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Layoffs, Dismissal Meetings, and Severance Pay

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Imagine that you are an office manager and you have been tasked with the job of coordinating and heading the dismissal meeting for an employee layoff. Propose three ways that a manager can cope with any negative emotions that may accompany an employee layoff. Describe a step-by-step process of conducting the dismissal meeting and determine the compensation that the fictitious company may provide to the separated employee. Create a chart that depicts the timeline of the disbursement of the compensation and predict three ways that this layoff may affect the company.

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Solution Summary

This response considers the coping mechanisms of managers when they layoff employees. It also looks at the steps in a dismissal meeting, the severance pay for dismissed employees and the timeline of disbursement of severance pay. The effect of layoffs on the company is also considered.

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Propose three ways that a manager can cope with any negative emotions that may accompany an employee layoff.

The strategies that Managers adopt to soothe their uncomfortable feelings range from compensating the victims with more attractive severance packages ( Grant, et al.,2009), searching for support from other people (Chia-Jung, 2012), hiding from victims ( Cameron,et al., 1993) or getting involved in hobbies or spiritual activities to soothe their feelings ( Noronha & D'Cruz, 2005). Managers may also quit and look for a new job as a coping strategy (Clair, et al., 2006).

The above strategies can be classified as follows:
1. Control oriented coping involving direct action or support seeking
2. Escape coping involving avoidance and disengagement
3. Escape coping involving job seeking.

Direct action is where the Manager provides a good severance package or other benefits like out-placement to secure a job for the victim. Support seeking is where the Manager seeks emotional support from friends or colleagues. Avoidance is where the Manager avoids the victim so as to escape from the discomfort that accompanies such encounters. Disengagement is a technique where the Manager distracts himself or herself by focusing on activities such as a hobby or spiritual activities. Job seeking is when the Manager cannot take the stress and decides to quit and take up another job.

The coping strategies can also be classified as follows (Aitken,2011):
1. Emotion focused coping
2. Problem focused coping
3. Avoidance focused coping
In emotion focused coping the aim is to reduce the emotional component and involves various strategies such as distancing, selective attention and making positive comparisons and trying to get positive value from negative events. In problem focused coping, the aim is to manage or alter the problem. The Manager, in this case will seek to reduce the ego involvement, find other ways to feel fulfilled, develop new styles of behavior or learn new skills that help him or her to cope with the stress in a better way. In avoidance focused, the idea is to avoid the stress in various ways.

Describe a step-by-step process of conducting the dismissal meeting.

Here is a step by step process to conduct such a meeting(Lehmann,2008):
1. Preparation: Dismissals can be the biggest reasons for lawsuits and therefore should be planned carefully. The reasons for the dismissal should be carefully documented and the reasons should be legitimate work related reasons. Make sure that no contracts or other legally binding obligations are breached and have witnesses to confirm the factual information. Having a script will ensure that all the issues are covered in the meeting especially when emotions run high.

2. Time and Place for the dismissal meeting: The place should be private, away from ...

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