Surviving Employees after Job Termination Essay

Surviving Employees after Job Termination - Essay Example People's jobs are their livelihood, their sense of meaning, or, at the very least, a great way to occupy eight hours a day. The company needs to understand the ramifications of a workforce that has lost its job security, and should take special measures to make the process as painless as possible. Companies can be pro-active when faced with layoffs and help the surviving employees overcome low productivity, low morale, health problems, and an uncertain future. When an employee encounters the first rumors of an impending downsizing, their world is filled with uncertainty. The employee immediately loses the capacity to weigh the outcome of their actions, and creates questions about their future role with the company, opportunity for future advancement, and whether or not they will be ultimately fired (Paulsen et al., 2005, p.465). The situation where the workforce is notified by rumors presents an unwelcome situation for everyone involved. According to Cascio and Wynn (2004), "many employment downsizing efforts fail to involve employees in any decisions either about the process or the desired outcome. As a result, employees feel powerless and helpless, and there is massive uncertainty in the organization" (p.427). While manager or employee input may be able to smooth the process, they may see the decision as inevitable and be reluctant or unwilling to offer any input. This places the company in a position to act impersonally with aloofness and distance. It is in this scenario that the ill-advised e-mail used by Radio Shack becomes the corporate culture. Avoiding the pitfalls of the workforce being notified of looming terminations by rumor requires the company to be pro-active in their communication on the issue. To avert problems, either perceived or real, personal communication with the workforce needs to take place well in advance of the termination date (Brockner, 1992, p.11). Employees should be notified of the company's plans in an environment that generates trust. There is a risk that the period between alerting the workforce of the downsizing and the date of termination can be marred by a work slowdown or even sabotage. A meeting, or series of meetings at different levels, can be used to justify the reasons for the layoffs and assure the employees that it is a last resort alternative (Brockner, 1992, p.10). The corporate culture will also have a marked effect on this initial phase. A company that has practiced "honest, consistent, and regular communication efforts from the highest levels of executives on down" will be less pr one to the negative effects of rumors and speculation (Cascio & Wynn, 2004, p.427). Good communication before, during, and after the layoffs is essential to the effective management of downsizing. One of the biggest effects that downsizing has is the impact it has on the perception of job security among the survivors. In many cases, downsizing takes place in an environment where a company is struggling to make a profit and job security is already at a minimum. Job insecurity can affect an employee's productivity, creativity, innovation, decision making, and personal health (Probst, Stewart, Gruys, & Tierney, 2004; Alam, Robinson, & Pacher, 2006; Kivimki, Vahtera, Pentti, & Ferrie, 2000). In addition, the stress of job insecurity spills over into

Macroeconomic Objectives and their Importance to UK Economy Essay

Macroeconomic Objectives and their Importance to UK Economy - Essay Example Low Inflation The emerging objectives and macroeconomic framework has is expected to deal with challenges that come from inflation and economic uncertainty. The inflation is the United Kingdom stood at 2.4 percent at the beginning of 2013. This has been occasioned by a fall in price of diesel and petrol. The price seems to have temporarily stabilized. The energy costs have declined. This includes housing, recreation and culture goods. The macroeconomic framework is based on transparency, responsibility and accountability. The aim is to ensure that the government works through clear objectives for fiscal and monetary policy. The government of UK believes that constrained discretion can help in meeting long term macroeconomic grows. Under this framework, the government of United Kingdom is expected to meet the objectives simultaneously (Greener 2001). This approach is boosted by the fact that some of the objectives and complementary and interdependent with each other. Balance of Paymen t This occurs when an induced balance of payment transactions is zero. In this case, the government of the UK is responsible for influencing the exchange rates. The government is determined to ensure that the imports to not exceed the exports. This is done through avoiding fixed exchange rates and promoting a culture that is more productive that consumptive. The government hopes to control the exchange movement given the exchange rates is flexible. This might prevent the sterling from depreciating further. Balancing is payment equilibrium affects the holding of foreign exchange with affects the local economy. The government is developing a policy that ensures maintenance... This essay is one of the best examples of analysis of the main directions of the macroeconomic policy, carried out by UK government. Macroeconomics refers to aggregate activities carried out by government, individuals or the government. Objectives are the aims of the policy being used by the government. The government of the United Kingdom targets a consumer index of over 2 percent. The government also intends to ensure sustainable growth through maintaining low inflation and ensuring proper control on the environmental growth. The UK government has an objective of ensuring high levels of employment through increasing opportunities for full employment. The government is developing a grand macroeconomic policy framework that defines the roles of the major economy sector and how they can strengthen the competitiveness of the UK economy. The sectors include financial and housing. The policy intends to manage consumption. After the consumption boom, the domestic market created a strong demand that caused the UK exports not to grow as fast as expected. The State is acknowledging its failure in having a reformed policy. The plan by the government to develop a comprehensive macroeconomic framework states when and how the objectives are going to be achieved. It is possible to achieve the objectives if the steering committee remains flexible and responsive to economic dynamics. The macroeconomic policy framework intends to use better metrics and real median incomes in assessing the economic policies and objectives.