corporate minded game playing

Everyone talks about ethical behavior. some talk about practical behavior. When it comes down to the line and maybe a job, it all goes out the window and the head games begin.

For example, in a recent online article about the 'recession' and job layoffs, they discussed what groups of workers are 'targeted' more than others.

First off, in any business, times are going to change. It is inevitable. Anyone who thinks their financial levels are going to stay static over any extended period of time has no business running a business. You have to anticipate shifts in the marketplace, the local economy, etc and plan ahead accordingly to be successful.

Sometimes money will be good and you can hire more employees and sometimes money will not be so good and you might have to let some employees go.

It's uncomfortable, but much like removing a deep buried splinter, it may not 'feel' good, but once it's done you will be healthier for it.

Articles like the one I mention are common and are the subject of discussions in board rooms and managers offices all over. Who to let go and how to do it.

Because of social inventions like labor unions and lawyers, many businesses are actually afraid to let some workers go simply because they are afraid to be sued. ( This is not to say labor unions are always a bad thing, in times when corporations and business management are not looking out for the safety and working conditions of employees, they serve a valuable purpose. For companies that are not so negative, they can be as bad as the companies they claim to organize against. This is another story though that we will be talking about in the near future.)

Because of this, they contrive wild scenarios and lame plans for figuring out who to eliminate.

To be honest, the best method to use is productivity first, then attendance, after that, attitude. in that order.

There's nothing to worry about 'defending' when you base your decision on productivity. Who is getting the job done and who isn't. If you are blessed with a lot of productive people, move on to attendance. It doesn't matter if someone is a good worker when they are there, if they are missing a lot of time then they are leaving their co workers holding up their end of the work . It directly relates to productivity and again, easy to defend if someone feels they need to sue because they want to take money instead of make money.

Lastly, you look at attitude. If productivity and attendance are all near equal, then you look at who is the most disruptive. Disruptive people make it harder for others to concentrate and be productive ( do we see a theme of being productive here yet? )

I have been in management both in businesses I have owned and operated as well as for national chains. Ideally, you go for what makes the most sense. Unfortunately, sensibility isn't what gets used most often.

No, instead, they plan for "well, this guys wife is a lawyer, so don't lay him off" and " well, this woman has kids, so let's lay off the single guy who is more productive."

Games, that's what they are. It all boils down to being on the defensive and trying to plan for legal shenanigans instead of actually running a business.

What's worse is, this government is actually perpetuating these types of games by literally inserting itself into businesses and forcing demands and policies into place that have no place in these businesses.

'Corporatism' is bad enough on it's own. It encourages business executives to be lax in responsibility to and for the business and in some cases, because of governmental pre-requisites in tax policies, etc, it encourages illicit behavior.

Now, when you have government officials inserting themselves into board and vote holding positions, companies are running scared, because they know that unrealistic and overly social-conscious ideas are going to be forced on them when they may have no business being there at all.

Please Americans, just go back to plain good sense and focus on the important things in businesses. Productivity, fair pricing and being a good member of the community you are in.

Anymore of these corporatist and legal shams is beneath us.