Methods of a business being flexible

Restructuring: 

:) - Adapting new machinery in order for the business to be more efficient & make products faster at larger output. 

:( - Training costs may go up - for using new equipment

Delayering: for example banks may decide not to have a manager in each branch and rather have a regional manager that oversees a number of branches

:) - Increase in communication & efficiency - delayering allows a business to get rid of layers that aren’t necessary to the business - increasing the line of communication & delegation

:( - loss of skilled workers as new people will take on roles - this may impact a business as they may see a decrease in productivity or even quality of goods & services. 

Flexible contracts: paid for when you work - workers are called to work when they are needed

• :) - employees have more flexibility to pursue other responsibilities - for example, they may have another job or family.
• :( - might be harder for managers to keep track of what employees are doing as employees will be working at different times.

Temporary contracts: when a business pays employees who are hired for a specific amount of time 

• :) - useful for when there’s high demand for a product and a business doesn't have enough resources to make the products in time to meet the demand - so for example ice cream trucks in the summer might hire more employees to help out.
• :( -  may not be as committed to the organization as the permanent employees in the organization.

Subcontracts: 

• :) - may see a decrease in operating costs if a business needs to subcontract 
• :( - quality may go down