Assessment Activity #1
Student’s Name
Institutional
Affiliation
Assessment Activity #1
Memorandum
To: PlayPaws Silent Partners
From: PlayPaws Management
Date: 13/12/2018
Re: Cutting Costs
The memo is aimed at reevaluating the nature of employment for full-time employees at the company PlayPaws. The analysis is in the light of recent financial challenges that have led to difficulty in maintaining expenses.
Silent Partners
You are concerned that with the recent economic downturn that has affected our ability to maintain the high-cost expenses. Profits have plummeted, and have therefore affected our ability to incur these expenses on a long-term scale. You would now wish to employ more part-time workers, replacing them with one of the full-time employees because you believe this will be more economical on a long-term level. You believe this to be the case because part-time employees are paid by the hour while the full-time employee will likely receive their full salary in addition to other benefits.
Employees
The employees are concerned with being able to work full time and avoid being laid off because of the economic downturn. Customer service provided by employees, whether part time or full time, is essential for the continued success of the company (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2014). Because the economy is not performing at its full capacity, employees are worried that should they be laid off, they will be unable to find employment elsewhere in the city. As such, there is a need to take into consideration the professional as well as the social responsibility that the management and silent partners will have in their decision to replace full-time with part-time employees.
Local Officials
The principal concern for local officials is to ensure that the community has mitigated the adverse effects of the recent economic downturn. Officials have specifically been concerned with the recent increase in layoffs, which means that more people in the workforce are unemployed. Financial effects of unemployment on a larger scale lead to reduced consumption, lower living standards, and an overall reduced revenue (Pigou, 2013). Therefore, officials are concerned with negotiating with business owners about how best to approach this challenge, ensuring that as people continue to cut costs, they do so without having to lay off too many employees.
Relevant Ethical Principles
The relevant ethical principles, in this case, include integrity, fairness, and concern for others. The integrity of the management will determine their capacity to come up with solutions they believe are the right ones. Fairness involves treating each stakeholder with dignity and respect. It also means that their interests are taken into account when substantial business decisions are made (Weiss, 2014). Here, an ethical dilemma will be reached because the interests of stakeholders (employees and silent partners) have a direct conflict. When managers are concerned for others on an ethical level, they are interested in their well-being beyond the professional sphere. It would, therefore, allow the manager to develop empathy for employees, finding ways of avoiding further downsizing for their sake.
Decision
Firing a full-time employee and leaving only one to manage the company will
lead to burnout and overall dissatisfaction with
the employee as their work and responsibilities increase. Therefore, it will be
highly detrimental to the overall customer service. It is essential to maintain the two part-time workers and consider looking at other
areas in the business in which costs can be cut.
For instance, the monthly expenses in advertising can be significantly reduced if the partners agree to switch to online
as opposed to print advertising.
References
Carroll, A., & Buchholtz, A. (2014). Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management. Ontario: Nelson Education.
Pigou, A. C. (2013). Theory of unemployment. New York, NY: Routledge.
Weiss, J. W. (2014). Business ethics: A stakeholder and issues management approach. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.