Managing During Difficult Times: A Practical Guide (Career)

In every business or organization, difficult decisions have to be made in order to adjust to changing economic or marketplace conditions. Companies may have to go through serious organizational changes such as mergers, acquisitions, industrial strife, or downsizing. Whatever direction your organization decides to take, it's important that you communicate effectively with your employees to ensure they understand and support this decision.During times of significant change, leaders within an organization will have different responsibilities. They may need to convey what the company's new strategic vision is and how they'll achieve it. Leaders should share information in a timely manner and explain how employees' day-to-day activities will be affected. And when planning their communication, leaders need to consider different factors, such as their goals, audience, and strategy.In this course, you'll examine how different levels of leadership in an organization - senior management, middle management, and frontline supervisors - have distinctive responsibilities for communicating during difficult times. You'll also discover how to create an effective communication plan by using a five-step process that identifies the exact nature of the decisions and the actions needed to implement them.Then you'll learn how to communicate difficult strategic decisions in face-to-face situations. You'll find out about the importance of explaining your decision and the alternatives explored, informing employees about who was involved in the decision-making process, and ensuring that employees understand the effects of the decision. Finally, you'll be given the opportunity to apply specific communication guidelines in a realistic scenario.By following the guidelines outlined in this course, you'll have a greater understanding of how to communicate difficult decisions. You'll also learn how to gain the trust and support of your employees, which is crucial in helping your organization overcome any challenges it may be facing.It's a fact that companies sometimes face challenging times. Economic downturns, mergers, or even extreme growth can present challenges to the way business is conducted. Whatever the nature of these challenges, companies need to respond appropriately in a way that will strengthen them as well as secure their survival.Sometimes the first response to difficult conditions is to lay off employees. But that should be a last resort. Layoffs can have negative impacts, including a loss of trust among employees, which can be hard to reverse. Before resorting to layoffs, companies should consider other strategies, such a sequence of incrementally more severe cost-cutting actions. These can be highly effective, especially if you gain employee support for them.If all other options have been exhausted and layoffs are necessary, your company's approach to carrying out the layoffs can still make a difference. With the right approach, you can at least minimize the damage. But challenging times should not be seen as entirely negative. They can also be regarded as an opportunity for the organization to become more efficient and effective.In this course, you'll learn about how to manage your company's resources effectively in challenging times. It covers strategies for responding to challenging conditions, such as how to get employees to support cost-cutting measures. It offers alternatives to layoffs, and outlines what to do if layoffs are necessary. Finally, it explains how you can strengthen your company by taking advantage of the opportunities difficult times can present.

• | Author: Sorin Dumitrascu
• | Publisher: Independently published
• | Publication Date: May 14, 2017
• | Number of Pages: 136 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 1521292485
• | ISBN-13: 9781521292488