Introduction
It is the duty of managers to ensure that the success of the organization and the welfare of employees get first priority. However, managers are often required to make a lot of commitments while arriving at certain decisions to avoid any regrets or resentments thereafter.
In such a situation, a manager has to do what is morally right and ethical for the organization and its employees. In the case scenario, Wireweave is overhauling its workforce after having adopted new technology which will be more effective, efficient, and cost effective compared to the old technology.
This is aimed at enabling the organization to make a profit. Muriell Fincher, the personnel director at Wireweave faces the challenge of designing a work reduction policy that will bring about organizational change.
Scope of the problem
The current case involves a lot of moral and ethical issues. From the perspective of the Company’s president, Wireweave needs to get rid of some employees as it can no longer sustain their wages (Leffler, 1999). Like any other organization, the ultimate goal of Wireweave is to make profits and reduce its operational costs.
Although this is a very challenging decision, the personnel manager has to incorporate a policy that will be acceptable to both sides. The policy would see 65 employees leave the company as will further employee reduction exercise schedule in the future.
Major issues
Once an organization has adopted a new technology, this gives it a competitive advantage in the market. Even as the organization wishes to reduce its operational costs, it is also important to consider the welfare of the employees. These are two conflicting issues and the personnel manager has to design a work reduction policy that would be favorable tor both sides.
Alternatives
In every scenario, there are always choices or alternatives available to enable one get out of that particular situation. The different alternatives available to Fincher will depend on the ethical and economic responsibilities of the company towards the employees being terminated.
They will also be determined by the moral problems that may arise as a result of terminating the services of some of the employees, and the pressure on the president to make a prompt decision (Leffler, 1999). The alternatives include communicating with the employees and explaining to them the organizational change to be incorporated in the reduction policy (Kreitner, 2009).
The advantage of this alternative is that employees feel appreciated and this is likely to increase the morale of the retained employees. The disadvantage is that some employees may not be willing to embrace the new change. The second alternative is to draw a policy without involving the employees.
This would lead to their termination without notice and could result in lawsuits and a bad reputation for the company. However, this is an effective alternative because it is an immediate action that does not involve compromise.
The last option is to develop a policy plan that would lead to compensation of the employees and communicating to them about the immediate action being taken.
The advantage of this policy is that all employees retained and those who gets terminated feel appreciated and their efforts are awarded. The limitation is that the management may not accept the clause of compensating the employees.
Best alternative
The most preferred alternative is having a work reduction policy that compensates employees and communicates to them the likely changes in the organization on a face to face basis. In this case, the moral ethics of the retained employees would be addressed.
In addition, the company would assume responsibility of their employees, and the urgency by Jackson for prompt action would be achieved. At the end of the day, the moral and ethical values would be safeguarded and conflicts as a result of organizational change managed (Kreitner, 2009).
Measuring the success/ failure
The success or the failure of the company is measured through performance indexes of the retained employees and the cost of production incurred (Behn, 2003).
Conclusion
The adoption of new technology by an organization is a good thing because it helps to reduce operational costs and gives the company in question a competitive advantage in the market. On the other hand, it can also lead to the retrenching of some employees. As such, there are a lot of ethical and moral issues involved.
Reference List
Behn, R. D. (2003). Why measure performance? Different purposes require different measures. Public Administration Review, 63(5), 586-606
Kreitner, R. (2009). Management. Boston: MA Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing.
Leffler, K. (1999). Critical incidents in management. Needham Heights: MA Pearson Publishing.