between good and bad management reflects the difference between making a lot
of money and making a lot more money. When times are bad, though, managers
are on the front lines with employees who must be fired, who are asked to
make do with less, and who worry about their futures. The difference between
good and bad management can be the difference between profit and loss or, ultimately,
between survival and failure.
Consider Enterprise Rent-A-Car. The company prided itself on never having
laid off a U.S. employee in its 51-year history. Even in the 2001–2002 recession
after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Enterprise kept hiring. In 2008–2009,
however, Enterprise was forced to lay off more than a thousand employees.
“These types of declines are unprecedented,” said Patrick Farrell, Enterprise’s
vice president of corporate responsibility. Gentex Corp, a Michigan-based auto
parts supplier, had never had a layoff in its 34-year history—until 2008–2009.
“We didn’t even have a layoff policy,” said Gentex’s vice president of human
resources. 15
Managing employees well when times are tough is just as hard as when times
are good—if not more so. But the OB approaches sometimes differ. In good
times, understanding how to reward, satisfy, and retain employees is at a premium.
In bad times, issues like stress, decision making, and coping come to the fore.