列举选项
处理一个问题的方法是列出你的选项，然后选择最好的一个。 注意这里有几个单词的意思和option相同。
One option is to lay off workers with low seniority. 一个选择是解雇工龄短的工人。
seniority： 资历;地位;级别
A person's seniority in an organization is the importance and power that they have compared with others, or the fact that they have worked there for a long time.
We have to make some hard choices. 我们不得不做一些艰难的选择。
One alternative is to use attrition. We just don't replace workers who leave. 一个选择是人员缩减。员工离开后我们不会再招人填补职位。
Attrition：人员减缩;人员流失
At a university or place of work, attrition is the decrease in the number of students or employees caused by people leaving and not being replaced.
Another possibility is to offer older workers a large retirement bonus. 另一个可能性是给老员工一笔大额的退休奖金。
We may have to consider more drastic options. 我们可能不得不考虑更极端的选择。
优先选项
在列出各个选项后，下一步是prioritize（确定他们的优先顺序）。
OK, so our priority is to avoid layoffs. 好的，我们的首要任务是避免裁员。
First we push retirement bonuses, then reduce everyone's hours. 首先我们推行退休奖金，然后减少每个人的时间。
Only as a last resort do we lay off workers. 只有在万不得已时我们才解雇员
介绍提案
在列出你的提案前，提醒你的读者你们面临的问题以及你的提案可能会遇到的任何限制是一个好主意。
Our company faces a very large loss this year. 我们公司今年面临一个很大的损失。
Our proposals are meant to deal with the crisis on a long-term basis. 我们的提案是为了从长远上应对这个危机。
Two years from now, the company would be profitable. 从现在起两年后，公司将开始盈利。
We have come up with a prioritized list of options for the crisis. 我们已经拿出了一个应对危机的有优先级别的选项列表。
给出提案的详细信息
当列出你的提案时，使用动词propose和recommend。这些动词后可以使用动词+ ing或以that开头的从句。
We propose offering workers a retirement bonus. 我们提议为员工提供退休奖金。
We strongly recommend that the company lay off additional workers only as a last resort.
我们强烈建议公司只有在万不得已的情况下才解雇多余的员工。
We recommend cutting everyone back to 35 hours per week. 我们建议把每个人的工作时间减回到每周35小时。
I'd be glad to help you with the company's financial problems. Here are my ideas. First, I recommend offering older workers a big retirement bonus with medical coverage for six months. I think that about 100 workers would take the offer. Second, I propose that we stop all new hiring. We can use attrition to reduce staff size. I think that in a few months, we could cut our staff by about 40 workers. Next, we should cut the number of hours that everyone works to 35 hours per week. This would include everyone, even the big executives. Only as a last resort should we have layoffs. That would be very bad for company morale.
