The Effect of Downsizing on Manufacturing Industries
The amount of information on the effects of down sizing on manufacturing was not plentiful, however one main point that flows through all of the articles is that even though down sizing may be done to help a company it can end up hurting them in the long run. In the paragraphs to follow we look at the effects that downsizing has on people and companies as well as look at whether or not downsizing is truly the answer.Parker (2003)Reports that in 2003 the expected job losses among the manufacturing industries in Great Britain would create the effects of rising input costs and oil price increase on the job cuts; Downturn of the purchasing managers' index for manufacturing; Decrease in the rate of manufacturer's orders. So even though these cuts may be necessary he pointed out that it would have an overall negative effect. The Midwest may be the focus of manufacturing layoffs and financial woes(Link, 2005), but according to this survey, people who live in the area of the country that includes Cleveland and Detroit in the low- to moderate-income lax bracket are using less of their income to pay for housing than other areas of the country. The study, dubbed the Housing Landscape for America's working Families 2005, revealed that fro
A second source of uncertainty (Palley, 1999) concerns the sustainability of the growth of personal consumption spending, which had been the principal engine of economic expansion in the past two years. In 1997, personal consumption expenditure contributed 59 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, and in 1998 it contributed 85 percent. Meanwhile, in 1997 and 1998 nominal personal consumption expenditures grew 5.3 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively, while nominal disposable income grew only 4.7 percent and 4.0 percent. From the Federal Reserve's perspective, this pattern is not sustainable since consumption is growing faster than potential output, which implies that the economy will eventually hit an inflationary wall. An alternative interpretation is that such growth is not sustainable because households must inevitably run short of financial wherewithal, and when this happens, an economic decline will ensue. According to this view, recession rather than inflation is the danger. However, it is not just this interconnectedness of negative factors that lies behind the increased plausibility of a crash. A second and more important factor concerns changes in the structure of the domestic and global economy that have diminished the presence of "automatic stabilizers" and replaced them with "automatic destabilizers."These destabilizers work in a pro-cyclical fashion. On the cyclical upswing they make for stronger and longer expansions, but on the downswing they make for deeper and more sustained contractions. Isabella (1999) reported that corporate restructuring can be threatening to a company's employees. But it can also give some of those employees' opportunities for career advancement and growth. General Motors reduced its work force by 25 percent in the past. AT&T will cut its payroll by 27,000. IBM will let go 10,000 workers. United Technologies will terminate 11,000 employees. Unisys will reduce its ranks by 10,000. Newspapers and business publications are replete with stories and statistics, such as those above, of organizational down-sizing. Although companies that down-size often successfully anticipate and prepare for the needs of employees being released (through outplacement counseling, career counseling, and job placement), they may be unprepared for the strong emotions, lengthy adjustment time, diminished morale, and lower productivity experienced by the survivors of massive restructuring. In fact, companies often have surprisingly little information about the adjustments and assessments of those ultimately responsible for revitalizing the company. How survivors view the down-sizing over time and what issues need to be confronted are critical questions for executives in downsized organizations. The survivors are too important a resource to risk alienating. Therefore, it is necessary to examine how employees interpret and react to a downsizing, the dangers of not adequately responding to their needs, and some traditional solutions as well as methods for searching out more creative answers (Pinsonneault, 2002). . (Palley, 1999)stated that for policymakers at the Federal Reserve, the goal is a soft landing, though some (those who continue to believe in the natural rate of unemployment) think a bumpy landing is desirable since they believe that the unemployment rate is now below the natural rate. Thus not only is the economy expanding more rapidly than potential output, but the level of output already exceeds the level of potential output. Consequently, not only must the rate of output growth decrease, but the rate of unemployment must also rise back to the natural rate in order to avoid accelerating inflation. Why is the gap between the potential and actual number of jobs moving offshore so large? Many observers think that regulatory barriers stand in the way, but MGI interviews indicate that company-specific considerations (such as management attitudes, organizational structure, and scale) are
Some common words found in the essay are:
Federal Reserve, Institute MGI, East Asia's, India Philippines, Chairman Greenspan, Indeed United, United Technologies, China India, Mexico Robert, Mumbai Indians, service jobs, labor market, stock market, global labor market, university graduates, global financial, robert 1996, palley 1999, global labor, output growth, offshore talent, rate output growth, stock market crash, employment multinational companies, suitable employment multinational,
Approximate Word count = 6356
Approximate Pages = 25 (250 words per page double spaced)
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