Downsizing: Ethical and Social Concerns/IssuesAs a result of Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions

It seems you can’t open a newspaper these days without reading another article about some company going through a “downsizing”, a kinder euphemism for layoffs. The concept of “doing the right thing” when downsizing and those contemplating downsizing should consider this: Every action taken should be consistent with their values. If showing respect is something valued during good times, it should become particularly important during the bad.

The employee’s obligation to the firm is a moral duty to work towards the goals of the firm and avoid any activity that might harm those goals. To be unethical, basically, is to deviate from those goals to serve ones own interest in ways that, if illegal, are counted as a form of “white collar crime”. And the firm’s duties to the employee is a basic moral obligation that the employer has toward employee’s according to the rational view of the firm, is to provide them with the compensation they have freely and knowingly agreed ...