Blog Post 3

Last week in HR class I learned a lot about downsizing. My dad has been laid off from his job a number of times. Often times this was because of downsizing so this topic is close to home with me. I have always wanted to put myself in a position so I can avoid being laid off during downsizing. My major is construction management and construction is very cyclical. I know a lot of construction companies have downsized recently. This has saturated the market with qualified applicants, which is bad news for somebody like me who is looking for a job. It also makes me worry that in the future I will be laid off when the market takes a turn for the worse.
Something else that was very interesting to me about downsizing is that it doesn’t really work. I am surprised how many companies still resort to it. It is obvious that it has a negative effect on the performance of employees and also on the public image of the company. When a company begins to downsize to it looks as if it is going out of business. Also, when employees feel the threat of losing their job, they are afraid to take risks and make changes, even if they are positive. These issues remind me of one of my best friends. He worked for a company that recently started to do some downsizing. Although my friend was not laid off he was still concerned about what was happening in the company. This caused him to look for another job. He eventually found on and quit his job. He was the company’s regional manager for Eastern Europe which accounts for a large portion of the company’s business. These regions are now short of a manager that the company will have to replace. It won’t be easy to replace him because he didn’t train anybody to take his place. Also, speaking Russian is a requirement for his job so that narrows down the possibilities. This means that business will probably significantly decline in that region which will cost the company thousands of dollars, probably more than they saved by others at the company go.
We had an interesting discussion about downsizing in my group discussion. We discussed what else can be done instead of downsizing to help a company save money. Things like offering early retirement, employing temporary workers, and outsourcing seemed to be good alternatives to downsizing. The only problem is that they require planning and they also take a little longer to produce results. Downsizing can produce immediate financial results but in the long run will cost the company.
Something else we discussed in our groups was how much time is wasted while people work in the office. I know personally I have had jobs where more than half of my time was spent just sitting at a computer. I have often thought that there is probably a better way to do things. I think if people were hired to complete certain jobs rather than spend 8 hours a day in the office, employees would be happier, and work would be done more efficiently.