Problem: After implementing efficiency-improving techniques, many companies commonly lay off hundreds or thousands of employees whose services are no longer required. And frequently remaining employees must perform more tasks more quickly-a situation that can generate employee stress and other work-related problems. Also, these employees may experience guilt because they stayed while many of their colleagues and friends were fired.
Questions: 1. Either by yourself or in a group, think through the ethical implications of using a new functional strategy to improve organizational performance.
2. What criteria would you use to decide which kind of strategy is ethical to adopt and how far to push employees to raise the level of their performance?
3. How big a layoff, if any, is acceptable? If layoffs are acceptable, what could be done to reduce their harm to employees?