMPLIMENT

20.  Costco, for instance, has  made a strategic decision to use some of its profits to finance higher employee salaries.

ð  Present Perfect Tense

ð  S + HAS + V3 + COMPLIMENT

Membuat contoh paragraf Generalisasi,Analogi,dan Sebab Akibat

BAHASA INDONESIA 2(TUGAS 5)

Membuat contoh paragraf Generalisasi,Analogi,dan Sebab Akibat

1.Generalisasi

Tidak semua perusahaan disektor perbankan dapat dijadikan sebagai sample untuk pengujian Dampak Merger Terhadap Tingkat Aktivitas,Likuiditas,dan Profitbilitas berdasarkan standart yang ditentukan oleh BI.Ada berbagai syarat dan kriteria yang harus dimiliki oleh perbankan tersebut untuk dapat dijadikan sebagai sample pengujian.Kriteria yang paling utama adalah perusahaan tersebut harus telah Go Publik dan telah terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia(BEI).Syarat lainnya yang harus dipenuhi antara lain perbankan tersebut harus telah melakukan merger dan tanggal dilakukan merger diketahi dengan jelas,serta perbankan tersebut harus memiliki laporan keuangan yang telah diaudit minimal 2 tahun sebelum dan sesudah perusahaan tersebut dimerger agar dapat mengikuti pengujian Dampak Merger Terhadap Tingkat Aktivitas,Likuiditas,dan profitabilitas tersebut.

2.Analogi

Banyak orang-orang memiliki persepsi yang salah antara akuntansi dengan kegiatan pencatatan.Sebagian masyarakat khususnya yang bukan pelaku akuntansi mengaggap bahwa akuntansi dan kegiatan pencatatan itu sama.Padahal,kedua hal tersebut memiliki perbedaan yang cukup besar.Akuntansi adalah suatu kegiatatan yang dimulai dari pengumpulan bukti-bukti yang dilanjutkan dengan kegiatan pencatatan,serta menganalisis laporan keuangan suatu perusahaan dimana nanti hasil analisis tersebut berupa suatu informasi yang akan disampaikan kepada pihak yang membutuhkannya.Sedangkan kegiatan pencatatan hanya berupa pengumpulan bukti-bukti transaksi yang akan dicatat didalam buku besar.Jadi,dapat disimpilkan bahwa kegiatan pencatatan tidak sama dengan akuntansi tetapi merupakan bagian dari proses akuntansi.

3.Sebab-Akibat

Krisis ekonomi yang melanda Amerika Serikat mengakibatkan dampak yang besar bagi perekonomian negara-negara termasuk Indonesia.Seperti yang telah diketahui bahwa Amerika Serikat dan China merupakan negara adidaya yang akan mempengaruhi perekonomian negara. Pada situasi krisis ekonomi yang melanda Amerika seperti saat ini,mereka akan mempercepat pengembalian piutang mereka untuk memperbaiki struktur ekonominya.Sebagai negara yang melakukan pinjaman kepada Amerika,tentu Indonesia juga harus segera melunasi hutangnya ditengah kemelut perekonomian yang dialami bangsa Indonesia sendiri.Maka sangat tepat dikatakan jika “Amerika bersin,semua negara akan terkena flu” yang dapat diartikan jika Amerika mengalami masalah ekonomi,maka semua negara akan ikut merasakan dampaknya.

Dahlan: Amerika Bersin, Semua Negara Kena Flu

Dahlan: Amerika Bersin, Semua Negara Kena Flu

Oleh Ilyas Istianur P

Liputan6.com, Depok : Menteri Badan Usaha Milik Negara (BUMN) Dahlan Iskan mengungkapkan kekacauan ekonomi yang terjadi di sejumlah negara dipengaruhi oleh Amerika Serikat sebagai pusat ekonomi dunia.
Saat menjadi pembicara di hadapan setidaknya 4000 calon mahasiswa baru Universitas Indonesia (UI) Dahlan mengatakan saat ini sedang ada sentimen dari negara adidaya itu.
"Saat ini Amerika sedang bersin,"ungkapnya di Balerung UI, Depok, Jawa Barat, Kamis (22/8/2013).
Dahlan menjelaskan dahulu dikenal istilah khusus untuk Amerika Serikat dan China sebagai dua negara dengan ekonomi terbesar di dunia.
"Dulu kenal istilah itu kalo Amerika bersin, semua negara di dunia kena flu. Terus belakangan ada lagi, kalau Tiongkok bersin semua negara di Asia flu, gemetar. Ya sekarang ini Amerika sedang bersin,"jelasnya.
Tidak hanya itu, orang nomor 1 di BUMN ini juga menjelaskan kepada mahasiswa mengenai gambaran kondisi ekonomi indonesia sekarang ini.
Meskipun sedang dalam kondisi tidak baik, Dahlan menyampaikan untuk tidak terlalu dikhawatirkan mengingat Indonesia bukan sebagai negara yang mengalami goncangan ekonomi paling parah.
"Jangan pikirkan ekonomi Indonesia itu paling terguncang, bukan, paling terguncang itu India, Malaysia juga, Thailand, Filipina. Kita di pemerintah sekarang sedang terus berusaha agar tidak terlalu jatuh,"paparnya. (Yas/Ndw)

Sumber :

http://bisnis.liputan6.com/read/671779/dahlan-amerika-bersin-semua-negara-kena-flu

Analisis :

AS dan China merupakan dua Negara adidaya yang memiliki peranan yang cukup besar terhadap perekonomian dunia.Apabila kedua Negara ini mengalami masalah ekonomi,tentu dampaknya akan turut dirasakan oleh Negara-negara lain.Amerikat tengah mengalami masalah ekonomi disebabkan hutangnya yang telah menggunung yang telah mencapai 16,43 triliun dollar AS atau sudah mencapai 105,59 persen dari produk domestik bruto AS. Ini sudah melampaui batas aman dan membahayakan dalam jangka panjang bagi kelangsungan perekonomian AS.Sebagai Negara adidaya,apabila mereka mengalami goncangan ekonomi tentu dampaknya akan turut dirasakan Negara-negara lain dunia termasuk Indonesia.

Indonesia turut merasakan goncangan ekonomi akibat masalah ekonomi yang dihadapi AS.Salah satunya melemahnya rupiah terhadap dollar yang mengakibatkan jumlah hutang Indonesia di AS serikat semakin membengkak serta keterkaitan dengan impor yang berakibat inflasi.Jadi dapat dikatakan saat ini perekonomian Indonesia tiidak berada dititik yang aman walaupun belum termasuk membahayakan.

Tetapi,walaupun dikatakan termasuk belum membahayakan,sebagai rakyat Indonesia yang terkena dampak langsung masalah ekonomi sudah seharusnya kita memikirkan nasib perekonomian Indonesia tanpa perlu memakai “patokan”ada Negara-negara lain yang lebih labil perekonomiannya dibanding Indonesia seperti India,Malaysia,Filipina,dan Thailand. Rasanya tidak perlu kita menunggu sampai Negara-negara tersebut mengalami masalah ekonomi yang besar terlebih dahulu baru akan mengambil tindakan.Sudah sepantasnya pemerintah memikirkan kebijakan-kebijakan yang harus dijalankan untuk mengatasi masalah tersebut sebelum akhirnya masalah ekonomi tersebut akan semakin besar.

Ide Ahok Hapus Subsidi BBM Bisa Terealisasi Akhir 2014

Ide Ahok Hapus Subsidi BBM Bisa Terealisasi Akhir 2014

Oleh Ilyas Istianur Praditya

Liputan6.com, Jakarta : Rencana Wakil Gubernur DKI Jakarta Basuki Tjahaja Purnama atau yang akrab dipanggil Ahok itu untuk menghapus subsidi Bahan Bakar Minyak (BBM) nampaknya realisasinya tak akan mudah.
Hal ini dikarenakan Anggaran Pendapatan Belanja Negara (APBN) 2014 pemerintah RI sudah disetujui oleh anggota DPR dan tidak mungkin diubah dalam waktu dekat ini.
Wakil Ketua Komisi XI Harry Azhar Aziz menjelaskan apabila Ahok ingin merealisasikan usulannya tersebut dirinya harus melalui proses persetujuan Gubernur dan DPRD DKI Jakarta terlebih dahulu.
"Itu harus diputuskan dlu oleh pemerintah DKI, ga cukup wakil gubernur. Pemerintah DKI kan bukan Wakil Gubernur. Itu menjadi isu resmi pemerintah DKI. Harus dibicarakan dengan DPRD DKI," jelas Harry saat berbincang dengan Liputan6.com yang ditulis, Sabtu (21/20/2013).
Jika memang Ahok benar-benar mau direalisasikan, lanjut Harry, paling tidak sebelum Juni 2014 draft rumusan penghilangan subsidi BBM khusus wilayah Jakarta tersebut harus diserahkan ke DPR sebelum pertengahan Juni 2014.
"Kalau pembahasan APBN Perubahan bisanya dilakukannya pada Juni. Tapi itu kan tergantung pemerintah mau mengajukan revisi atau tidak," paparnya.
Jika usulan tersebut diajukan di DPR dan akhirnya disetujui, menurut Harry, paling cepat baru akan bisa dilakukan paling cepat akhir tahun.
Menanggapi usulan Ahok, Harry mengaku sependapat dengan mantan Bupati Belitung Timur itu dimana subsidi seharusnya lebih tepat sasaran untuk masyarakat yang kurang mampu.
"Saya termasuk yang mendukung supaya subsidi BBM untuk kelompok miskin diperkuat, tapi kelompok menengah atas tidak perlu. Kan ini banyak subsidi BBM dinikmati oleh mereka yang kaya," pungkasnya. (Yas/Ndw)

Sumber :

http://bisnis.liputan6.com/read/780954/ide-ahok-hapus-subsidi-bbm-bisa-terealisasi-akhir-2014

Analisa :

Jika ditinjau kembali,kata “subsidi” sebenarnya memang ditujukan bagi masyarakat yang mengalami lemah ekonomi atau kurang mampu.Sama halnya dengan subsidi BBM yang seharusnya ditujukan untuk masyarakat yang kurang mampu.Realisasinya,BBM bersubsidi juga turut dinikmati oleh kalangan menengah keatas.Hal ini telah bertentangan dengan makna subsidi itu sendiri.

Subsidi BBM yang diberikan pemerintah sepertinya memang kurang efektif digunakan untuk mengatasi skandal ekonomi rakyat Indonesia.Sebab,masih banyak masyarakat mampu yang turut menikmati subsidi tersebut.Mungkin pilihan yang bijak adalah dana yang digunakan untuk subsidi BBM tersebut dialokasikan untuk membantu masyarakat membiayai sumber usaha mereka.Selain lebih mencapai tepat sasaran,alternative ini juga akan menciptakan masyarakat yang cerdas dan tidak malas.Oleh sebab itu,kebijakan mencabut BBM bersubsidi ini sebenarnya sangat bijaksana.

Tetapi,untuk merealisasikan BBM tanpa subsidi ini bukanlah hal yang mudah.Untuk pelaksanaannya tentu dibutuhkan persetujuan serta keputusan yang bulat dari para pemerintah Negara.Termasuk Indonesia harus merubah anggaran subsidi BBM yang telah tercantum di APBN.Termasuk juga harus mengubah system yang telah biasa diilaksanakan.Hal  ini tentu akan menimbulkan pro dan kontra baik dari segi pemerintah maupun masyarakat.Sebab,masyarakat akan merasa terusik dari zona nyamannya yang terbiasa menikmati BBM bersubsidi.