I need answers to questions in the Your Task section. Can you answer part of the all Your Task questions. Thnx

Integrative Cases CASE 1 Reenergizing Employees After a Downsizing LEARNING GOALS wisest," she noted, "and they're taking away those folks' dig. This case will help you learn to evaluate and manage the con- nity for good measure." sequences of significant organizational changes, like down- Not that Andrea could argue with the reasons behind the sizing. As the managing editor of a small newspaper, you'll downsizing. She was, arter all, working in a dying industry. be assisting the editor as she grapples with the consequences Every newspaper, from the New York Times and Washington of a recent layoff. The case will touch on both the immediate Post down to the smallest rag in the smallest town, had a sliver aftermath of the downsizing, and also on how work will need of the readership of a decade ago. First it was 24-hour cable to be structured and reorganized going forward. After reading news, then the Internet, then smartphones. Each made news- the case, you'll prepare a report for your editor that will lay papers less central to the current events consumption of the out the pluses and minuses of a number of potential action folks in a given town. Corporate had tried to stay ahead of steps for reenergizing the paper's staff these trends when they bought the Blaze, an event that had been marked by a smaller round of downsizing as costs were cut, the paper was scaled back, and Tuesday and Wednesday KEY WORDS COVERED deliveries were ended. But there had been hope associated with those changes, with everyone assuming that corporate Task performance resources could help the Blaze reinvent itself and leverage Affective commitment new technologies to stay relevant. Job characteristics theory This time around, the Blaze is confronting a "new nor- mal." Its function moving forward will be to serve as a local Equity theory portal to the broader news resources offered by corporate. Psychological empowerment When folks in town log on to the Blaze using either their web browser or their smartphone or tablet app, they'll see a combi- Informational justice nation of local stories written by Blaze staff and national and Big Five world stories authored by staff at other papers under the cor- porate umbrella. Eventually the print version of the paper will Restructuring be a weekend-only phenomenon, and even that will almost certainly end at some point. All these changes mean that the THE SITUATION paper will need fewer reporters, photographers, artists, and Andrea Zuckerman had been dreading this day for some section editors, not to mention fewer assistants. There may time. As the editor in chief of the Blaze, she had been aware also need to be some restructuring and merging of assign- of the impending downsizing for some time. But the Blazements and duties. is just a small, college-town newspaper-owned by a large But that's getting ahead of things a bit. The first item that national conglomerate. So she had to hold her tongue while Andrea wants to discuss in her meeting with you is what to say the corporate wheels turned. She didn't agree with how the to the staff at the morning briefing. As the survivors of a lay- consultants hired by corporate had determined who would off that's being poorly handled, it'll be on her to restore some go, which was largely determined by who had the highest semblance of morale. After all, the last thing the paper needs salaries. And she didn't agree with how the news was being is its remaining staff giving two weeks' notice. In fact, they're deliverednot by her, but by a consultant who would be a going to need to be more committed than ever, because more complete stranger to all involved. "They're taking away our is going to be asked of them than when they were hired. She'll 566 INTEGRATIVE CASES 567 have to be somewhat careful with this speech, of course, as the wake of a downsizing. They've learned from experience the HR person installed by corporateJessie Vasquezwill that survivors sometimes need a bit of a bump to stay com- no doubt remind her. Jessie is good at his job in many ways, mitted, and they've also learned that "downsizees" occasion- even if Andrea complains about his general level of risk aver- ally need to be hired back, this time at the going rate for the sion. Jessie's primary concerns will revolve around Andrea job market. Corporate can justify such expenses because the saying something that could either trigger a wrongful ter- downsizing still results in a cost savings, even with extra for mination suit, or be used as ammunition if such a suit was the survivors factored in. She'd have to check with Jessie, but brought by a staffer against corporate. Andrea suspects she could leverage those extra funds in a cre- The afternoon briefing is going to be more complicated. ative way, to make the new pay structure match up with the That's where Andrea hopes to begin charting a course toward new job structure. the "new normal," so that everyone understands what they'll certainly there are a lot of moving parts to the kinds of be in for. The rumor mill has already been working overtime, restructuring that Andrea is contemplating. Although her role and many of the scenarios being floated might actually wind as editor in chief gives her the best "big picture" sense of how up being worse than the eventual status quo. So it's impor- all those parts look from 20,000 feet, it's still not clear that she tant to begin discussing the future look of the Blaze quickly, knows everything she needs to know (even with Jessie's help). to create some information to go along with the misinforma- On the one hand, it might be helpful to involve the Blaze's tion. Of course, Andrea doesn't want to make decisions about staff in the decision making, as the future course of the paper that future course too quickly, as nothing will undermine the gets charted. That would give them "buy-in" and ensure that staff's confidence more than a collection of faulty ideas that all the bases are covered as a new structure takes shape. On gets revised a few months into its existence. the other hand, keeping reporters, photographers, artists, and There are a lot of things to consider when contemplating editors on the same page is often like herding cats. What if she the new operations of the Blaze. The paper has historically asks for suggestions and the staffers take off in completely grouped its functions into five areas: state, city, sports, life- different directions? Once the Pandora's box of "input" is style, and business. It seems to Andrea that those five areas opened, it's not clear that even Andrea could get it shut again. will need to get merged into two or three. The reporters, pho- Although the new day-to-day work of the Blaze staff tographers, artists, and editors in those areas will still perform is foremost on Andrea's mind, she can't help but think of a the same duties: they'll just do those duties for a broader bigger-picture issue that hangs over everything. Will the range of content than they did before. But how to decide staffers still feel the same way about not just their jobs, but who to group? Some groupings seem logical to Andrea, but it their vocations? It was hard enough when the Blaze was first may be that the staff working in those areas would find other acquired by corporate. Many of the staffers had been attracted combinations more appealing. And it seems like the degree to "Blaze 1.0" because it was a small-town operation. They of enlargement" will vary a bit. Some staffers will be taking could live in a charming place with a low cost of living, and on just a little bit more, whereas others will be taking on a lot could do their work the way they wanted to. The more cor- more. The paper will need both groups to perform their tasks, porate "Blaze 2.0" brought with it a certain degree of stan- and perform them well. dardization, with corporate imposing some common work Of course, there's also the matter of who's willing and practices that it had honed in other, mostly bigger papers. But able to shoulder a lot more rather than a little more. Andrea still, at the end of the day, everyone was still in the newspaper knows from experience that this can be a dicey issue. Some business. staffers excel at a narrowly defined set of duties but struggle Even if a new structure works out, and even if the compensa- once those duties are expanded. Others seem to lack any limit tion issues get solved, the move to "Blaze 3.0" poses a more exis- to what they can take on, at least in the short term. But how tential threat. Is everyone still in the newspaper business or are to tell one group from the other, aside from Andrea's own they now in the web portal business? How much of their identity hunches? Everyone at the Blaze filled out a bunch of assess- is wrapped up in the feeling of seeing someone read the paper ments and inventories when corporate acquired the paper, and at a coffee shop or pick it up off a doorstep? And what does it all that information should be in everyone's personnel files. It mean for the Blaze to focus only on local news, no longer being may not offer definitive answers, but it's a good bet that the able to weigh in on world and national events, issues, trends, information would offer at least some insights. sports, and buzz? These issues hit home especially deeply for Asking some staffers to take on a lot more while others are Andrea. Not only was her father in the newspaper business, but asked to take on a little more could be a recipe for controversy. her grandfather was as well. They used to joke that "ink was in Indeed, Andrea's already been getting complaints about the their blood." One day there might not even be any ink. relative workloads across areas for years! In this regard, cor- Some motivational clichs could be sprinkled into the porate might actually help for a change. It turns out that they morning and afternoon briefings, of course. But Andrea's tend to budget more for compensation-related expenditures in never been the rah-rah type, and the pain of losing so many 568 INTEGRATIVE CASES 3. colleagues would likely cause such speechifying to fall on deaf ears. Maybe this is how encyclopedia salespeople felt, or typewriter manufacturers, once upon a time. Or maybe there's something Andrea could do to retain some of the meaning and "romanticism" in what the Blaze does. The paper has always been so focused on the day-by-day, issue-by-issue pressures of the job. Maybe it's missed some opportunities to do some- thing larger for the town or the nearby campus. 4. YOUR TASK Your task is to prepare a report for Andrea that lays out some potential courses of action to follow at the morning and after- noon briefings, and moving forward as the new course for the Blaze is charted. Be sure to provide not just specific recom- mendations, but also some thoughts that support those rec- ommendations, so that Andrea understands your reasoning. In particular, your report should touch on the following points. 1. Drawing on discussions of informational justice, how should Andrea approach the morning briefing? Should she be honest and informative in explaining corpo- rate actions in the downsizing, or should she be more there a way to give the new versions of their jobs a higher satisfaction potential than the pre-downsizing versions? Assuming the staffers' personnel files have data on the Big Five, how could those data be used to inform the deci- sions about combining areas? What would be the profile of someone who could take on a lot more, versus someone who can take on only a little more? What advice would you give to Andrea in terms of her use of the bigger compensation budget? Would you give everyone a short-term "retention bonus" or a more per- manent raise? Or would you leverage those funds to support the changes in the work structure, especially for those staffers with an especially expanded workload? What would be the difficulties associated with those two options? 5. How much voice and input would you recommend Andrea give to the staffers, as the Blaze transitions to its "new normal? What are the pluses of giving such input and what would be the dangers associated with it? How could those dangers be mitigated? As you consider the broader challenges faced by the newspaper industry, what could Andrea do to maintain or restore the sense of meaning and significance that the Blaze staffers connect to their work? 6. guarded? How could job characteristics theory guide Andrea as she considers ways of combining areas for the staffers? Is