According to the case study, the central argument is to determine the best method to lay off the workers. Based on the information provide, Division Manager Karen Howell wanted to use a method that is free and fair to everyone employees when it comes to deciding who would be transferred to the next facility and the ones that will let go. Initially, she opted that she would use the performance appraisal to conduct that activity. However, Howell found out that most of the supervisors of that department were not documenting the performance appraisal for their employees, making it challenging to base her judgment on those records. Therefore, she is in the dilemma of finding the right process that can be used to lay off some of the employees as not all of them will be needed in the new facility.
One of the pertinent areas of consideration that Howell can use to base her judgment is the use of a method that is free and fair to all the employees. Some employee might likely sue the firm if they find out that the methods used were not favouring to all the employees. Also, the stakeholders include the customers, managers, supervisors, and the employees must be noted on the selected method for them to feel that they are not targeted in any way. Moreover, Howell should explain to them the importance of selecting a particular method over others to base her judgments.
To resolve the central issue, Howell will have to employ the use of different methods of performance appraisal. As much as most of the managers have not been documenting those records, specific methods can be used to gauge the ability of each of those employees. 360-degree feedback is one of the methods that can be used to deciding the employees who would be laid off. It is important to note that 360 degree is a method of evaluating an employee using the data from feedback obtained from various stakeholders such as the customers, managers, peers and direct reports. It will be easy for Howell to obtain such data as it will entail finding this information from the people around. As such, any employee would not meet those criteria for promoting better feedback will be blacklisted.
Another method that Howell can use is the assessment centre method that entails enabling an employee to get a clear picture of how others view his/her ability. Such a method will promote transparency as it will help the employees to understand why they were selected to move to the next facility or laid off depending on how others perceive them. The use of behaviorally anchored rating scale is another method that can be used to resolve that issue. It will entail getting comparing the behaviours of employees with numerical ratings. In that way, employees who fail to pass that test will have no option but to be left behind.
Among the three possible solutions, the best method will be the use of the 360-degree method in selecting the employees. First, the use of that method will ensure getting the right information from different people within and outside that facility. It is important to note that the main aim of any facility is to satisfy the customers. Based on that, the opinion of the customers will also be included when using the 360-degree method to obtain that information. Also, such a method is likely to avoid any biasness as the ones that were observed when Howell was finding from the supervisors the names of the people in those departments who were likely to be laid off. The judgment of those supervisors was biased; they were based on how they perceive a particular person.
Based on that, by implementing the use of the 360-degree method to solve that issue, it will show that the process was free and fair. The credibility of that organization will also remain intact as the employees who will be laid off will be given reasons as to why the organization took that stand. What is more, it will be easy for them to accept those decisions as one single person will not have made it. The likely implication of that decision is that the data obtained from various stakeholders regarding the feedback aspect of those employees can be documented for future references. Also, it will showcase to the stakeholders as to why the division manager Karen Howell decided to select that method.