Motivating and Maintaining Morale during Downsizing at Rutledge Company - Essay Example

? Cases Case Motivating and Maintaining Morale during Downsizing at Rutledge Company In most instances of downsizing, the biggestchallenge posed by management is laying off employees in a humane way while trying to maintain morale or improve it in case it went down. Downsizing involves the reduction of the workforce in an organization associated with corporate reorganization. For this reason, it implies that a number of employees eventually have their contracts terminated, and it consequently affects their productivity before termination of their employment. Thus, this expose analyses the best practices using the case study about downsizing in Rutledge Company. First, communication is the most important aspect in a firm, and it will be essential in solving problems such as these affecting Rutledge Company. Thus, communicating to employees on how the organization will manage change and informing them on measures that the management will use in determining who to train is crucial in creating an honest environment instrumental for motivating employees. Secondly, assisting the departing employees to find employment in other places will help boost their morale and ensure that the company does not encounter losses in terms of productivity during the downsizing period. Other actions that can increase morale and motivation are providing counseling, establishing fairness by treating all employees equally, and subsequence announcement of downsizing as planned (Mishra & Spreitzer, 1998). The objective of the company should be the elimination of most of the employees who failed to use the technology required for the job. However, the company should make definite decisions that motivate the remaining employees in order to avoid losing some of their talents. First, evaluating this category of employees and identifying their preferences and potential becomes crucial in determining the employees to retain. Therefore, Rutledge Company and its employees should collaborate in developing the best program suited to train the employees who are not using the required technology. In effect, these employees will experience a bond with Rutledge and will start using the latest technology since they participated in developing the plan and they have the feeling of ownership of the plan they helped develop. The best criteria that Rutledge should use during downsizing must encompass employee productivity and competence. In this regard, productivity should be the basis for determining the performance of employees during downsizing, and there should be a performance appraisal in place meant to determine the performance of each employee with the new technology. The performance appraisal, determined by the developers of the technology, will ensure fairness in the retention process. In addition, the fairness will make sure that all employees remained motivated to perform their responsibilities before they knew of their fate at work. It is common knowledge that changing technology in a firm requires properly training the employees. In effect, training will similarly apply to Rutledge Company and its employees. Conversely, retraining employees might improve their morale and motivate them at work. Providing in-service training to the employees will help them learn together with their managers on working while using the new technology. In effect, learning with their managers and supervisors will help create a “fellow feeling” to the company, which ultimately motivates the employees and improves their productivity at work since there will be an attachment created in the company. In addition, further training is crucial since it enhances communication within an organization. As previously indicated, communication is crucial since there will be the creation of an environment of trust and openness, which motivates Rutledge’s employees. Case 2: The Ethical Selection Dilemma at Integrity Motors Entrepreneurs and managers realize the importance of hiring the right personnel to run their businesses successfully. In order to achieve this objective, managers carry out a rigorous exercise meant to hire the right personnel for their work. However, it is possible for future employees to misrepresent a few of their credentials, or even information that might have an effect on their productivity, in order to gain positions. In effect, such challenges leave managers and entrepreneurs with legal and ethical dilemmas, which require solutions to ensure operations in a firm continued without any hindrance. Using the case of Integrity Motors, this article discusses the ethical and legal issues in hiring Gladys Morrison. The legal issue in the case of Integrity Motors lies in the fact that the company cannot discriminate against Gladys Morrison due to her pregnancy. In this regard, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 prohibits discrimination of women due to issues related to pregnancy, or pregnancy itself (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d.). On the other hand, the ethical issue in this case regards the results of the process of interview. In this case, it will be ethically wrong to go against the results of the interviewing panel by failing to pick the best candidate in the interview panel, which makes the interview process meaningless. Besides, another ethical, and legal issue to some extent, in this case involves the fact that Integrity Motors cannot confront Gladys with this issue since it will be an act of intruding on her right to privacy. Acting on an ethical perspective, Gladys Morrison should not have applied for the job when she saw the advertisement. In this regard, it is evident that the job required an individual who was willing to work long hours each day at a high level of productivity. However, it is evident that Gladys Morrison may not be able to work for long hours each day since she may experience fatigue and fail to meet the expected objectives in terms of productivity. On the other hand, it would have been ethical for Gladys Morrison to apply for the job and consider indicating her condition in the application letter, or even during the interview. In effect, the interview panel would not have been in this dilemma. Considering the objectives that Timmy Blackburn had for the firm, it will not be prudent to hire Gladys Morrison while considering her condition. In this regard, Timmy requires someone who will work for long hours each day, which is something that hiring Gladys may not achieve considering her condition. In addition, while Gladys’ creative and commitment to the dealership may not be in doubt, her dependability is in question since she will only work for a few months and go on leave. In effect, Integrity Motors will not have consistency in the leadership of the sales team, which is the most important department in the firm. Thus, Timmy should consider another applicant since the pregnancy would restrict Gladys’ ability to perform. The hiring of Gladys Morrison will require instituting measures to accommodate her at work. One most obvious measure will be ensuring flexibility in terms of time that Gladys can work and allow her to work from home on other occasions. Another way to accommodate Gladys is to try to give her fewer roles and duties that require less energy to perform as her pregnancy progresses. In effect, this will require a lot of delegation of responsibilities and duties in the sales department. Finally, the environment of working should be conducive to make sure that Gladys worked in healthy conditions without causing injuries to herself or the growing fetus. References Mishra, A. K., & Spreitzer, G. M. (1998). Explaining how survivors respond to downsizing: The roles of trust, empowerment, justice, and work redesign. The Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 567-588. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.).Usa.gov. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/index.cfm Read More