Statement of Research Problem Owing to the fact that layoffs are already a persistent phenomenon on both sides of the Pacific, this research will undertake a cross-cultural comparison of the adverse impacts and benefits, if any, every instance of layoffs has on the remaining workforce. Current research suggests layoffs trigger not just the expected apprehension and drop in morale but also dampened creativity, disruption in social networks, mistrust, job dissatisfaction, and increased voluntary turnover. Annotated Bibliography Gu, A. & Pao, J. (2006). Baidu folds software division and lays off staff. South China Morning Post, p. 2. In mid-2006, NASDAQ-listed and Chinese Internet search engine leader Baidu.com announced layoffs of 30 employees in three cities around the country. Directly affected, the company disclosed, was a software division tasked with creating custom search engines for businesses. The move appears to have been taken because turnover at the division ran to just 2% of gross revenue. Analysts opined that Baidu effectively abandoned this enterprise software venture to concentrate on its core business. As a sop, perhaps, to holders of the stock on NASDAQ, Baidu pronounced itself upbeat about a 44% domestic market share, the doubling of Chinese going online over the next five years (from 111 million as of December 2005), the tripling of online advertising activity on the mainland (from 4.6 billion yuan at end-2006 to 15.7 billion yuan in 2010), first-quarter revenue that was 300% better than year-earlier levels, and the launch of “Baidu Space” to be marketed as an alternative to Google Blogger and MSN. Lacey, H. (2004). Redundancy offer has left a lot of ill feelings. TTG, Travel Trade Gazette, 45. In answer to a presumably hypothetical query posted by a sickly junior manager who had received a notice of redundancy and felt aggrieved, Lacey discussed the pros and cons of what to do next. She counseled prudence in taking the employer to court primarily because, win or lose, this would adversely impact the dismissed manager’s chances of landing another job in the future. Besides, entering into mediation or court proceedings would entail time, expense, and uncertainty about the outcome. In the end, the settlement might even be lower than the offered settlement. Lacey also opined that any employer is within its rights putting a stop to the lost time and inconvenience of accommodating a frequently-ill employee. Other effects, the author ventured, were lower morale and dissatisfaction of colleagues who had to cover up for the absent worker. In the end, this advice article in a trade magazine did not offer any statistics or empirical research to make its point. Algeo, D. (1996). Hospital layoffs continue. Denver Post, p. D1. This is a news story about layoffs at Columbia-HealthONE, the largest hospital system in Denver. Two months after taking over the helm of the company, President Jeffrey Dorsey announced the layoff of 68 clinical and 71 administrative employees. This was the second round of publicized layoffs since Columbia HealthONE was taken over Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp., based in Nashville, in October of the prior year. The merger had been motivated by the goal of slashing operating costs. In keeping with this goal, the company claime