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COVER
STORY
Downsizing:
What Executives Must Know
- - GRK Murty
Mornings
were quite brimming with `activity' kolahalam. There were
a dozen of the meach one of them must rush out of the house
either to catch a bus or a local train or a pooled-taxi all
by 8 a.m. For ladies, it was a real dance on the razor's edge;
serve breakfast to children and office-going men; pack lunch
boxes for all, including themselves; and in between, squeeze
out time to eat their breakfast. Suddenly, a discordant note
was struck in those action-filled mornings: One of them was
laid-off. Ripples of `recession' rocked the family. It was
the others who were more haunted and muted by the fear of
losing jobs.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved
COVER
STORY
Downsizing:
The Art of Corporate Sculpture
- - K Mallikarjunan
In
the simplest terms downsizing is an exercise undertaken under
a well thought out plan to prune the workforce to its minimum
optimal level. Metaphorically, it is nothing but the art of
corporate sculpture. Just as a sculptor needs a tool, the
chisel, for carving a rough mass of material into a shapely
figurine, corporates or business enterprises also employ certain
`tools' to ensure proper downsizing.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved
COVER
STORY
Downsizing:
A Panacea?
- - Sireesha Mamidenna
Laying
off people is always more than just a reduction in the numbers
on a company's payroll. Downsizing has evolved from being
a reaction to an economic downturn, into a corporate weapon
for projecting a picture of improved performance. The broader
implications of downsizing have been discussed in this article.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved
COVER
STORY
Corporate
Downsizing or Rightsizing? An Ethical Dilemma in HR Management
- - Radha Mohan Chebolu
The
healthy financial performance of an organization requires
perfect staffing and this might result in loss of workforce,
also called `Downsizing'. Downsizing as a corporate strategy
is discussed at length here, which brings to light the employees'
perspectives and the management's priorities. The makeover
of `downsizing tactics' of organizations into `rightsizing
exercises' is an effort to lend `sanctity' to the HR policies
followed by most corporate entities.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved
COVER
STORY
Downsizing
and the Loss of Psychological Contract
- - Daniel T Ashish
Downsizing
is not a new phenomenon. History holds testimony to the various
phases of downsizing since ages. Although many companies have
been able to justify their actions to downsize through some
immediate reflections in the bottom line in the form of reduced
manpower costs, there is no denying the fact that the phenomenon
has tampered with the basic `organizational fabric' and the
employees' psyche. Management of survivors is therefore crucial.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved
GLOBAL
HR
Managing
and Training Expatriates
- - PVL Raju
The
globalization of business has made many companies displace
their experienced personnel overseas to spread their operations
across national borders. Cross-cultural training of expatriates
is an extremely important component for the success of the
candidate on an overseas assignment. Such training processes
greatly benefit the organization by reducing the failures
of expatriates.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved
ORGANIZATIONAL
BEHAVIOR
Building
Better, Faster, and More Competitive Organizations Through
HR
- - Kajal Singh
It
is a truism that the success of any organization depends on
the extent to which it makes use of the human potential in
the workplace or the extent to which it achieves effective
knowledge management. People constitute the greatest source
of dynamic inputs in any organization. Development of people,
not only in their skill set, but also in their moral, ethical
and spiritual values has now become necessary.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved
GENERAL
MANAGEMENT
How
to Become an HR Guru
- - Scott Beagrie
Every
profession needs a leader and for HR and the business world,
they appear in the garb of management gurus. These industry
experts tell you what is wrong with your businesses and then
later tell us how to fix it, ideally coming up with the remedy
in the process. A-list gurus are particularly skilful at tapping
into feelings and have the gift of saying the right thing
at the right time.
© 2004 PersonnelToday.com. Originally published in Personnel
Today magazine and appeared on the online version of the magazine
on June 29, 2004. Reprinted with permission.
HUMAN
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
HRD
Through Training
- - P Manikandan and MM Anwer
People
working in various organizations need to be constantly updated
with appropriate skills that would help them to perform their
roles with increased efficiency, effectiveness, and excellence.
Perceptible changes have already come, with organizations
world over realizing the need for training and re-training
people. Due to the fact that training is an important mechanism
for Human Resources Development (HRD), certain issues that
ail training functions in the organizations need to be given
due consideration for making the training function effective
in organizations.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved
CASE
STUDY
Southwest
Airlines: Generating Competitive Advantage Through Human Resources
Management
- - Gopal S and Senthil G
I'
ve always felt that there's no reason that work has to be
suffused with seriousness, that professionalism can't be worm
lightly. Fun is a stimulant to people. They enjoy their work
more and work more productively.
-
Herb Kelleher, Cofounder and Chairman
Working
here (Southwest Airlines) is truly an unbelievable experience.
They treat you with respect, pay you well, and empower you.
They use your ideas to solve problems. They encourage you
to be yourself. I love going to work!
-
Employee Testimony
© 2004 IBS Case Development Center.
All Rights Reserved. |
