Assume for a moment that you are the owner – CEO of a small machine and tool company. You have 35 employees, most of whom are highly skilled machinists who belong to Local 999 of the International Brotherhood of Good Guys Union. Generally, you are an open manager with an abiding sense of fair play and ethics. For this reason, you have been able to attract workers who are skilled and committed to the company’s long-term success. In fact, labor relations are calm – even harmonious. For example, you have been paying your employees an incentive pay in order to increase productivity for the past 5 years. Two supervisors, with excessive self-confidence, in your company hired candidates who are likable, because they think likability will promote collaboration and effective teams on the assembly line. Now, however, you face a serious and unprecedented issue. Due to an economic downturn, business activity has taken a sharp decline with the expectation that things will get much worse. You have just met with your accountant who has informed you there is no other choice but to lay off people or reduce wages. Your initial meeting with the union representatives shocked you into reality since it was filled with divisiveness, arguing, name-calling, and even occasional profanity. After reading the articles Trust the Evidence, Not Your Instincts and Evidence based decision making builds the case for the preferred solution
Outline how you would use evidence-based decision making to help in resolving this case?