Employment Decisions - Essay Example

Employment Decisions Author’s Name Grade course Tutor Institution Date Introduction Economists have defined the various factors of production. These are prerequisites for any business enterprise to prosper. Labour is among the factors of production and it is indispensable. Managers are faced with difficult decisions all the time regarding employees and issues related to employment (Gilley 2001, p.62). When economic times become difficult, many enterprises are faced with the prospects of downsizing the number of employees they have so as to survive the harsh economic times and make a small margin. This is important to the companies otherwise they would have to close shop all together which is a negative prospect. Faced with delicate choices, the management has to choose the lesser of the two evils: laying off workers to save on costs or having the whole company going down (Singh 2010, p.19). Another possible cause for layoffs is redundancy. With the ever changing technology, it gets a point where the services of certain employees are no longer needed in a company. This happens where companies undergo automation and the task which was being performed by a number of people is performed by a specialist and a machine. At times, an employee may no longer be relevant to the company. Most employees are dependent upon their jobs for their daily bread and having their employment terminated is perhaps the greatest heartache that an employee can experience (Gilley 2001, p.65). The paper focuses on the sensitive issue of layoffs. It is premised on the fact that it is not only the employees whose services are terminated who get psychological torture. Those employees who survive the axe usually face an uncertain future and this may affect their performance. As a certain proverb goes, when a slave sees his fellow slave cast into a shallow grave, he knows that when his time comes he will go the same way. Body Importance of motivating survivors Layoffs leaves survivors and these are the people who are considered fit to continue serving in the organisation after the company has carried out a downsizing exercise. It is important for the management to spare no effort and perhaps expense in ensuring that the employees who survive this drastic action remain productive or even become more productive. It is extremely important for the management to show that their employees are valued. It is important that the management takes time with each individual employee and inform them how important their contribution is (Green & Butkus 1999, p.27). The survivors need to know how the management feels as a result of their effectiveness in the work place which has resulted in the company moving from one level to another. This plays an important of ensuring that employees feel as valuable people and not just statistics who are judged by what they do and who can be let go in a huff. As a result of layoffs, a state of deep mistrust arises between the survivors and their bosses. There are many questions which linger in their mind as to what the future holds for them in the organisation. It is important that the management reverses this state of affairs. With a deep sense of mistrust, there is nothing much that can be achieved at the organisation since an employee shall probably be thinking about insecurity at the work place rather than how to perform their respective duties in an excellent manner. To regain the trust of the employees, it behoves the management to reassure the survivors that their positions are still secure and they should have absolutely nothing to fear (Staufenbiel & Konig 2010, p.103). It is also vital that survivors are motivated to remove their feelings of being victims. After a downsizing, the duties and responsibilities of those who are left are bound to increase. The working environment could become uncomfortable for survivors who would not be ordinarily expected to celebrate at the reality of having more duties (Karnes 2009, p.190). Some employees are bound to find the idea of having to learn new skills to fill in the gaps left very demoralizing. When there fewer employees at the organisation, the management should look at processes which are irrelevant and eliminate them (Singh 2010, p.31). It would also be instructive for the employers to adjust upwards the remuneration due to their employees. The self esteem of survivors is dealt a heavy blow by the departure of their colleagues. There is the worry of those who survive lacking the necessary skills to fill in the gaps which have been left by their departed colleagues. The management should deal with this by bringing up the issue of the employees having a career development. The employers should consider making the necessary resources available for additional training to benefit their employees (Haltiwanger, Lane & Spletzer 2007, p.577). In most cases employees are never ready for the prospect of restructuring and downsizing. The management should steer clear of such a pitfall. This can be achieved by ensuring that channels of communication between the employers and the employees are always open (Karnes 2009, p.191). This way, the employees get to know what is bound to happen way in advance and they realize that there are no underhand deals which are taking place. Through the communication with employees, the management should seek to remove fears from such employees pertaining to their needs in terms of safety and security. The management should ensure that the employees are not only up to speed when it comes to downsizing but the management should make sure that employees take part in setting of programs and participate in their implementation (Green & Butkus 1999, p.43). The employees have the capability of controlling the processes involved in the making of the changes. The management should delegate more decision making powers to the employees. There should be a way of bringing out the team spirit in employees. Effective leadership is a prerequisite for success of any organisation (Dencker 2012, p.154). Therefore, there should be people with the right skills being placed at strategic levels of the organisation. Equity and Expectancy Theories Equity and expectancy theories are process theories. Process theories have as their concern the thinking and behaviour of people so as to get what they want (Green & Butkus 1999, p.45). The theories explain employee motivation with the focus being the process through which motivation is achieved. The theories are important in that the management get to comprehend and influence how employees behave. The expectancy theory is majorly concerned on the results or outcome. For employees to be motivated there should be a link between the motivation and the performance. Expectancy, Instrumentality and Valence are the three variables which are proposed. Expectancy is the belief that increased performance results from an increase in the effort put in. Instrumentality believes that a good performance of a task results in a favourable outcome (Cameron & Green 2004, p.82). An understanding of the relationship between outcome and performance influences instrumentality. Valence refers to importance that an individual places on the outcome expected. Equity theory on the other hand equity theory has its basis as those employees naturally expect that a fair balance is struck between what they put in and what they receive from the job (Cameron & Green 2004, p.83). Therefore, when an employee puts in a lot of hard work, skills and shows commitment et cetera they naturally expect that they get remuneration which reflects the amount of input they give the organisation. According to Green and Butkus (1999, p.49) employees tend to make a comparison between themselves and other employees who give similar levels of inputs. Measuring the inputs and outputs by employees is not always easy. Both theories are important to managers who are able to know what changes they should implement in order to increase the productivity of the employees and the organisation generally. Bill Conaty captures the spirit of equity and expectancy theory. His advice is that employers ought to have more humane attitudes towards their employees. Employees ought to have some freedom and it is vital that rules should be made flexible with employees having time to relax at the place of work. Employees expect fair treatment and they need to feel that they are not worse in comparison to employees in similar positions. Therefore, his advice is on point with regard to the motivation of employees. Motivating layoff survivors After a layoff, many employees get into a state of a limbo. The management ought to ensure that the employees are acquainted with the assistance program for employees (Dencker 2012, p.154). The program comes in handy in case of problems be they financial, emotional or personal. In house workshops would do survivors a lot of good. It is important to hire guest speakers who take the employees through ways such employees can manage their finances and work place relationships. It is incumbent upon the management that the employees remain hopeful and optimistic. The employees should understand that no matter how bad a situation may seem there is always hope for those hold on. The organisation should celebrate the milestone achieved and recognize the contribution of its members of staff. Fun in the work environment after a layoff A great majority of employers do encourage humour in their organizations. Still fewer companies make use of the therapeutic value that humour has in reducing stress among the employees. Research has proved that having fun at the place of work results in employees being creative and the productivity of such employees goes higher (Green & Butkus 1999, p.28). Employees who work in an environment where humour form part of the culture also tend to have less sick leaves. After a layoff, it is stimulating to employees to have some level of freedom in determining the kind of dress they should wear to work and they will tend to be more effective and feel at ease when they are themselves (Staufenbiel & Konig 2010, p.105). The organisation could provide some place where equipment to keep the employees fit is kept. Once in a while, the office could have a meal together or perhaps to out for a movie. Another way of bringing in humour at the work place would be to organize events whereby each employee gets an opportunity to showcase their talent. Conclusion The subject of employee layoff is a traumatising one. A great majority of employees cannot imagine having to begin their lives all over again after losing a job. The employees who survive the downsizing process are also left traumatized, although for a different reason. The management therefore has a great responsibility of striking a balance between the needs of the employees and the needs of the organisation. It is important to note that it is only when there is a balance between the needs of an employee and the employer that a sustained and fruitful relationship can be achieved. Difficult decisions have to be made by the management but this does not remove the necessity of communicating of the different goals and major changes facing the organization. Teamwork is a prerequisite for success of every organisation. Where teamwork exists, people are able to share ideas and this translates to better outcomes for the business organisation as a whole. Every manager ought to be equipped with the relevant knowledge to ensure that they do not unfairly and incompetently perform their duties. References Cameron, E, & Green, M 2004, ‘Making sense of change management: a complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change’, Kogan Page, London. Dencker, J 2012, ‘Who Do Firms Lay Off and Why?’ Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, vol.51, no.1, pp 152-169. Gilley, J 2001, ‘The manager as change agent: a practical guide for developing high-performance people and organizations’, Perseus Books, Oxford. 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