Cutting staff was difficult for you. As a department manager it is never easy to let people go, especially in a difficult job market. However that difficulty was doubled when you were forced to make several cuts in a department that was already stretched close to its limits. The edict handed down to you was to create more efficiencies, automate processes where you could, and pay small amounts of overtime or outsource when needed. 

It all sounded good, and looked feasible on paper, but when you returned to the reality of your workspace you realized that with your employees were working harder but getting less done. You'd loved to have worked with them on creating those efficiencies and automation but you've been forced to get on the floor with them - only to fall further behind by the end of the day. Not even overtime, in the amounts you were allowed, were getting you where you needed to be. There simply didn't seem to be any way to create the change you had been charged with, unless you could completely shut down your operation for a period of days. Possibly weeks. And in the current economic climate that is simply not an option. 

You brought the issue back to your supervisor, who happens to agree with you, but the executive team doesn't see it that way. You're told to try harder and to work smarter, and that the executive team would monitor your progress. Suddenly you feel as though bringing up the issue has placed a target squarely on your back. It is clear that you have over-downsized. You request a meeting with your supervisor and key members of the executive team, who will listen to you, but are dealing with even larger problems. You are fighting your nerves, as you know that the executive team will be questioning your effectiveness. You sit down to write a statement describing the problem and your recommended solution, but want to be careful not to say that the executive team cut your department carelessly. In a single paragraph how do you state the problem, and solution, to your executive team?