The Long Term Impact of Staff Reduction on Surviving Staff: Starbucks Experience

explore AimsStaff declines are often take as part of the restructuring of an validation, or as a response to economic conditions. However, the focus of the investigate present is to look at the long termination and whether this type of provide reduction has an opposition on the round that remain, rather than focussing on those that leave. It is argued, at the inauguration, that the remaining members of stave are often e rattlingplacelooked, as they are comprehend to be the lucky ones. Despite this, the basis of the look into is that on that point leave be both a psychological and practical impact on those remaining provide and these issues needs to be pictureed with much greater tenseness by the management team up when looking at this type of restructuring. The deal is to provide a much greater agreement, by looking at Starbucks as an example, so that the management team is in a correct position to deal with these types of federal agencys in the futurity (F errie et al., 2001)ObjectivesIn frame to master this station and to look at the resistanter issues associated with staff reactions, it is prize that in that location impart need to be several focussed objectives. Staff reactions are by their very nature going to vary, depending on a variety of inborn factors and by universe clear with the objectives this leave prat escort that the overall declare oneself remains the focus of the look for throughout. The key objectives are as followsTo realize an understanding of the initial periphrasis or retrenchment ferment, including the impact of the heterogeneous selection surgical procedurees for example, the long-term impact is likely to be unlike where the redundancy is voluntary and on that pointfore understanding the involvement of those staff retained in the process is the first step to understanding the reactions.To understand the perception of individuals, depending on their role deep d induce the d ingestsizing p rocess this recognises that in that respect are sextette-fold staff being impacted on when each(prenominal) are do redundant as rise as the retained staff. These include the staff members who were non involved in the process, in the first place, as well as the managers, to make the ultimate decision. To appreciate the psychological reactions and individual perceptions of those staff members who remain inside the organisation, depending on the expressive style in which this process is managed for example, is there a difference between staff who are engaged with post-redundancy, or does it oecumenicly seem prefer qualified to return to a blood line as usual mentality (Armstrong-Stassen, 1993) Finally, the impact on the performance of the business over a longer time horizon leave whence be considered, looking at the immediate aftermath, as well as six months or charge one year down the line, with potential prolongation to the right smarts in which staff members then re act when the recovery process takes place. For example, it is potentially suggested in the literature that staff lack loyalty to the organisation and when general economic conditions improve may be more likely to look for alternative employment, as a result of the treatment they standard during the recessionary period. query Questions Two key questions emerge from this proposed inquiryWhich factors impact on and to what extent do they impact on the remaining employees, by-line a period of downsize or redundancy How can a management team look to mitigate the negative effects of downsizing and redundancy Critical Review of the Literature The literature in this scope has already dealt with a variety of factors relating to redundancy and the impact on an organisation, solely has not looked specifically at the longer term impact on the retained staff and the wider staff groups that may not pick out been like a shot linked to the restructuring and decision making.Firstly, it is noted that inquiry in this area recognises that staff members forget typically understand that there are often periods where it is essential to downsize or restructure, to such an extent that there will be voluntary redundancies. Klein (2009) states that, although staff will recognise this need, there is now also a recognition that the business managers are making decisions with the staff in mind, simply are instead looking specifically at the immediate business demands. This shows lack of long term recognition of business sustainability, when it comes to retaining staff loyalty. research by Machlowitz (1983) looked at the emotions of the individuals, following on from a redundancy situation where they were survivors. This looked at the immediate aftermath, from an individual perspective, finding that individuals typically mat up emotions of sin or isolation, as well as a feeling of betrayal, where they felt that the process had not been undertaken whole fairly. Research fro m Brockner et al. (1985) looked at a lab experiment where students were subject to lay offs, finding that feelings of inequality were emerging and a sense of disgruntlement happened where it was felt that the relationship between the individuals was in some way unfair. This indicates that where there is a redundancy situation, the vitally important aspect to consider is the process of the downsizing, rather than the actual downsizing itself. Anxiety also ranked as a driving factor, as there was the concern that others would be made redundant, in the future. These perceptions and fears potentially result in efficiency within the organisation reducing and the staff then being more hustling to look towards other locations for their long term employment (Hughes, 2000).The longer term impact of staff reduction and downsizing remains largely unexamined and the procedure of this paper is to look at how these activities can have an impact on the longer term operation within the business , by understanding the way in which the surviving individuals react (Cascio,1993). Further research is also take awayd to ensure that the management team understands the impact of the way they handle a downsizing process and that this can have a direct and unrelenting impact on the success of the business, in the long run.Industry minimize In order to explore this issue in more exposit and to create a relevant abridgment, Starbucks is being looked at as a case study. Starbucks presents an interesting opportunity for analysis, as it has risen very quick from its first store which afforded in 1971 to an organisation that has stores in tight 21,000 locations crosswise the world. Despite this, during the last ten years, the store has truly reduce its numbers, in the wake of the global financial crisis and lowering profits (Jennings, 2008).Starbucks was not seemingly on the brink of disaster and in fact keep to open up other stores across the world, yet chose to close 600 sto res across the United States, creating an interesting question as to how it impacted upon staff members where there were reports of a globally successful organisation that was still experiencing redundancies in their topical anesthetic area.Arguably, the reason for the downsizing in the United States was the recognition that they had achieve the upper limit growth ready(prenominal) within the industry and they simply had too galore(postnominal) stores. Takeaway coffee is largely a luxury product, with a restrict number of affluent individuals able to partake on a timed basis. Despite Starbucks being a popular location for individuals and being recognised as an outlet in which individuals can choose to spend a large amount of time working or meeting friends, there are some limits to the number of customers who are prepared to pay agiotage price for good quality beverages.With an industry essentially at saturation point, there needs to be a readjustment of strategy, yet there i s likely to be a reaction from the employees who feel somewhat jilt having been involved in the dramatic growth and now suffering from their own success and hard work. This type of reduction is therefore especially interesting, as it is a reaction within the industry, rather than something which can necessarily be attri simplyed to the staff members themselves.Research design The research design for this paper is bad-temperedly important, as it involves looking at the feelings and reactions of individuals, thus making it a different type of research than simply collecting statistical data and then analysing this in a quantitative manner. In order to look at the reactions of individuals to a downsizing scenario, it is undeniable to consider a decently broad range of individuals, to gain any material understanding of exactly what is actually going on and the way in which individuals react. Different individuals will of course react differently to a downsizing scenario. Certain in dividuals may even view this as an opportunity to further their own position, as there will be less competition within the organisation when it comes to securing their future others will be much less positive, despite both individuals being part of the same process (Vahtera et al., 1997).For this reason, the primary method of research will be a detailed case study of precisely what is chance within the organisation. This will include an understanding of the management theory behind the downsizing, before then going on to undertake a relatively detailed questionnaire with individuals from a variety of different locations, all of whom have been affect by the downsizing in some way, as well as completing at least two focus groups where individuals are brought unneurotic to discuss their experiences. This form of research is particularly important in this scenario, receivable to the fact that when individuals are left to openly discuss their thoughts and feelings, it is likely that they will open up and produce a much deeper understanding of their reactions (Weca, 2008). data Analysis Plan Due to the soft nature of the research planned, the necessary data analysis also needs to be sufficiently open to looking at individual reactions and trying to find consistency of patterns of behaviours or thoughts. For this reason, the questionnaires will involve a quantitative analysis of the results, which will strain an understanding of any patterns being formed, before then looking towards the qualitative aspect of the research, in order to understand why certain responses have been obtained. By taking this two-stage approach, it is anticipated that the overall conclusions will have sufficient certainty, based on the quantitative analysis and will also be able to add to the understanding, through the use of individual thoughts and responses. A particular concern does arise, however, that there will be some limitations in the the true of the research. Firstly, the r esearch focuses on survivors within a certain location or organisation and there may be an unwillingness of the individuals to be all told open approximately their thoughts and feelings, for fear of jeopardising their own position in the future. in that location are also likely to be limitations, due to the fact that this research is focusing on one organisation alone and downsizing may have different responses in different organisations (Stone, 2008).By ensuring that any results obtained are dealt with anonymously, this will assist in some way to ensure greater accuracy. Nevertheless, there will always be the need to recognise that interviewing survivors of a redundancy process is potentially a skewed approach and some individuals are going to present an inaccurate picture, purely to further their own position, or at least to protect it. On balance, however, this overall analysis is likely to present the most balanced result and also chip in some themes and generalisations whic h will be useful for the future.ConclusionIn conclusion, understanding the impact of a downsizing programme on surviving staff members is crucial to the approach taken by the management team and any such situations in the future, either within the same organisation or for management teams of other organisations (Schwaner-Albright, 2008). Personal reactions to a situation can be somewhat difficult to appreciate and understand, due to the fact that individuals, by their very nature, will react differently to exactly the same factual scenario. The aim of this research, is to identify themes and generic strategies that may be useful to those looking at downsizing in the future, in order to ensure that surviving members of staff do not suffer from the negative effect of the redundancies and that the organisation is able to return to full efficiency, as soon as possible.Time-scale for Project This research is being undertaken over one academic year, although the plan is to undertake a ful l research and write-up within eight months. The following chart depicts the general approach that is being followed. 12345678 Background, Aims and Objectives Literature Review Research Design Research Collection Analysis of Research Writing Up Revisiting and CheckingThe majority of this research will involve the collection of primary data and the analysis of the research findings that have then been collected. It is anticipated that there will need to be several re-visits to the original data, as new nurture or themes arise. For example, analysing questionnaires will provide a strong starting point for the focus groups, but following the focus groups, it may then be necessary to go rear to the questionnaires to further explore certain key issues. It is for this reason that the research collection and analysis of research findings takes up such a real(a) part of the time allowed.There is a degree of flexibility in this process and the research will be sufficiently flexible to ens ure that the key points arising from both the case study, conducted as part of the literature go off and the research collection, is able to take a longer period of time, if required.ResourcesAs noted previously, the research is focusing entirely on the experience of individuals within one organisation. Therefore, good access to those individuals will be an essential grammatical constituent of ensuring that this research is conducted in sufficient depth. It is also noted at the outset that one of the main aims of this research is to provide the management team with steering as to how it can better manage a downsizing operation in the future and therefore having management support in order to gain access to key individuals is a necessary resource.Secondly, understanding the responses accredited and looking at existing literature will also require access to a variety of different publications, although this can largely be obtained through library facilities.On balance, the key res ource within this research is the ability to speak to a variety of individuals who have survived the downsizing process in Starbucks. This will require the management team to be completely supportive of the overall agenda. Individuals may be reluctant to speak about the subject or do not feel that the management team is supportive of this. No specific software is required for the analysis, although Microsoft Office retinue including Excel will be useful, in order to collate the information received. References Armstrong-Stassen, M. (1993). Survivors reactions to a workforce reduction A comparison of blue-collar workers and their supervisors. Canadian daybook of Administrative Sciences, 10 334-343.Cascio, W. F. (1993). Downsizing What do we knowWhat have we learnedAcademy of care Executive, 7 95-106.Ferrie, J. E., Shipley, M. J., Marmot, M. G., Martikainen, P., Stansfield, S. A., & Smith, G. D. (2001). Job insecurity in white-collar workers Toward an explanation of associations wi th health. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 6 26-42.Hughes, J. (2000). Avoidance of emotional pain during downsizing in a public agency. Consulting Psychology Journal Practice and Research, 52 256-268.Jennings, L. (2008). Starbucks to pull breakfast items, shut 100 units, put focus back on java. Nations Restaurant News. Online Version published 11th February 2008, reproduced in bnet.com, on hand(predicate) from http//findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_6_42/ai_n24267543 Accessed 12/11/2014.Kivimaki, M., Vahtera, J., Pentti, J., & Ferrie, J. (2000). Factors underlying the effectsof organisational downsizing on health of employees Longitudinal cohort study.British medical examination Journal, 320 971-976.Schwaner-Albright, O., (2008). Tasting the future of Starbucks coffee from a new machine. The New York Times. Online Version. create March 26th 2008, available from http//www.nytimes.com/03/26/dining/26starbucks.html?_r?=2&sq=starbucks&st=nyt&oref=slogin Accessed 12/1 1/2014.Stone, B. (2008). Starbucks Plans Return to its Roots. The New York Times, Online Version, published March 20th 2008, available from http//www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/business/20sbux.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq=starbucks&st=nyt&scp=3 Accessed 12/11/2014.Vahtera, J., Kivimaki, M., & Pentti, J. (1997). Effect of organizational downsizing onhealth of employees. The Lancet, 350 1124-1128.Weca (2008). Pay more/ stop reliance on Tips. Mystarbucksidea.com. Posted May 23rd 2008, available from http//mystarbucksidea.force.com/ideaView?id=087500000004hShAAIAccessed 12/11/2014.