...DOWNSIZING: SAVING MONEY WHILE REMAINING ETHICAL Downsizing has become a commonplace strategy for organizations to adopt in an effort to cut costs, eliminate redundancies, and streamline organizational systems. Over the last 15 years, many organizations have engaged in downsizing more than once. Most companies have learned from the mistakes of the past, but some companies are still trying to use the same tactics today that were used in the mid 1980s, that leave employees reeling. Read the scenarios below describing two different approaches to downsizing. Analyze the downsizing practices utilized by each company, explain which activities/practices you believe would have been both effective and ineffective, and explain why. If you could have managed the downsizing process, what would you have done differently and why? Considering the importance placed on ethics in the Human Resource profession, do you believe the companies described in the following scenarios engaged in ethical downsizing practices? If so, how are the practices ethical? If not, what was done in an unethical manner, and how would you correct it? Detail your answers in two memos addressed to the Board of Directors for each company described. You focus should be to explain what the company did right, what they did wrong, and changes they should make in future downsizing situations. Company A The reorganization of Company A resulted in the loss of 1,150 jobs (13% of the total workforce), and the retirement of...
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...Introduction to the topic Topic: impact of downsizing:- WHAT IS DOWNSIZING? Downsizing is a commonly used euphemism which refers to reducing the overall size and operating costs of a company, most directly through a reduction in the total number of employees. When the market is tight, downsizing is extremely common, as companies fight to survive in a hostile climate while competing with other companies in the same sector. For employees, downsizing can be very unnerving and upsetting. Type of downsizing Reduce workweek: Firms sometimes resort to a reduced workweek. This may translate into the reduction from 40 to 35 or fewer hours and thereby reduce the short-term payroll expenditures. While most employees appreciate the idea of being able to spend more time with their families, they may not always welcome a reduced pay check. Also, employees may find that the same amount of work still needs to be performed while they spend less time on the job. Nucor Steel Corporation in South Carolina has avoided layoffs for 35 years by reducing to two- and three-workday weeks for its employees during downturns (George, 2004). Recently, workers at a St. Thomas automotive parts plant in the UK have voted to reduce their work week rather than see 200 employees leave permanently (De Bono, 2008). Firing: Due to non-performance is difficult; laying off employees due to poor business performance is harder. The effects of downsizing are significant; understand employee rights termination...
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...customers the option of picking their menu where they can either leave something out or order something double. Not only that, their menu reflects on fresh and healthy fast food. This is because their sandwiches offer a consistent set of fresh ingredients that contains a lot of nutrients which can measured by several indicators such as protein, vitamin, dietary minerals and their healthy products are also measured by caloric intake. For example, a 6” Meatball Marinara is only about 299 grams per serving size (Subway, n.d.). Besides that, Subway have stringent audit processes that enforce the whole Subway supply chain and the supplier’s employment practices to meet the “Vendor Code of Conduct”. This is done so that food that by each Subway restaurants is always fresh and produced sustainably. In year 2009, Subway became the clear leader in the healthy fast-food subcategory with so many large and a well-resourced competitors in place where Zagat Fast-Food Survey rated the Subway brand as the number-one provider of Healthy Options. Subway is also strategically opportunistic. The strategy and brand vision was initially not planned but it resulted from exploiting an opportunity that was given to them and then...
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...Empowerment October , 2011 The current trend to downsize has dissolved a great deal of mid-level manager positions. This has eliminated the career path for new and seasoned employees wishing to move up the corporate ladder. The mid-level manager positions that have been abolished may have reduced costs but left corporations to find solutions to fill the void. The mid-level managers were responsible for training, setting priorities and ensuring their areas of responsibility operated in a smooth and efficient manner. They provided feedback, wrote appraisals, directed the day-to-day operation and were available to lead and listen to the employees. With the departure of these mid-tier managers, the responsibility for these functions has fallen on the lesser-trained subordinates, many who still feel their primary responsibility is to get the job done. Empowerment of teams and individuals has taken the place of the mid-tier supervisor and brought about a need for mentoring throughout the organization. Companies are finding that mentoring is an effective method of transferring the knowledge and skills needed for empowerment from the remaining mid-level managers to the newly installed “overseers” while ensuring there is no degradation of service or performance. While traditional mentoring taught employees how to “play the game,” new mentoring must be linked to performance-based competencies. Mentoring must focus on developing and broadening individual skill sets that create...
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...redesigning and customizing their products to appeal to the elder boomers. There are three things that the food company need to focus on including sizing and packaging, bigger letters in design, and personal packaging. First, companies that are selling vitamins, supplements and other “medical meals” many consider downsizing the portion sizes and quantities. Because the companies’ target market, the elder boomers, are having smaller and fewer meals per day, they may not be able to finish the contents of a large container before the food or beverage goes bad. Second, studies and researches suggest that old consumers prefer products displaying easy-to read typography and eye-catching graphics since the majority of these consumers have bad eyes and have a difficult time trying to read tiny letters on nutrition labels. Last but not least, the companies should pay attention to the size of packaging seniors can carry home- they may enjoy smaller, lighter, and easier to carry personal packaging. This article addressed my research question because I learn that the companies are paying effort to redesign and customize products to appeal to the seniors. I believe that the key point is downsizing. I predict that the bulky, big and inconvenient product size may disappear from the market...
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...Globalization in Business Donovan Chase PHL/320 12/22/2014 Bridget Peaco Globalization in Business Is globalization good or bad for your business? (1, premise) Globalization is viewed as either good or bad depending on your particular situation. For example, if you are an emerging growth industry, globalization represents a significant opportunity to access broader geographic markets, to accelerate growth and expand your business. (1, conclusion) However, if your business is an industry that has imploded due to the onslaught of global competition, or you have suffered a job loss due to downsizing or outsourcing you probably have a very negative view on globalization being good for business. Is Globalization “Good” Before we can decide what is good we need to have a definition of “good” as it relates to our topic. According to "Merriam Webster" (2014), Good is defined as something that is right or good. Something that has economic utility or satisfies an economic want. An example of good in the way we are defining it is the difference between good and bad. I personally feel that globalization is not good for the business of America. (2, premises) Globalization takes jobs away from people in the United States which raises the unemployment rate. (2, conclusion) Therefore, negatively impacting our economy. Workers can often be forced into accepting worsening...
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...Introduction Downsizing is reducing the workforce of a company by an employer. It usually happens because there is a loss of finances, loss in contracts, technology changes, or international competition. There are a few ways a company can downsize, such as, terminating employees, give them an option to retire early, or hiring freezes, just to name a few. Letting go of an employee for whatever reason can be one of the most difficult tasks an office manager can face. There should be steps taken to make sure the process proceeds smoothly. The last thing you want is for a dismissal meeting to end badly. I will propose three ways a manager can cope with negative emotions that may arise with an employee layoff. I will provide a step-by-step process of conducting the dismissal meeting. I will also take a look at the compensation the company may provide to the separated employee and create a chart to depict the timeline of the disbursement of the compensation. Last, I will predict three ways the layoff may affect the company. Three ways to cope with negative emotions Managers may have distinctive reactions to layoffs because they are mediators and receivers of change. “Their reactions are important because they can affect employee morale. Employees pay close attention to manager’s behaviors and messages they send out. The first way to cope with negative emotions is to thoroughly communicate (Dewitt, Trevino, & Monica, Spring 2003)”. Be private and honest with the employee...
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...HRM Application Paper Coy, Peter. “How Much Am I Worth? - The Case for a $10.10 Minimum Wage.” Bloomberg Businessweek. Feb 2014: 10-13. Print. The Cost-Of-Living in Hawaii and New York are among the highest. Yet, in both states the minimum wage is set at $7.25. In his January 2014 State of the Union address, President Obama requested to raise a new federal minimum wage of $10.10 an hour. This movement has progressed within the past couple of weeks since its publication in February 2014. In the following pages, I will attempt to update and fill in the gaps where the article has left off. How would you like a 40% increase in your payroll? I bet that sounds like a great idea! How about if you and your fellow coworker’s all received a 40% raise? Even better right? Now, what if that 40% increase went through with the entire nation? Although raising the minimum wage would not increase everyone’s wage, this is where the controversy starts. Set in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, is the fundamental compensation law in the United States. It is the federal law that establishes a minimum wage and limits the number of hours that may be worked in a standard week. It defines two categories of employees, the exempt employees and the non-exempt employees. The exempt employees are not allowed over-time pay, and non-exempt employees who are allowed overtime. The non-exempt employees are highly effected through this issue of raising minimum wage. Non-exempt employees are given the...
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...shows the challenge the one of American Multi-unit restaurant to Chinese market. China was a ripe for investment and it was very attractive for many of the U.S companies because Chinese annual growth in China was 14.5% for the past decade and the population was 1.4 billion people and in contrast, the economy in the U.S.A has been turned down and the market size have been downsizing. However there were a lot of difficulties in success and not all companies succeed in China. The I institutional voids and Chinese politics, culture, specific market needs make difficult for some companies to success in Chinese market. The new CEO, Mia Foster is now Levendary Café is now facing the struggle in management of the Vice President in China and the business strategy. Case Questions: Q1. What is a Multi-unit Restaurant (MuR) Business? How big is it? Is it a consolidated or fragmented industry? What are its economics (use the Porter’s Model to evaluate profitability in addition to the data given in the case)? Multi-Unit restaurant business is a geographically dispersed stores built from standard units which are aggregated into larger geographic groupings such as districts, regions, and divisions. Every tier has its own set of managers. Multi-Unit Restaurant concepts consist of the following 3 segments. I. Specialty Establishments mainly served snack and beverages under$5 such as Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts. II. Quick Service Restaurants, as it is called “fast food” like McDonald’s and...
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...lattes, and cappuccinos. After 2008 first-quarter results reflected a 10% drop, CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, announced that Starbucks plan to cut jobs, close stores, slow growth all over the world (Horovitz, 2009). Starbucks plan to open 140 new stores in United States when they usually open 200 stores a year. Starbucks also plan to open 170 new stores globally when the number should be 270 (Austin Business Journal, 2009). Starbucks is making a smart move by lowering their target goal. The corporation went through a financial analysis quarterly and noticed the drops of profits. Something needs to be done so they put a push into it by downsizing stores and employees. Global Communication wants to go through a cost-cut by reducing employees and relocating them. GC Global Communication can follow the same procurement of downsizing employees but they have a reconsideration to expand the employees in the future but lower their target goal just like Starbucks did. Job cuts will save Starbucks about $500 million in 2009 (Allison, 2009). The number “$500 million” is surprising....
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...Assignment 3 week 6 –Dismissal Meeting Carol B. Parker Professor Paul Jaikaran Human Resource Management – HRM 530 May 16, 2016 PROPOSE THREE (3) WAYS THAT A MANAGER CAN COPE WITH ANY NEGATIVE EMOTIONS THAT MAY ACCOMPANY AN EMPLOYEE LAYOFF. One way that a manager can help ease the pain of an employee that’s been laid off is to let them know that a layoff may occur as soon as the manager receives word that there may be one in works. This will give the employee a jump start on looking and preparing for their finances and job skills and resume updates. Also if possible grant the employee a generous severance package which could provide economic benefits that reflects management’s compassion and understanding of the impact of the termination. Although the trend is for companies to offer less in severance payments, 93 percent of them require employees to sign releases of liability in order to receive severance pay. A great way to help soften the blow of a layoff is for the company or manager to do their best to find those leaving the company a new job. This could mean calling around to see if anyone is hiring, providing great job recommendations and even calling the competition to see if they have any openings. The company should also cover the expenses for some career counseling. The company can provide on-site training around resume writing and how to ace an interview for all employees. This can cause loyalty from all employees...
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...point out that managers are now losing the public trust. The article asks for colleges and universities to address management as a profession governed by codes of conduct that holds managers responsible to society for their unethical behavior. According to the business dictionary, ethics is the philosophical study of morality or standards regarding good character and conduct. In society when we apply ethical reasoning to decisions made by individuals and teams in organizations, the focus is on moral problems and dilemmas that are associated with the decision-making process that affects our society. The public image of business has been slipping since the EON scandal due to dishonesty and poor ethical standards. As companies are downsizing, they are putting more responsibility on shared responsibility and teamwork. Production in the short run is the structure of a firm depends on the nature of the production process. In the coffee industry, there is not much bargaining power for suppliers with implicit costs by sacrificing costs such as equipment. From this statement, it is assumed that Starbucks has a huge impact on the sales of the individual suppliers they buy all...
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...about either it was healthy or not. Panera Bread Company assists as a retail bakery/café restaurant. In 1993, Au Bon Pain Company acquired St. Louis Bread Company. Earlier this, the St. Louis Company was contained of 20 bakery/cafes in the St. Louis area. From 1993 to 1997, Au Bon Pain altered all their bakery café names to Panera Bread. By 1999, Au Bon Pain sold all sales except for Panera Bread Company. Panera Bread Company has maintained growth everywhere their quarters. Panera currently has 429 franchise operations and 173 company-owned bakery/cafes. By growing their sales of franchises, Panera is progressing in other areas as well. The CEO and chairperson of Panera Bread Company is Ronald Shaich. Then Shaich has been the CEO, Panera’s revenue has rose from S350.8 million in 2000 to S1353.5 million in 2009. The key actions of Panera’s growth strategy concentrated on raising store profit, gross profit per transaction and increasing transactions using its capital smartly. The company contributed precise assistances to the expansion of new markets and further penetration of existing markets by controlled franchised bakery-cafés. This also includes the selection of sites that would produce aimed returns on invested capital. Panera’s strategy in 2009 was distinct from various of its competitors. When many restaurant companies were centered on bearing the economic meltdown by downsizing employees, cutting prices, and lowering quality, Panera chose to stay the plan and proceeded...
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...motivation and behavior? I believe that managers study motivation and behavior to learn to control their staff without actually studying the staff’s behavior and self motivation. I personally think that mangers who are successful communicators are those who actually communication and empathize with their staff. Staff motivation directs behavior toward a particular goal. Workers, who set goals for themselves with sales or personal goals for that day, direct their behavior accordingly to accomplish this goal. Motivation may also lead to increased effort and energy. For example, motivation for me at my job increases the amount of effort and energy that I will expend in work activities directly related to my customers needs and goals at my restaurant. This will determine whether I pursue a task enthusiastically, apathetic or lackadaisical. Manager’s direct motivation also determines which consequences are working and also used for punishing. The more your staff is motivated to achieve success, the more that will be proud of their goal and upset by low sales, especially in my job. The more learners want to be accepted and respected by peers, the more they will value work with the popular group and be distressed by the ridicule of coworkers. Conversely, workers who have little interest in work achievement are at high risk for dropping out of the work race even before they really begin. 2. What is cognitive dissonance? Give some examples of situations that might create dissonance in...
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...left thousands of workers unable to provide for their family. I have witnessed firsthand workers making over $20/hr. have to settle for a part-time at a fast food restaurant just to pay their mortgage. This example exemplifies the reason for workers to not join a union. Unions typically increase wages which in turn can drive organizations out of the domestic market, leading to an increase in unemployment (Schneider, 2017). The workers no longer perceive a potential benefit for joining a union nor do they have power to change the work environment through union...
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