Final answer:
A large firm with organizational slack can handle the loss of an employee without it significantly affecting the workforce. This is due to the cushion of reserved resources that allows the firm to absorb and adapt to unexpected changes, such as during economic fluctuations.
Step-by-step explanation:
When considering a large firm with organizational slack, the true statement amongst the given options is: The loss of an employee barely affects the abilities of its workforce.
Organizational slack refers to the cushion of resources that a company has, which allows it to manage sudden changes without significantly affecting its overall performance. In contrast to the other statements provided,
a firm with considerable organizational slack would not be critically dependent on individual employees because it has systems and resources in place to handle fluctuations and changes, such as the impact of an economic downturn or the loss of personnel.
During a recession, firms face the dilemma of whether to lay off workers due to decreased demand. Firms may initially retain employees to avoid the costs of recruiting and training new workers if demand picks up again.
This approach is part of maintaining organizational slack. Furthermore, as firms establish themselves, the necessity of knowing managers and their plans personally diminishes, and they can attract financial capital from outside investors, like bondholders and shareholders, who are willing to invest based on the available financial information about the firm's performance.