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Consultant and educator William E. Fulmer says companies existing in times of rapid change have to walk a fine line between stability and change. According to Fulmer, a senior exec of the Executive Development Center at Harvard Business School, the only permanent business reality in such times is change. Fulmer says a company's success will depend on its adaptive skills in three areas: its competitive space, or 'landscape'; its ability to maintain itself as a learning organization; and its leadership, which must be such as welcomes change as opportunity. Fulmer says an organization that masters landscape, learning and leadership will be able to deal effectively with change.

As the president of an auto dealership, you receive a letter addressed personally to you that states in part: [W]e entered your showroom ready to purchase a van. We ... [...]

For the past two decades, the master labor contracts in the major unionized industries, such as steel, auto, rubber, and trucking, have created wage and benefit levels that other companies, both unionized and nonunionized, have copied in their wage agreements. As wages in the major unions rose with the CPI and inflation, so did most other wages, from those in small companies to those in universities. But the economic stagnation of the last half of the 1970s and the first years of the 1980s forced some companies and some unions to break away from the master contracts in their settlements. When faced with a shutdown or a cut in pay, more and more unions are reluctantly choosing the cut in pay. The authors of this article say that the breaks in pattern bargaining are still few but maintain that in the 1982-1983 round of bargaining the patterns should fragment. Then, they assert, a new openness between managers and unions will be necessary to reach a rational wage agreement at the company and plant levels that managers and labor can both work with. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the first sign of union organizing, company management often decides to do "whatever is necessary to defeat the union," as one corporate vice president put it. Without advance thought or preparation, the company launches a policy of resistance and often winds up before the National Labor Relations Board charged with unfair labor practices. Sometimes the company even finds itself burdened with multimillion dollar lawsuits. Its hasty decisions to deal with the short run become strategic errors in the long run. But responding to a union campaign need not end up this way. Being prepared for each stage of the process of campaigning and negotiating, argues the author of this article, is the best way for both labor and management to avoid serious mistakes and to present employees with the information they need to cast an informed vote. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

One thing that a seasoned manager might not know anything about is what he or she can do, legally, when faced with a decertification campaign on the part of the company's employees. In a survey of managers who had been faced with at least one decertification effort, the author of this article discovered that many managers assume that there is nothing they can do, and most do not take an active part in decertification elections. There are things managers can do, however, among the most successful being holding meetings with employees and using legal assistance. The author discusses tactics that unions use as well and ends his article on a cautionary note. Rather than encouraging managers to embark on the campaign trail, he warns them that the cost of eliminating the union may be greater than anticipated at the outset and should be carefully analyzed before starting a campaign. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Outplacement services in the U.S. were originally developed by the oil and gas industry in the 1960s. Outplacement is the assistance provided by a former employer to a dismissed employee in an effort to help that person find suitable employment, and may take the form of psychological counseling as well as job search assistance. Currently, outplacement in the U.S. is estimated to be a $125 million industry, and is growing 34 percent per year. The advantages of outplacement to the former employer and the dismissed employee are detailed, as are the disadvantages. The discussion focuses on the lack of proof that outplacement is the best or most effective method to use when discharging an employee; however, a recent survey of Fortune 500 firms indicated that 75 percent of the people who have used outplacement services have been pleased with the results.

A review of ten manufacturing plants undergoing economic problems, seven of which eventually shut down, indicates some positive steps management should take when dealing with the possibility of a factory closing. Timing a shutdown and the announcement of the shutdown are critical; early announcing can create problems with banks and creditors and ruin employee morale, whereas announcing shutdowns too late can adversely affect the employing company's image. When announcing a plant closing it is vital to evidence concern for the displaced workers. Plant closings should clearly define employee benefits, such as the effects of the closing on: severance pay, the possibility of employee transfers, electing early retirement, and career and employee counseling available.

Analyzes the increasing importance of first-line supervisors' job in organizations. Pressures affecting the first-line supervisors; Role of supervisors in implementing effective industrial management; Concept of first-line supervisors.