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The following is the last segment in a number of thoughts by W. James Smith regarding “turning toward growth”. These thoughts are particularly insightful for organizations moving toward revitalization and strength in their markets.

The leaky bucket and the transfer principle are tested under conditions of individual uncertainty, behind a veil of ignorance and when positions are known. We find that choices under individual uncertainty are slightly more risk seeking than behind a veil of ignorance indicating that the conventional practice of modeling inequality aversion as risk aversion does not lead to serious error. However, our subjects can not be said to be risk seeking or risk averse but rather protect against downside risks and seek upside gain. As in previous experiments, we find that choices with positions known are quite insensitive to inefficiency and exhibit considerable antipathy to returns that accrue to others, whether richer or poorer. Richer American males are least likely to support leaky-bucket transfers that reduce inequality once positions are known. Lottery players, but not smokers show greater risk preference given individual uncertainty.

Dardanoni's (1993) results on mobility and social welfare in a simple Markov model of “pure” mobility are extended to rank distributions characterized by unequal growth. Partial orders of welfare states are derived and shown to be equivalent to rankings of generalized permanent income Lorenz curves. The results represent a natural extension to mobility of Shorrocks' (1983) well-known generalization of the Lorenz dominance theorem of Kolm (1969) andAtkinson (1970).

A random sample of insured adults (n=134) tests the effects of insurance on respondents’ emotional and physical health. Results showed that being married and being widowed improved physical health while having no religious identification heralded less emotional distress. Preferred Provider Organization services satisfaction was related to better physical health. Respondents in households that restructured themselves to acquire or maintain health coverage also reported more emotional distress than those in households without such problems. Implications of our results regarding improving insurance programs and the effects of marital status and the lack of religious affiliation upon adults’ health are discussed.

Re‐engineering companies should be about more than mere downsizing to cut organizational costs. It is important that the organization should be refocussed and the remaining employees (at all levels) remotivated towards growth. Part I of this article details the five stages successful turnaround leaders use in order to rebuild organizations. It also notes the danger of being stuck in the retrenchment phase where cost‐cutting and downsizing becomes a way of life. By continuously recycling through the five stages and placing emphasis on turning toward growth, organizations can avoid this scenario.

Having discussed the mechanism of organizational change, part II of this article suggests that the goal of this change should be to move away from supplier‐driven “push” systems of business to customer‐driven “pull” systems. Only by focussing on the customer can organizations react quickly enough to rapidly changing communities and markets. These systems can also work within organizations and in the public sector. This part of the article discusses the need for a new way of working, leading on to the final installment covering the design of the restructured organization.

Income redistribution and its consequences have been the subject of intense debate over the last three decades. This is nowhere better evidenced than in the motivations which are variously ascribed to such redistributions. The social welfare approach, for example, starts from the premise that redistribution of income from the rich to the poor enhances social welfare, a fact from which redistribution derives its motivation. In contrast Tullock (1983, p. 2) argues that the major impetus for income redistribution is simply that the beneficiaries of transfer programs want larger incomes and greater wealth and have the political power to realize their goals. Buchanan (1984, p. 187) finds a constitutional basis for redistribution arguing that, if the voting franchise is universal and the constitution allows collective decisions concerning income transfers, then the basic property right to income in a society inheres in the voting franchise.

This exploratory study provides information on the interpersonal orientation of CPA firm professionals, which augments our knowledge of personality types. The study of Big Six audit personnel used the FIRO‐B measure of interpersonal orientation and found that the average social index indicator (SII) of overall interpersonal needs was lower than the national average and higher than prior studies taken of undergraduate accounting and business students. In contrast to most prior studies, we found gender differences in interpersonal orientation. Having a mentor can enhance work effectiveness and increase opportunities for personal success. Mentor relationships vary in intensity and duration as to the type of support. Interpersonal factors are likely to influence the path of a relationship. We found that the number of strong support relationships is usually higher at the manager level, as compared with the senior level. Interpersonal orientation as measured by the FIRO‐B score was positively correlated with both receiving and providing support relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical conceptualisation of guilt and the depoliticization of downsizing practices. The authors begin with a critical review of the relevant management literature aiming to establish the discursive normalization and individualization of (un)employment. The authors then use secondary sources to reflect on the downsizing process. A process that, as the authors argue, is distinguished into three separate but interconnected phases: corporate memos (phase 1), termination scripts (phase 2) and the role of outplacement services (phase 3). By examining this process, the aim is to point to the mechanisms through which downsizing practices are neutralized and depoliticized.

This is a conceptual work that provides a systematic overview of the existing management literature on downsizing and guilt. Use of other secondary sources (corporate memos and termination scripts) is also employed to draw links between the discursive normalization of downsizing as identified in the relevant literature and the specific organizational processes and practices implemented by corporations during downsizing. The authors identify common ideas and themes that cut across the relevant literature and the secondary sources and aim to offer a theoretical conceptualisation of guilt and the depoliticization of downsizing practices.

This paper argues that downsizing discourses and practices contribute to the feelings of personal responsibility and self-blame, reinforcing an individualistic understanding of work and unemployment that excludes more structural ones, and that it helps in reproducing the existing structures of power.

The study recognizes that employees’ reactions are not only unpredictable but also constantly evolving, depending on personal and social circumstances. The authors also recognize that the work is based on secondary sources much of which talk about practices in US companies, and thus the authors are and should be cautious of generalizations. The authors hope, however, that the authors will encourage further empirical research, particularly among organization studies and critical management scholars, on downsizing practices and guilt. For the authors’ part, the authors have tried to offer a critical reflection on how guilt is produced through corporate discourses and practices, and the authors believe that further empirical investigation on the three phases of the downsizing process (as identified in our work) and the lived experience of (un)employment is needed. As corporate downsizing discourses and practices frame (un)employment in strictly individualist and behavioral terms, the authors wish to emphasize the need for further theoretical investigation and political contestation. The authors, therefore, hope that the work will contribute to the relevant literature on downsizing practices and open up the discussions around layoff policies and the structural conditions of (un)employment.

The paper shows that downsizing practices and feelings of guilt are strongly linked to and exemplify the “individualization” of social and political issues such as work and unemployment. The authors suggest that individualization signifies, in some sense, a retreat from organized collective resistance and mobilization based upon class and that the prevalence of the ideology of individualism (and its correlative, meritocracy), over alternative explanations and solutions to such public issues, helps in reproducing existing structures of power and inequity.