Deliverable Length: 500–750 word

Deliverable Length: 500–750 words Details: You are the manager of human resources (HR) of a shipping firm, and the CEO has approached you for guidance. He is about to make a difficult decision and is seeking your counsel on how to handle a certain situation. In an earlier staff meeting, you had outlined the following criteria to use when making a difficult decision involving employee relations: •Is there any precedent in the company that could not only serve as a guide, but which must be considered to avoid starting over? More importantly, could the company be charged with discrimination if employees do not treat person X in this situation the same as person Y in a precedent situation? •Is this just a onetime individual issue, or is the decision, in effect, establishing a new policy? •What are the long-term ramifications if the company sets a new policy to address this situation? •Which should dominate the decision-making process: the good of the long-term future, the rights of the individuals affected right now, or the cost to the company? •Is how the company decides to handle this situation that is arising in department A going to have a bad impact on other departments? •Will the decision made have any impact to the outside community? •How will the decision among this certain number of employees, or this department, impact overall workplace harmony and teamwork? •Will the decision leave the supervisor involved with possible problems regarding other employees? •Are there are legal issues involved that may guide the decision-making process? The exact situation the CEO is being asked to make a decision on is as follows: The company’s profitability has been suffering for some time, and its stockholders are considering selling the company to a larger company that is known for its poor employee relations practices. A major part of the company's operations are in a department that has outdated equipment and poor employee efficiency. The CEO has received a quote from a local vendor to do the work, that this troubled department is struggling with, at a better total cost. The CEO also knows that if the firm upgraded this department’s equipment, they could produce the product at an even better cost than the vendor's quote; but, he will need to convince the board of directors that adding even more investment into the currently troubled business is warranted. However, the long-lead time equipment will not help the company's profits in the short term. Therefore, the CEO is strongly leaning toward doing this outsourcing and laying off most of that department's employees, at least until he can get funding from the board, and take the time to order, receive, and install the new equipment. This assumes that his request will be approved, which is not a guarantee. He asked you to write your recommendation and explain which of the 9 criteria listed are the reasons for your recommendations. If other criteria helped you formulate your recommendation, explain that criteria.