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Corporate mergers and acquisitions are pervasive. Much of the attention has focused on the dollars involved and the financial packages put together to effect them. Little attention has been given to the human resource management implications of such corporate restructuring. Attention here is focused on the impact of these restructurings on individual employee stress and on various human resource management functions such as human resource planning, recruitment, training and organisational development, and employee benefits and compensation.

This paper examines recent Canadian public policies intended to create a window for domestic entertainment programming on television in the face of a series of economic and technological factors which favour greater cultural integration with the American television market. These factors include the limited revenues available to the conventional public and private TV sectors, audience fragmentation through cable, and both the readily availability, and audience acceptance in English Canada, of inexpensive shows from the USA. Recent policies have focussed upon increasing the number of Canadian cable channels in a country where most people subscribe to cable; but paradoxically, public funding for the mainstay of domestic entertainment programming, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, is being drastically cut. The impacts of these cuts on the Corporation’s mandate, and proposed remedies, are outlined. It is concluded that public broadcasting policies are now being determined by economic rather than cultural goals, and that the Corporation is a victim of this trend.

Based on the four principles of self‐organization formulated by Morgan (1986), a four‐stage implementation model for empowering teams was developed. From the first to the last stage, the attention shifts from routine tasks to non‐routine tasks, from the individual to the group, and from inwards oriented to outwards directed activities. This model was used to develop five teams in an industrial glass producing firm. After two years, team progress was measured by means of a questionnaire and the results were discussed with each team. These data were used to evaluate the viability and applicability of the empowerment plan and to find relevant factors which facilitate or hinder the empowerment process. The results indicate that the step‐by‐step plan facilitates the development of empowered teams but that it should not be seen necessarily as the best or the only way of empowering working groups. Moreover, the attitude and style of management, the team cohesion and the nature of the work involved seem to interfere with team empowerment.

In this paper I begin to answer the neglected question of “When to downsize?” Specifically, is downsizing and the associated reskilling of workforces an appropriate response to technological discontinuity? Based on past organizational literature written about technological discontinuity, downsizing, and reskilling, I develop a theoretical framework that indicates when downsizing following a technological discontinuity will increase organizational effectiveness. Propositions are developed based on this framework. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for managers and future researchers.

This paper presents some preliminary findings from a research project into strategic management initiatives in the Civil Services of four countries: Ireland, Northern Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and three states within a fifth country, the USA. While often hailed as strategic management, what occurs in practice is a limited form of strategic planning. The paper explores the context to the introduction of such planning, describes some of its main content and process features, and compares it to private sector models of strategic management. The paper concludes that strategic planning in the Civil Service typically suffers from being a dressed up version of management‐by‐objectives, utilises an unnecessarily mechanistic and rationalist planning process and fails to address the development of new core competencies to ensure a continuing role in the twenty‐first century.

Electronic news prices set to tumble. There now seems to be little doubt that the cost of electronic news information is set to tumble as publishers begin to launch their own brand products. Gannett's electronic version of USA Today is one example, Dow Jones' Personal Journal another, and now The Washington Post is joining in the rush by announcing a computerised version of its newspaper for the same price as the hard copy version.

The development of free trade practices in the world market, together with the recent fluctuations on the international money market, is having an increasing impact on the small island economies, such as Mauritius. This paper, written from the practitioner’s point of view, discusses how the restructuring process is affecting female employees. Examples of corrective action being taken in favour of women, such as training programmes in entrepreneurship and leadership, are presented. The difficulties encountered in achieving the training objectives are reviewed and issues needing further attention to optimise the successful involvement of women in the upgrading of the Mauritian workforce are identified.

Provides a brief history of the ways companies have reduced staffing in the past. Considers the difficulties experienced during these reduction programmes. Discusses the effects that new style company and structures have had with their flatter shapes. Suggests that not all expected benefits of downsizing are realized and asks at what cost to society? Concludes by looking at the effect this procedure has on the remaining workforce and lists the ten common mistakes which companies should avoid.

Concentrates on downsizing, the modern term for redundancy, which is, of course, no longer a short‐term “fix”. Notes that massive downsizing creates more problems than it solves – only rarely achieving its original financial objectives. Lists the three main types of downsizing as: workforce reduction; organizational redesign; and systematic strategies. Discusses the affect (negative) on morale for the staff left behind, who are called “survivors” here and also the displaced (or jobless) workers. Details the correct (less painful) procedures for downsizing within companies.

Argues that, before rightsizing is considered, human resource management must establish the appropriate human resource plan to give the organization the edge it needs to minimize the upheaval caused by rightsizing and to remain competitive. Rightsizing is inevitably accompanied by changes in the fundamental relationship between the organization and its workforce. Strategic human resource managers of today must comprehend valuable lessons from the past recessional times to remain organizationally lean and to cultivate resolutions to employee problems that are more creative than cash payoffs. Whatever the situation, staff reduction is always difficult, especially in industries where stability and security of employment has been the custom. To survive, managers must not ignore the important factors relating to people management. To deal with these issues managers should avoid certain actions when corporate restructuring becomes necessary. For example, unrealistic promises should not be made and action should not be postponed in anticipation of improvements in the environment. To help with motivating the remaining employees, managers also need to know precisely what the new corporate strategy actually entails and why the changes are being made. A truthful and constant flow of information from top management can minimize the damage that could be caused by rumours and allow employees to concentrate on their main tasks. A major function of human resource management during transitional organizational movement is to support and advise managers in order to reduce complications and disturbances to the organization.