Reply to the below post in 200 words. The reply must include at least 2 scholarly sources (published within the last 5 years) in addition to the course textbook (attached) and relevant biblical integration. All citations and references must be in the current APA format. Do not repeat the same sources as the original post; use the text or Biblical integration.
The prompt poses two solutions to reduce production costs during an economic recession. If I had to choose between the two, I would choose to keep all workers but cut wages for all. First, in times of trouble Christians are called to help our neighbors. 2 Corinthians 9:6 says “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (New International Bible, 1978/2011). This is the recession will not last forever. This means the company will eventually have to hire new employees to fill previous rolls. Hiring new employees and training them costs money, it is generally cheaper to retain employees than it is to train new ones. In fact, a recent study shows it costs around 16 weeks of wage payments to hire a new employee (Muehlemann & Leiser, 2018). This is due to the indirect costs of lower productivity and the direct costs of searching for candidates (Muehlemann & Leiser, 2018). Furthermore, depending on the type of product being sold, the company may even have to increase production. For example, during times of economic uncertainty the demand for cheaper “off” brands rise (Nevo & Wong, 2019). If this production company produces cheaper substitutes for regular product, the firm will need to keep up with the rising demand. Lastly, when making pay cuts, I would focus on the executives and higher-level managers. Employees in these positions likely get paid significantly more than the workers on the production line. A small short-term pay cut for those in higher positions could allow regular employees to keep a similar wage to before the recession. Using this method would create employee loyalty on the lowest level. The biggest obstacle to this would be to receive “buy in” from those in top paying positions.
References
Muehlemann, S., & Leiser, S. (2018). Hiring costs and labor market tightness. Labour Economics, 52, 122-131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2018.04.010
Nevo, A., & Wong, A. (2019). the elasticity of substitution between time and market goods: Evidence from the great recession. International Economic Review (Philadelphia), 60(1), 25-51. https://doi.org/10.1111/iere.12343Links to an external site.
New International Bible. (2011). Zondervan. (Original work published 1978)
