Downsizing and Empowerment

Ever since Roger Moore filmed Roger and Me, a scathing documentary of GM and the closing of its production facilities in Flint, Michigan, the concept of downsizing equates to most people with out-of-work, under-appreciated employees and ruthless, greedy insensitive corporate executives. However, with the continuing competition to retain a competitive advantage in a developing global economy and marketplace among corporations, downsizing continues to be a reality for many organizations. Yet, despite the particular insensitivity of GM executives in Flint, Michigan, in this particular case, downsizing appears to be a way of helping raise quality, raise productivity, empower employees and to catalyze the creation of a more satisfied, more loyal and more productive workforce. Concepts like downsizing and total quality management have been in existence for quite some time, but there is statistical evidence now available that demonstrates the effects of downsizing create empowered employees and self-directed work teams that often reduce costs and raise manufacturing productivity:

By most measurements, empowerment and self-directed teams work. Nearly 63% of the plants with 100% empowered workforces and more than 68% with between 76% and 99% empowered workforces report productivity (dollar value of shipments per employee) of $150,000 or more. Less than 45% of the plants wi

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, cost savings, manager and self-ratings of performance effectiveness, and employee satisfaction,” (Spreitzer, et.al., 1996: 643-644). One particularly effective implementation of empowerment exists at Malden Mills factories, makers of an enormously successful line of Polartec and Polarfleece apparel. Located in New England, the company experienced one of the most horrendous industrial fires in New England’s history. The President and CEO, Aaron Feuerstein, became a hero to working-class individuals everywhere when he kept more than 1,000 employees without work on the payroll for months at a personal cost of more than $15 million (Feuerstein, 1998: 1). Feuerstein has become the darling of workers and the business industry itself. While some heavily criticized his efforts, thinking he should have taken the insurance money and relocated somewhere with a lower cost of labor, others praised his efforts as being a visionary in the business arena whose people-as-resources philosophy should become an industry model. Feuerstein’s approach to downsizing is that it is a necessary evil, but he feels if it is done correctly there are ways to minimize the degree of human suffering that it creates. The philosophy of the CEO is so popul
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Spreitzer Quinn, Flint Michigan, Settoon Bennett, System FRCS, Spreitzer Mishra, Paper Johnson, Malden Mills, Edwards Welchman, Cohen Ledford, Aaron Feuerstein, employee involvement, social exchange, middle managers, creative solutions, exchange relationships, empowered employees, survivor empowerment, top management, etal 1996, self-directed teams, self-esteem job affect, social exchange relationships, job affect social, affect social support, edwards welchman 1997,
Approximate Word count = 3864
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page)

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