After implementing efficiency-improving techniques, many companies commonly lay off hundreds or thousands of employees whose services are no longer required. And frequently, the remaining employees must perform tasks more quicklya situation that can generate employee stress and other work-related problems. In addition, these employees may experience survivors guilt because they kept their jobs while many other of the colleagues and friends were let go.

1. Discuss how to think through the ethical implications of using a new operations management technique to improve organizational performance.
2. What criteria would you use to decide what kind of technique is ethical to adopt and how far to push employees to raise the level of their performance?
3. How big a layoff, if any, would be acceptable? If layoffs are acceptable, what could be done to reduce their harm to employees?