Foreign Policy of China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Foreign Policy of China - Essay Example China's total fertility rate is 1.7, which means that, on average, each woman gives birth to 1.7 children throughout her life, nonetheless, China's population is expected to grow over the next few decades.4 (PGR) This can be attributed to immigration and a decrease in both infant mortality and death rate as national health standards improve. By the late 2010s, China's population is expected to reach 1.4 billion. Around 2030, its population is anticipated to peak and then slowly start dropping. However, one of the demographic consequences of the "one child" policy has been that China is now one of the most rapidly aging countries in the world. 5 Ethnic and religious groups China has numerous ethnic groups (56) as constituents of its population. (Appendix ). The Han Chinese is the most numerous. Many of the ethnic minorities have their own culture and language, but many are becoming more like the Han who dominates the whole of China except Tibet and Xianjiang where the Han is still a minority. In the absence of an 'equal opportunity law', one is free to advertise for a preferred ethnic group for employment. However, most government bodies are required to employ at least one member of an ethnic minority. China was established in 1949 as an officially atheist state, and organized religion was banned and religious belief and practice were discouraged. During the Cultural Revolution, religion was condemned as feudalistic and thousands of religious buildings were looted and destroyed. The 1978 the Chinese Constitution reversed the atheist stance of the government and guaranteed freedom of religion. Many Chinese actually continue to practice a wide variety of religions. One source gives about 100 million religious worshippers in China: Buddhists 72%;... Trade has been growing rapidly during the reform period. In 1952 exports and imports were each running at a miserable US$1 billion. By 1970 they were just over double that, though world trade had expanded many times since 1952. The limited opening up that occurred in the late Mao period brought exports and imports each to about US$7.5billion, only slightly better. Then under Deng Xiaoping, two-way trade shot up: from less than US$15billion in 1975, it grew to $38billion in 1980, nearly $70billion in 1985, and $115billion by 1990. The rapid growth continued in the 1990s, especially after Deng's southern tour in January 1992, and by 1999 two-way trade was worth US$360bn. Imports were balanced with exports when the two were too small to be worth worrying about, then in the 1980s imports exceed exports, and in most years in the 1990s there was a substantial trade surplus. China's foreign trade figures were US $1150 billion in 2004, more than double that of 2001. At the end of 2004, China became the world's third largest trading nation behind the United States and Germany. China’s trade surplus has been positive over many years. In 2005, her exports were valued at $762.0 billion and imports at $ 660.12 billion, giving a BOT surplus of US$ 102. China's principal trading partners are US, Japan, Germany, Singapore, South Korea, Russia, and Australia. With the US, China had a trade surplus of $170 billion in 2004, more than double of the 1999 figure. China has become an integral part of the world’s trading system.

Codes of Practice Essay Example for Free

Codes of Practice Essay 1. Legislations that relate to the handling of information in health and social care are: The Human Rights Act 1998 The Data Protection Act 1998 Codes of practice that relate to the handling of information in health and social care are: Codes of Practice – set out by Skills for care CSSIW guidelines 2. The main points of the data protection act are: 1. Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully and, in particular, shall not be processed unless- 1. at least one of the conditions in Schedule 2 is met, and 2. in the case of sensitive personal data, at least one of the conditions in Schedule 3 is also met. 2. Personal data shall be obtained only for one or more specified and lawful purposes, and shall not be further processed in any manner incompatible with that purpose or those purposes. 3. Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose or purposes for which they are processed. 4. Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. 5. Personal data processed for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes. 6. About the rights of individuals e.g.[10] personal data shall be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects (individuals). 7. Appropriate technical and organisational measures shall be taken against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.

Etrade Baby Essay Example for Free

Etrade Baby Essay A Talking Infant, Financial Systems, Golf What do a talking baby, stock markets, and golf all have in common? Nothing, right? Wrong. E*Trade – a popular public online financial services group – uses all three of these entities to create a commercial that has had people talking for years. When the commercial is over, you are left in shock at what you just saw, a baby in a high-chair talking about the stock market. But will the ad’s weirdness produce sales of the company’s program for years to come as well? Or just make it a highly talked about YouTube video? To the contrary, E*Trade does a professional job in conveying its message of simplicity to â€Å"average Joes† who are looking to either become day traders, start a retirement fund, or even banking. E*Trade’s main audience is not a person with a net worth or five million dollars. E*Trade is looking to sell their product to â€Å"average joe† type clients. It can be assumed this because E*Trade uses the financial term â€Å"401k† in their commercial; this is the most popular tax investment form everyone has. The main character of the commercial is â€Å"The E*Trade Baby,† but there’s a catch, the baby speaks with a mature older man’s voice. This adds a sense of weirdness to the commercial right off the bat. One may question the validity of a company whose commercials star a talking baby, but this is a clever marketing approach because if people see a talking baby, something they don’t see every day, they will immediately become engaged in the commercial. E*Trade uses a baby as a symbol for inexperience, simplicity and an older man’s voice for knowledge. E*Trade wants to show the audience that if a baby can you use the program, so can the audience. They also want to show knowledge, that E*Trade is a reliable and trusted company, so they use the voice of an older man to portray legitimacy. E*Trade wants to declare that â€Å"Yes, this is a legit company and yes, we’re simple to use,† so a talking baby fits in perfectly to both categories. Just like the Old Spice commercials talked about in class, the E*Trade Baby ads have many spinoffs with numerous situations the baby is in. The commercial I am focusing on is set in a golf country club locker room. The ad starts off with the baby talking to a man named Frank. The baby says â€Å"Ah, this is weak, man. Frank’s trying to not pay me my winnings for the skins beat down I just issued him. † The baby has now caught the attention of the audience with this opening line because people are drawn into the weirdness of a talking baby in the commercial. Now when he starts to talk about finance and what the company actually does, viewers will be already engaged. Not only does the talking baby raise questions that attract us to this ad, but there are many other. For instance, why is a baby playing golf with old man? And why is there a computer in the locker room of a country golf club? All All these questions have no answers but it draws us into the commercial and makes us connected to it, hopefully throughout the commercial we will find answers to these questions, but in this case we do not. E*Trade’s goal is to get a lot of publicity and attention with their commercials while providing us with the smallest amount of information. This is because E*Trade wants people to inquire about the company and have them visit E*Trade’s website us. etrade. com. Once on the website, people will be impressed by the fancy website that proves it is a legitimate company, and lured into signing up for an account The baby says â€Å"His (Frank) 401k’s tankin. Ya gotta grab the reins man. Get E*Trade, do some analytics, do some research (into the stock market), and take charge so I don’t have to subsidize your lack of skills. † There’s actually a lot of information about the company and its message all in that little saying. The E*Trade baby uses a clever balance a financial terms and jokes to put the viewer in an informal setting while talking about a big decision a person must make. E*Trade is not an elite company for only the â€Å"one-percenters† to use. E*Trade’s goal is to get skilled and novice users with just a little amount of money to open an accountant. Using the term 401k is strategically brilliant because everyone who works for a company most likely has one. E*Trade could have used any tax form number, but chose the most popular one to relate to the most people and with the current economy, it’s probably on the minds of most people right now. When the baby says, â€Å"Do some analytics, do some research, and take charge,† he is describing the job of the novice investor. The baby is now describing that when using the E*Trade software, you are able to look at analytical charts and graphs, read news articles and research about potential stock purchases and basically to take charge of your life. E*Trade does not buy and sell stock for you; you have to do it yourself. You are in control of the future and E*Trade presents the question â€Å"What are you going to do to prepare yourself for it? † It’s hard to tell whom is the exact audience E*Trade is trying to promote itself to, but assumptions can be made. Since it is a golf setting in a country club, they are focusing on males anywhere from 20s to 60s (the general range of persons with a 401k). E*Trade did a good job picking a wide range of ages with this advertisement, which is what makes it such a good ad! Since the ad is set in a country club locker room, E*Trade is also advertising to a certain class of people I believe: well educated men who know a think about finance and who play golf. Golf is an expensive sport. I think if you have money to play golf you would be interested and would know the benefits of investing. But are they also advertising to a whole inclusive audience with a cute baby to grab the attentions of mothers and grandmothers? Only the directions and producers know that answer. You can have a good commercial, the best commercial ever known to man. But if you don’t have the right exposure no one will see it. E*Trade played this commercial before and after Superbowl XLII on February 1, 2009. Back to what was said before on the age of the audience, 20s to 60s. That basically sums up the audience of the Superbowl as well; perfect. E*Trade picked the most opportune time to run this commercial and not only reaches its projected audience, but all 90 some odd million people that tune in each year to watch the game, and the commercials. Another part of the commercial that is important to take into consideration is the point of view in which we view the commercial. Since the program E*Trade is used on a computer, the great minds behind this commercial put the camera where a usually webcam should be. This is to provide a visual of where the user of E*Trade’s product will be using the product. This is brilliant because now we see the baby sitting in a chair in front of the computer using a keyboard and a mouse, in the same spot where we would use the program was well. The E*Trade Baby Commercial is trying to sell to their audience a financial services program available to download on the computer. E*Trade does a good job in getting the attention of its viewer and making a hard subject of finance fun and entertaining. E*Trade describes everything that their company’s mission statement says that they are, â€Å"A financial services ompany that is simple to use. Designed with the user in mind. † There is no doubt in my mind that this commercial will go down as a classic and will have people talking about the â€Å"E*Trade baby† for years to come. To respond to the question previously stated in the beginning of this paper. Even though this commercial will be popular for years to come, will the ad produce sales of the company’s program for years to c ome as well? It turns out, no. When a person is looking to invest in money, they normally look for a company that is well-reputable and well-respected. Humor is no doubt, un-debatable, a marketing tool to grab the attention of a viewer, but humor in advertising is very hard to pull off because you simply never know what people will laugh out. Some think it funny, others think it’s not. In order for a commercial to use humor, the company should be trying to sell humor. Clearly E*Trade does not sell humor.. Instead of a talking baby to grab the audience’s attention and provide a laugh, E*Trade should create a well-informative commercial that captures the audience’s attention and show how one can benefit from using E*Trade.

Different approaches to leadership and management

Different approaches to leadership and management In this approach the subordinates or employees have very minute opportunity to make a decision by themselves most of the time the leader used to dictate his employees and control them by himself. This approach is the extreme type of transactional leadership. In which the reward of the work is directly defined by the leader. This approach is mostly used in unskilled labour work where there is no or lessor need of skill or expertise are required. This approach often results in high turnover and high level of absenteeism. In my point of view Marcionne has used this kind of leadership. But because of his foresight thinking and proactive decision making pull out the fiat from the worst crisis of its history when it was about to collapse but Marcionne bravely and intelligently stabilize the condition of the fiat. Democratic leadership approach This is the moderate approach towards the decision making process of the company. In this approach employees are often called for participation. Although the final decision is made by the leader but the employees feels more confidence in decision making because they think that their destiny reward management and other matters are settle by themselves. This approaches although takes more time but the results are often fruitful. This type of leader ship is often used where there is more importance of team work rather than just speed in productivity. In case of Oticon Kolind established this kind of environment in its organisation and there was no segregation on the behalf of seniority or hierarchal rank but just if they want do a work they have to just ask from their team leader. Laissez-faire Leadership approach Actually this is a French phrase which means leave it be and in this approach managers or leaders often leave their employees to work by themselves.it can be proved effective if there is proper and effective feedback system prevails. This kind of approach often prevails where the workers are highly skilled and self-motivated. In Google Corporation this type of the approach is being followed. Oticon Background and market position Oticon was the first hearing aid manufacturing Danish company came into being in 1904. Oticon was number one in market shares of 15% in worldwide hearing aids products in the end of the 70 because their technology advancement in miniaturization enabled them for the mass production of hearing aids. This position was challenged by the invention of the ITE (in the ear hearing airs device) that was a better technological substitute than the BTE which dominated by Oticon. The market share of Oticon dropped from 15% to 7% by 1987 since the introduction of the ITE. Lacking the economies of scale from BTE, Oticon became the number three hearing aids behind Siemens Audiologische Technik (Erlangen, Germany) and Starkey (Minneapolis, USA). With these conditions, we can address the competitive requirements of Oticon in the audiology industry. Being number three is very difficult to sustain any profitable business because it cannot compete with the market leaders in financial resources, marketing, brand equity, as well as technology creation with the companies like Siemens and Starkey. To survive they need to improve from their current strengths of high quality and high cost manufacturer to agile company with highly selected customer focus since quality hearing aids is the standard of regular products. Steps to improve financial and market position. The strategic plan for achieving competitive advantage in this industry can be addressed using Technology advancement Economies of scale Customers Organization innovation. The breakthrough invention of ITE that eroded the market share of BTE is the best way for any company to gain the competitive advantage. The know- how on how the mass produce the needed hearing aids can realize the economies of scales for the new invention like ITE. Targeting specific market segment for the best ROI as well as making a company more agile is also valid method to achieve competitive advantage in audiology industry. After Lars Kolind assumed the position of Oticons CEO, he cut 10-15% of corporate employees and loss-money businesses. He also realized that the company cannot compete with two bigger competitors in technology, marketing and sales because of the financial resources. With these constraints, he could only try to focus on customers and organization innovation. Oticon was targeting the high-priced segment of the market as well as emphasizing to nearly 5000 key hearing aid dispensers and hearing clinics. In the organizational change to make Oticon more agile, he thought if he wanted to compete with big company like Siemens, he could not just make 10% change and expected to beat Siemens. This change has to be radical, the radical new organization will not have formal hierarchical reporting relationships but with a resource allocation system build around self-organized project teams Revolution in Oticon With the globalization of the hearing aid productions and the price pressure from the competition, the best production in the industry is not good enough as the foundation to sustain the business for Oticon. For Oticon to survive and to succeed in this industry, it will need to reduce total cost of conducting the business by 30%. With this figure set as the ultimate goal, a project for Oticon was formed as project 330 to achieve 30% business expense reduction in 3 year. To accomplish this goal, the current organization structure needed to be overhauled. Sustainable competitive advantage can only be achieved with an organization that is creative, innovative as well as flexible. Two tangible actable steps: Dialogue and Action can be used to support this conceptual road map to construct this new organization. This organization should be unique and fast moving as well as highly efficient. The basic characteristics of this new organization are self-defined role (employee can initiate, participate and assemble a project to complete for proper funding) multi-level role (every employee should participated at least 3 projects, in different fields) transparency (knowledge is shared organization wise). This new organization would be a team-based (project-based) organization without formal structure. Three key inhibitors needed to be removed for this new organization: (1) paper, the document that circulates around offices and (2) wall, the partition among offices. The dialogue and action is a more efficient way for communication. With the intention to disband the old, formal hierarchical structure of Oticon A/S, the process to establish an new organization is truly a revolution in business reengineering. After the cost cutting and tweaking the company, Lars Kolind started to turn the company around by producing profit of DKK 22 million in 1989. He knew this business model was not sustainable. He needed to use a radical approach for reorganization to find a sustainable business model. On January 1, 1990, Kolind wrote a 4-page memo (asked all Oticon employees to think the unthinkable) for change, it was the revolution needed for the organization change in Oticon. three critical issues of creating an agile team of 150 employees in head quarter could be identified from this case study (1) The disagreement among old and young employees on this changing process, old managers and older employees and young newer employees that felt the need for the change. (2) Culture barrier in Oticons functional departments that located in different cities, R/D versus Corporate administration. To create this cross-functional team- based organization, he need to breakdown the barrier among internal functional divisions. He felt it would be a disaster to merge these two distinct departments with different cultures. He proposed to have every department to third place to start a brand new corporate culture. 3) Kolind introduced new open plane office structure that removes the wall between upper level and lower level management and introduce latest computer and IT system which enables the employees to directly access any manager at any time. To gathering sufficient momentum for adoption of these new ideas, Kolind devoted himself to preparing employees to move to this new head quarter. He hired Sten Davidsen to manage the change process. Davidsen prepared a one-page map of the change process to informed the progress and steps for employees to follow. Three groups were involved in this changing process (1) one group worked directly with the architects and engineers as they designed the new buildings for the new head quarter (2) one group edited and published projected 330, the newsletter to keep every employee posted on the progress (3) one group was formed with 13 people to train other employee to use the new IT system. Monthly meetings were help to keep every employee with the concept of new organization as well as the new business model. Kolinds leadership in Oticon Without the production of new innovative ITE, Oticon slipped to number three market share in the global market. Although the tweaking of the business by cutting 10- 15% corporation employees and some money-loss business to turn the company around with profit. This cut and cut business model is not sustainable. Being number three, the Oticon lacked the financial resources to compete with Siemens in every business aspects from R/D spending for new technology, marketing, branding, even distribution channels or targeting specific customer segment. The only way to complete with Siemens and Starkey were to create an agile organization that can not be replicated. The thought of non-replicated organization was the main reason for the think the unthinkable Manifesto written by him on January 1, 1990. the only way to compete and survive is to create a total different organization that is agile and competent. As a CEO, Kolind had done enough to prepare his troops to march to the field for the flight. It is always the internal inertia of the old that prevents this advancement. The perception of the company was performed OK created a false impression the change was not needed, to see a CEO full charged for this radical change was viewed as trouble-some by a lot of old employees. Fiat Fiat is an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobile Torino, (Italian Automobile Factory Turin). It was founded in 1899 by a group of aristocrats and businessmen, including Giovanni Agnelli, in the northern Italian city of Turin in Piedmont. The first car produced was called 3V2 HP One hundred fifty workers in a small local factory produced 24 of them in 1900. In 1902, Giovanni Agnelli became the managing director. Fiats first modern factory, Lingotto, was inaugurated in 1923, and a more modern one, Mirafiori in 1939. Both were named for the neighbourhoods in Turin where they were located. Fiat cars first appeared in America in 1908 when a factory in Poughkeepsie, NY was licensed to make them. It functioned until 1917. Currently, Fiat has five factories in Italy; two in Brazil; one in Poland and one in Argentina altogether employing about 53,000 workers, about half of whom are in Italy. Fiat has been controlled by the Agnelli family from the beginning. After Giovanni died in 1945, Vittorio Valletta ran the company on their behalf until 1966 when Giovannis grandson, Gianni Agnelli took over. By the time of his death in 2003, Fiat had grown into a multi-national corporation. Apart from automobiles, Fiat also makes trucks, buses, agricultural vehicles. It invests heavily in research and development and controls such famous luxury car makers as Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Maserati and Ferrari. The company operates in 50 countries, and owns Ia Stampa, Turins daily newspaper. Currently Luca Cordero di Montezemolo is the president but John Elkann, an Agnelli heir, is vice-president, maintaining the Agnelli presence in flesh and blood. In 2008, the Fiat Group had gross revenues of nearly $88 billion. GM And Fiat Strategic And Industrial Alliance Quick facts of the case: In 2000 Fiat and GM enter into a strategic and industrial alliance (Fiat acquires a 5.1% stake in GM and GM acquires a 20% stake in Fiat). The agreement included a put option, which stipulated that Fiat would have the right to sell the remaining 80% to GM after 4 years at a fair market value. Fiat entered into the alliance to save its declining auto division (losses since early 90s) GM entered to keep pace with consolidation trend and to help its European and Latin American divisions. Synergies like cost savings, cross sharing of automotive technologies were focused upon. By 2004, Fiat planned to exercise the put option, but GM rendered it void because Fiat had sold its financing arm and had recapitalized. End of the alliance Mid-2004 GM agreed to help Fiat out of its financial turbulence. However, by end 2004 there were speculations that GM was seeking to sell its stake in Fiat and deny the obligation of the put option. GM argued that the put option was void because Fiat had sold its financing arm Fidis. Fiat countered by saying GM could buyout 51% of Fidis and that Fiats strategic freedom was restricted because the alliance between GM and Fiat stipulated that Fiat could not enter into alliances with others (relationship-specific investment). Fiat agreed to cancel the put option if GM paid $3 billion, but GM only agreed to pay up to the book value of its stake, which was $500 million ultimately GM pays $2 billion toget rid of this put option. Recovery of fiat Back in Turin, the break-up of the Fiat-GM alliance was presented as a triumph. Fiat placed advertisements proclaiming Fiat is all-Italian again. It was about to launch the Grande Punto a sharply-styled, larger version of the mainstream Fiat model and buyers in its home country got the message: Fiats market share took an upturn. At the same time his newly-appointed engineering chief Harald Wester was investigating whether sophisticated computer simulations could eliminate the need to build and test expensive prototypes and thus reduce development time. The result was the new Bravo, which went on sale in Britain last week. It progressed from design to production in a record 18 months, about half the usual time. Table of Contents Different approaches to leadership 1 Oticon 2 Fiat 6

Shirley Jacksons Symbolism in The Lottery :: Shirley Jackson Lottery Essays Papers

Shirley Jackson's Symbolism in The Lottery Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery', is a story that is filled with symbolism. The author uses symbolism to help her represent human nature as tainted, no matter how pure one thinks of himself or herself, or how pure their environment may seem to be. The story is very effective in raising many questions about the pointless nature of humanity regarding tradition and violence. 'The Lottery' clearly expresses Jackson's feelings concerning mankind?s evil nature hiding behind traditions and rituals. She shows how coldness and lack of compassion in people can exhibit in situations regarding tradition and values. Jackson presents the theme of this short story with a major use of symbolism. Symbolism shows throughout the setting of 'The Lottery,' the objects, the peoples actions, and even in the time and the names of the lucky contestants. The setting of the story helps to magnify its impact on the reader because it is set in a small town similar to the one many of us may know of, and that is symbolic of everything that we consider to be right in America. The story begins on a wonderful summer day in a small town. The author describes the day as very joyful but strikes a contrast between the surroundings of the town and the atmosphere of the people gathered in the square. The atmosphere is sober, where the adults ?stood together, away from the stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather then laughed."(268) This, in just the third paragraph, is a indication through symbolism of the townsfolk?s sober mood that something was amiss. The setting for the lottery also takes place in the same place as the square dances, the teen-age club, and the Halloween program.(268) This unifies our lives with those of the story sense we can relate to those types of events, and is symbolic in showing that even t hough this dastardly deed happens here that it is still the main place of celebration. Showing how easy it is for us, as human beings, to clean our conscientious by going back to a place that, on June 27, is a place of death and make it a place of delight. The black box is a good representation of the central idea to the story. The box is painted in black, which has always been a universal symbol for evil and death.

Knowing the Strength of Your Buying Power :: Nike Public Relations Retail Media Essays

Knowing the Strength of Your Buying Power Reliable news sources have publicly exposed the grim working conditions of people employed by contractors making Nike products in Indonesia, Haiti and Vietnam. Nike’s association with the exploitation of third world workers has fueled a worldwide boycott on their products. Positive public relations are very important to Nike, who has positioned themselves through expensive advertising campaigns as a very strong competitor in the market of athletic shoes. Those running Nike are very aware that any negative association with the company’s name will be detrimental to its success. Nike’s name has become synonymous with the successful slogan â€Å"just do it.† Their association with sweatshops is contradictory and ruinous to their self promoted image as the champions of personal achievement. Nike must maintain a positive public image in order to continue to seduce consumers into choosing them over the competitor. So, when enough people were paying attention to Nike’s unscrupulous business practices, Nike was pushed to respond. Through the boycott, concerned consumers were able to get Nike to acknowledge and address the inhumane conditions at the factories they subcontract work to. Although there has not yet been complete resolve with Nike, concerned consumers have shown their power to be heard. Through consumer action we can create positive changes personally and politically. Many publications -- the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Sydney Morning Herald, Life Magazine -- have reported on the unjust treatment of workers making Nike products. There are reports of children sewing soccer balls for 60 cents a day, workers being beaten, sexually harassed, collapsing from exhaustion, being fired on the account of taking sick leave, working in hazardous conditions, being paid below a livable wage and the list goes on. This kind of flagrant exploitation is illegal in America. We have created laws to protect the unempowered worker from being taken advantage of by the empowered boss. On American soil, we are forced by the law to conduct business with a certain amount of moral decency and through these enforced labor laws we have developed a social understanding and agreement on humane treatment in business. But, because American workers have restricted overtime hours and a higher living wage then those in third world countries, manufacturing goods here is more costly. So, to increase profit margins, many U.

Downsizing in America :: Essays Papers

Downsizing in America - INTRODUCTION - Downsizing, restructuring, rightsizing, even a term as obscure as census readjustment has been used to describe the plague that has been affecting corporate America for years and has left many of its hardest working employees without work. In the 1980’s, twenty-five percent of middle management was eliminated in the United States (Greenberg/Baron 582). In the 1990’s, one million managers of American corporations with salaries over $40,000 also lost their jobs (Greenberg/Baron 582). In total, Fortune 500 companies have eliminated 4.4 million positions since 1979 (Greenberg/Baron 627). Although this downsizing of companies can have many reasons behind it and cannot be avoided at times, there are simple measures a company can take to make the process easier on the laid-off employees and those who survive with the company. - STAGES OF DOWNSIZING - The downsizing process can generally be broken down into three distinct stages. The first stage is called the diagnostic stage. In this stage, management staff pulls together and determines the amount of costs and expenses that need to be reduced, and how much can come out of layoffs (Moore 49). This stage usually takes about two to three months to complete. During this time, the upper management reviews all financial records in order to determine how much must be cut from salary expenditures (Moore 50). This stage is concluded when the senior management has a detailed plan on who will be let go, and who will remain with the company. During this stage, there is one common mistake many companies make: lack of communication. The middle management is usually left out of all downsizing plans. This is wrong and creates a big mistake. Middle management should be looked upon as a valuable tool for giving input where cuts should be made (Moore 51). The next stage of downsizing is the implementation stage. During this stage the employees are laid off. The time between an announcement and the actual layoff should be as short as possible. This will almost insure that a panic will be avoided, and give a clear view of the situation at hand without causing mass-hysteria. In a managerial position, it is difficult to explain to an employee that he or she is being laid off, but Terrence Moore gives a guideline on how it should be done. Small talk should be avoided. Management should clearly explain that the employee is being laid off and be prepared to answer questions directly; avoid beating around the bush.