You know the names of the most recent batch. We have all been impacted, in one way or another, by downsizing, re-engineering, restructuring, delayering and so on.

Re-engineering is a solid business management tool, but applied incorrectly it can cause more harm than good. Downsizing, when done improperly, is appropriately called dumbsizing.

The latest management buzzword isn’t really a trend. It is more a reaction to the last few trends. The new buzzword is brightsizing. While it provides more opportunity for comic relief, courtesy of Dilbert, it is no laughing matter. Brightsizing is downright dangerous and you need to protect your organization from it.

Brightsizing is defined, by Paul McFedries’ Word Spy, as “corporate downsizing in which the brightest workers are let go. This happens when a company lays off those workers with the least seniority, but its those young workers who are often the best trained and educated.”

Sometimes brightsizing is blamed on union contracts, which enforce seniority-based hiring/firing practices. It is, unfortunately, just as common in non-union companies.

Many companies have policy statements in their employee handbooks that state that in layoff decisions “among equally qualified candidates preference will be given to the employee with the greatest seniority.”

When faced with decisions that will result in a reduction in staff, make sure you first evaluate the value of the employee to the organization and THEN look at other mitigating factors, such as length of time with the company.

One company I worked with kept an individual with them because he was one of their first employees. They kept finding jobs he could do as the company grew rapidly and outgrew his capabilities. Eventually, the made him responsible for picking up dignitaries at the airport and bringing them to the office.

While I believe in company loyalty and retraining employees, you have to draw the line somewhere based on performance and value to the company. The driver had gotten old, was nearly blind, and could not even converse socially with the dignitaries he picked up. He did not make a good first impression for the company.

This individual, incidentally, became an even greater liability to the company because he never adjusted to the changing social rules on interpersonal conduct. His remarks and actions were usually dismissed because “he’s just a harmless old man”, but the potential for a harassment lawsuit was significant.

Remember, your first obligation is to the health of your company, not to any individual. While it is important that you respect your employees as a group, and always treat them fairly, you can not sacrifice the company for any individual. If the company suffers as a result of poor personnel decisions on your part, it may result in further downsizing and more employees would have to be released.

Don’t brightsize your company by keeping people with the greatest seniority. Don’t cripple it, either, by applying any other arbitrary measurement. Don’t just keep the tall people, for instance, or the blondes. Don’t keep people just because they are friendly or dependable. Make all your staffing decisions based on what is best for the company.

There are three different top business management techniques out there. These business management techniques include the autocratic technique, the paternalistic technique or the democratic technique. Here we will do a comparison of the top business management techniques, including the good and bad of all three techniques.

The autocratic technique of business management is for a manager who likes to make all the decisions themselves. The autocratic manager likes to closely supervise their employees along with controlling those employees. These managers give orders and don’t listen to the employees. The orders are to be followed in an autocratic business management technique. There is the one sided communication style which many employees do not like and have a hard time working under. This business management technique can work well however with a large company of low skilled workers. The technique can also work well when a company is in crisis and needs to have answers right away or decisions made very quickly.

The paternalistic technique for business management would include a manager that will give more attention to the social side of the business for his employees. This type of business manager will also keep in mind the views of his employees. These managers are very concerned on how happy their employees feel, almost the same way a father would. These types of paternalistic managers care more about the employees’ views and will consult with the employees on a regular basis. The manager still makes the final decision but for the best of all the employees. They listen to all the feedback from the employees no matter how many there are. The paternalistic manager believes that their employees still need direction and so this technique of management still can look like an autocratic technique. This technique of business management slows down decision making so is not good for fast paced businesses.

The last business management technique is democratic. In this type of management technique the manager puts trust in their employees and will help encourage the employees to make the decisions. These types of democratic managers empower their employees by giving them authority it the particular business. These managers will also listen to the advice and ideas of their employees. The democratic style managers need to have good communication skills for discussion groups that are common with type of management. The democratic manager also needs to be willing to push employees into leadership skills. The best democratic system occurs when all decisions are based on the majority view of all the employees. This is hard to achieve however and will lead to a longer wait in the decision making. There can be more mistakes in a business with this type of management technique because the workers may not always be skilled enough to face some of the problems they have been empowered to fix.

Ultimately the best technique for business management would be to incorporate parts of all these techniques. A good business manager will be able to distinguish between what types of direction their employees need and how to go about it. Not every employee is the same and so no technique will work for the business as a whole.

This comparison of the top business management techniques is to just give you an idea of what types are out there. If you are a business manager you will need to find your own technique. Look at the comparisons of the top 3 techniques and find what will work best for you and your business.