Leading universities in the United Kingdom (including the University of Manchester and the University of Birmingham), renowned charter and low-cost airlines in Europe (such as Monarch, Air Berlin, and EasyJet), colossal banks (such as the HSBC), iconic department stores (such as the British Home Stores), and the Sheffield-based Outokumpu steel company in the United Kingdom all have faced financial troubles and strains on their existence. As the companies have struggled, so have the people who worked for them. This is because some of these companies have ceased operations and trading while others have announced massive redundancies in anticipation of economic struggles and uncertainty, political instability or industry decline, or even unexpected increase in operating costs, all of which have led to employee layoffs. In the cases of EasyJet, Manchester University, Birmingham University, and Outokumpu, thousands of employees were made redundant within a short period of time. Some of these were introduced as planned and incremental changes, but most of these changes were abrupt, drastic, and rather forced, acting as a shock to the workforce staff. Situations like this constitute a stressful situation for both the management and the employees, as they can challenge trust relations and jeopardize individual and group performance as well as disrupt and confuse the group dynamics in many ways. Redundancy can also impede motivation for the staff remaining in their posts and generate stress for both those being made redundant as well as those who have to pick up after the former-not an easily accepted situation for those leaving or those remaining. In the new responsibilities and the workload, the remaining staff are also left worrying about their own future. In both cases, the stress created needs to be managed in the best possible manner. Support, mentoring, and consultations are vital for enhancing the skills and knowledge required in the new state of affairs as well as enhancing employee morale. Additionally, change needs to be planned and prepared for to the extent possible, rather than carrying it out abruptly and at the expense of employees. Evaluate the main forces for change in the organizations presented above and determine how could these changes have been managed. How could the companies have resisted change? (7.5 Marks) Evaluate the type of stressors that could be created in a redundancy scenario, and where are these generated? Determine how a company that is undergoing redundancy procedures can manage the stress generated for all affected parties. (7.5 Marks) O