You are on the top  management team of a medium-size company that manufactures cardboard boxes, containers, and other cardboard packaging materials. Your company is facing increasing levels of competition for major corporate customer accounts, and profits have declined significantly. You have tried everything you can to cut costs and remain competitive, with the exception of laying off employees. Your company has had a  no-layoff  policy for the past 20 years, and you believe it is an important part of the organization’s culture. However, you are experiencing mounting pressure to increase your firm’s performance, and your no-layoff policy has been questioned by shareholders. Even though you haven’t decided whether to lay off employees and thus break with a 20-year tradition for your company, rumors are rampant in your organization that something is afoot, and employees are worried. You are meeting today to address this problem. 1. Develop a list of options and potential courses  

 

of action to address the heightened competition and decline in profitability that your company has been experiencing. 2. Choose your preferred course of action, and justify why you will take this route. 3. Describe how you will communicate your decision to employees. 4. If your preferred option involves a layoff, justify why. If it doesn’t involve a layoff, explain why.