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Discussion Board Forum

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Jessica DB 2 Collapse

Downsizing Human Resources

The advent of economic crises often prompts most organizations to adopt a wide array of survival strategies such as downsizing. However, the subsequent employment of downsizing as a panacea to a firm's emerging challenges in a given market typically ends up having adverse effects on surviving employees.

Stresses owing to increased workloads for the remaining staffs can, in turn, result in lowered workers' commitments to an enterprise and significantly truncated performance levels, a phenomenon that is mostly referred to as the survivor's syndrome (Van Dick, Drzensky, & Heinz, 2016). Subsequently, managers who lead those that remain in an organization following a downsizing exercise should anticipate encountering some challenges in the course of supervising the surviving workforce as the latter is bound to a present company stewards with a plethora of issues like underperformance, job insecurity, and reduced commitments to a firm.

Through psychological after-effects of anxiety, fear, and mistrust, surviving employees often pose considerable threats to an organization's performance and future productivity due to the restructuring of small workforces to carry out seemingly ameliorated numbers of roles (Van Dick et al., 2016).

Due to the detrimental effects that downsizing practices have on the remaining workers often damages staffs' commitments to an enterprise and subsequent productivity, it is imperative for Human Resources Departments (HRDs) of such firms to support those that are tasked with directly managing the remaining employees.

An organization's HRD can achieve this by actively developing viable mechanisms of addressing the plights of surviving workers like the issue of job insecurity which can potentially induce stress thereby triggering a chain reaction characterized by dissatisfaction, desire to quit, and high turnovers (Van Dick et al., 2016). As a consequence, HRDs should make it their prerogatives to credibly re-establish a sense of job security in order to boost the productivity of all remaining staffs consequently improving a firm's performance and profitability.

Nonetheless, undertakings like addressing employees' job security concerns by an organization's HRD with the intentions of supporting managers in coping with workers that survive a downsizing exercise should not necessarily entail any indemnities of continued staff engagement.

In lieu of such warranties, HRDs can alternatively offer a firm's remaining workers an opportunity to enhance their marketability through company-sponsored aptitude and career development training (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2017). Showing employees that an organization is still committed to ensuring that surviving workers remain employable may, in turn, end up encouraging its staffs to reciprocate such gestures with heightened devotions to their jobs thereby boosting productivity.

Additionally, HRDs of enterprises undergoing downsizing exercises can significantly aid those managing the surviving employees to inspire better performances among such staffs by rekindling trust between these supervisors and their subordinates. HRDs can realize this by ameliorating the frequency and clarity with which the information about pre- and post-downsizing plans are communicated to the remaining workers (Noe et al., 2017).

Through convincing and easily comprehensible rationales on why a downsizing exercise had to be initiated, an enterprises' surviving employees' concerns about their job securities can be eliminated amicably devoid of any adverse retaliatory measures by such staffs like high turnovers.

Concisely, downsizing exercises are often marred by grievous side effects, especially on employees that survive such ordeals with the most notable upshots being reduced employees' productivity and commitment to an organization. However, through their HRDs, firms that downsize while displaying genuine considerations for their remaining workers' welfare and motivation end up overcoming the challenges posed by scaling-down a workforce consequently maintaining desirable performance and competitive advantage (Cohee, 2019).

As a result, it is paramount for enterprises to be cognizant of the unpalatable sequels of downsizing on the remaining staffs and the firm as a whole in order to minimize subsequent high turnover rates among the surviving staffs thereby enhancing the workforce pool of such organizations. Downsizing as topic can play a significant role in aiding readers to conceptualize God's nature and the need for business people to emulate such a character. While Christians may not necessarily be Biblically obliged to provide staffs with jobs, they are nonetheless challenged to be compassionate and kind to employees during company cutbacks.

References

Cohee, G. L. (2019). Corporate downsizing. Organizational Dynamics, 48(1), 38-43.

Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2017). Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Van Dick, R., Drzensky, F., & Heinz, M. (2016). Goodbye or identify: Detrimental effects of downsizing on identification and survivor performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 771.

SECOND REPLY TO RESPOND TO

Robert Falcon DB2 - Falcon Attachment Collapse

Contemporary Issues in Human Resource Management

Bobby Falcon

Liberty University

Dr. Waldo

Forum 2

What is the difference between training and career development? Of these two concepts, which is more likely to increase retention in an organization? Why?

Training is a specific action taken by a firm to educate one or more employees on the proper methods to complete tasks, or to make them aware of situations and hazards they may face in the workplace. Training often involves an annual refresh on the information pertinent to the location or job(s) being performed. New training can come up any time a new piece of equipment is bought, or when a new type of position is created in an organization. Development goes far beyond that which training is intended to do. This involves a means and method to evaluate performance of employees as well as providing tools and incentives that encourage growth.

The Bible says, "For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come" (1 Timothy 4:8, ESV). Training and development at work can be more than tasks for ensuring work is efficient, safe, or that a person grows professionally. While today's corporate environment is a difficult place to incorporate religion, firms can provide a play where its employees can serve the community through support of volunteerism and partnerships with local churches and non-profit organizations.

Development at work is important for firms that want to be attractive to work for. The time of finding one job and remaining at an employer for life is much a thing of the past so firms are tasked with offering more to keep good people. According to Noe, et al., "As training continues to become more strategic (that is, related to business goals), the distinction between training and development will blur. Both training and development will be required and will focus on current and future personal and company needs" (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2017, p. 379).

In the corporate world, tasks are changing rapidly, and workers are challenged with a continuous information flow. Technological advancements and constant innovation make learning in the workplace necessary for all levels of staff at a corporation (Billett, 2015). Billet writes:

The degree of discretion that individuals have in their work delineates the kind and extent of problem-solving activities and scope of the problem space with which they negotiate. This discretion is something exercised through everyday work activities, and not reserved for interludes intentionally associated with learning and development (2015, p. 228).

Training and development are both vital pieces that similar but unique roles in the workplace. It seems that of these two, development is of more importance to retention as this practice empowers and challenges employees. Management should ensure that adequate training is delivered to meet employee needs and that the skills necessary for doing the job are being included in the training program for the company.

Career development is a highly important part of what a human resources department should develop in the workplace and managers should support development as this enhances competencies for the firm. Managers should plan an active role in professional development by assisting subordinates with formulating action plans for their career development. Feedback should also be given to employees on how they perform and in what ways this relates to their development goals (Otoo & Mishra, 2018).

References

Billett, S. (2015). Work, discretion and learning: Processes of life learning and development at work. International Journal of Training Research, 13(3), 214-230.

Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Gerhart, B. & Wright, P. (2017). Human resource management : gaining a competitive advantage. Dubuque: McGraw-Hill Education.

Otoo, F. N. K., & Mishra, M. (2018). Influence of human resource development (HRD) practices on hotel industry's performance: The role of employee competencies. European Journal of Training and Development, 42(7/8), 435-454.