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1 – 10 of over 12000Philip Cheng-Fei Tsai and Chih-Ting Shih
A subject of continuous debate in the field of organizational change research and management practices is on whether downsizing strategies result in improved firm performance. The…
Abstract
Purpose
A subject of continuous debate in the field of organizational change research and management practices is on whether downsizing strategies result in improved firm performance. The purpose of this paper is to propose and empirically examine dynamic firm capabilities as a major missing mechanism of firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses the data of 154 Taiwanese firms that employed an organizational downsizing strategy as the sample for testing the research question.
Findings
The results indicate that a responsible downsizing strategy can result in greater firm performance for the development and enhancement of dynamic firm capabilities.
Originality value
This research introduces dynamic capabilities into the downsizing context, and the empirical results provide new theoretical insight into downsizing and dynamic capabilities research, suggesting that downsizing should be regarded by management as resource management rather than a cost-cutting action.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the conceptual framework about human resources downsizing and restructuring and how organizations of the public sector can do that…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the conceptual framework about human resources downsizing and restructuring and how organizations of the public sector can do that effectively and efficiently. These facts drive to the conclusion that the implementation of early retirement incentives requires the most elaborate planning and execution to be effective, predictable and safe in the long term.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts an analytical, descriptive methodology approach to describe the basic features of the data by using the descriptive research design. Data have been collected through different sources, which include secondary data, to introduce the theoretical literature of the subject as books, journals, articles, published working papers and referred previous studies related to the same subject.
Findings
Downsizing process is a deliberate administrative process that includes, but is not limited to, workforce reduction and is primarily aimed at achieving efficiency in public organizations. The definition of workforce downsizing may be narrowed to reducing the number of workers, or more likely to refer to general efforts to restructuring human resources in public organizations, Early Retirement Incentive Programs (ERIP) represents a viable alternative for organizations seeking to reduce staff. For the ERIP to be successful, the program coordinator must understand the business objectives and goals that the organization is trying to obtain.
Originality/value
Human resources strategies concerning downsizing public administration workforce should be more appropriate to those who leave the organization and those who stay at work, reducing the negative psychological, administrative and economical effects. This could be achieved through a strategy called early retirement incentive programs.
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Cheng‐Fei Tsai and Yu‐Fang Yen
Downsizing in organizations is a popular management strategy. However, in the field of organization change, the question of whether downsizing practices eventually improve…
Abstract
Purpose
Downsizing in organizations is a popular management strategy. However, in the field of organization change, the question of whether downsizing practices eventually improve performance is frequently asked and is never satisfactorily answered. The consequences have not always materialized over these years. On the negative side, downsizing harms employees, their families, and at the same time causes social chaos. The possible answers could be the ignorance of some important mechanisms between them. The paper aims to explain this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper applies the dynamic strategy capabilities concept from the strategy research field and strategic human resource management (SHRM) practices concept from the SHRM research field.
Findings
A consolidated model is established to explain the relationships among these variables.
Originality/value
The model is expected to provide significant implications for thought leaders to reflect on the topics regarding organizations' changes, firm's strategies and SHRM system and social issues.
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Mohamed Mousa and Rami M. Ayoubi
The purpose of this paper is to focus on three Egyptian public business schools in an attempt to explore the effect of inclusive/exclusive talent management on the organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on three Egyptian public business schools in an attempt to explore the effect of inclusive/exclusive talent management on the organizational downsizing of academics and the mediating role of responsible leadership.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 330 academics were contacted and given a set of questionnaires. After three follow-ups, a total of 240 responses were collected with a response rate of 72.73 percent. Multiple regressions were employed to show how much variation in organizational downsizing can be explained by inclusive/exclusive talent management and responsible leadership.
Findings
The findings highlighted a very weak statistical association between academics’ inclusive talent management and organizational downsizing, whereas a strong statistical association has been discovered between exclusive talent management and organizational downsizing. Statistical analysis showed that responsible leadership has no role in mediating the relationship between inclusive/exclusive talent management of academics and their downsizing.
Research limitations/implications
The authors have focused on only three Egyptian public business schools, the matter that may limit opportunities to generalize the results of this study to private business schools and other faculties in Egypt. Future research could use a double source method.
Practical implications
By preparing a set of academic competences, business schools will be able to classify their academic staff into talented and non-talented, and accordingly they can initiate their tailored downsizing strategies. Furthermore, undertaking a responsible strategy of downsizing, which includes and is not limited to justifying the need to decrease academic staff numbers to guarantee post-redundancy care practices for laid-off academics may alleviate many of the negative psychological, societal and economic consequences of downsizing.
Originality/value
This paper contributes by filling a gap in HR management and higher education literature, in which empirical studies on the relationship between talent management and academics’ organizational downsizing have been limited until now. This may create better research opportunities for cross-disciplinary papers that should be done by HR, higher education and leadership scholars.
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Helen Sitlington and Verena Marshall
This study seeks to examine the impact of downsizing and restructuring decisions and processes on perceptions of organisational knowledge and effectiveness after downsizing and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to examine the impact of downsizing and restructuring decisions and processes on perceptions of organisational knowledge and effectiveness after downsizing and restructuring events in “successful” and “unsuccessful” organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
The study proposes a conceptual framework hypothesising that the impact of decisions and processes on levels of organisational knowledge are key determinants of effectiveness in post‐downsizing and restructuring organisations. Data were collected using a survey instrument developed through review of literature along with focus group findings. Survey data are factor‐analysed to identify stable constructs for testing hypotheses using regression analysis.
Findings
The findings indicate that the significance of the variables tested is found in those organisations considered by employees to be unsuccessful after downsizing and restructuring, rather than in their successful counterparts
Practical implications
The findings indicate that organisations undertaking downsizing or restructuring need to consider the organisational culture and climate with regard to knowledge retention and the potential impact of these initiatives to ensure that employee experiences are constructive. Support strategies such as counselling and training are important, as are job redesign, time for employee handover and documentation of procedures, if knowledge retention is to be maximised.
Originality/value
Although knowledge retention within organisations is generally accepted as desirable, little previous research has considered the impact of downsizing decisions or processes on knowledge retention. Additionally, data collected for this research were drawn from multiple respondents within a large number of organisations, providing breadth and depth of data for analysis.
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The case begins in mid-2014 and provides an opportunity for students at the undergraduate and graduate level to complete several strategic assessments of an entrepreneurial…
Abstract
Synopsis
The case begins in mid-2014 and provides an opportunity for students at the undergraduate and graduate level to complete several strategic assessments of an entrepreneurial department within a post-secondary institution. The continuing education department of a university in Canada has been transferred to the dean of an academic faculty. The department has had a history of budget deficits and the new dean and executive director (ED) were tasked to develop and implement a turnaround strategy.
Research methodology
The case is written by the dean who had firsthand experience with the turnaround strategy. The written case was reviewed for accuracy by two principal actors: the ED responsible for implementing the plan, and the vice-president academic who is the dean’s supervisor and was kept apprised of all developments throughout the turnaround. Some of the data were produced by staff within the operation of Professional, Applied, and Continuing Education and acknowledged in the case.
Relevant courses and levels
This case is suitable for courses in business strategy, operations management, and includes various implications for human resource management, organizational behavior, and entrepreneurship suitable for undergraduate and graduate courses. It has a focus on turnaround strategies and strategy implementation.
Theoretical bases
Theoretical underpinnings for this case include strategic visioning and communication: portfolio management and innovation; internal environment analysis and positioning; structuring and resource management; and monitoring and control systems.
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Organizational restructuring strategy such as downsizing and rightsizing and their effects on organizational performance.
Abstract
Subject area
Organizational restructuring strategy such as downsizing and rightsizing and their effects on organizational performance.
Study level/applicability
The case can be taught to graduate students of a business administration program for change management or human resources management courses.
Case overview
The case discusses a structural change strategy followed by a crisis management situation of a Pakistani state-owned enterprise with hierarchical structures, unclear work roles and workplace corruption and its shift toward a profitable company with rebranded mission and values. With the management takeover by the Abraaj Group, several issues were identified as major blocks to K-ELECTRIC’s performance. Drastic changes included information technology advancement, investment in infrastructure of generation capacity, marketing campaigns and corporate social responsibility initiatives with a record profit in 2011-2012, for the first time in 17 years. But, the greatest challenge to quality service and profitability was faced by the human resources department, to retrench 4,459 workers by offering a voluntary separation scheme to non-core management staff in 2009. However, disregarding the successful impact on business performance, only 300 workers (approximately) had accepted the package in early 2010, while the rest questioned the decision of outsourcing non-core jobs and demanded reinstatement with the company, followed by a series of protests in January 2010. K-ELECTRIC needed to make some sensitive and timely decisions to ensure efficient and quality service to its customers as its top agenda.
Expected learning outcomes
The outcomes include: to understand the challenges faced by a recently privatized public utility service to become lean and efficient without compromising on its public mission of providing electricity to the residents of the city; to analyze the factors that influence choice of restructuring strategies and their effects on the employment relationship and organizational performance; to recognize the critical role of leadership in choosing a voluntary downsizing strategy and analyzing the sense of urgency needed to execute the decision; and to recognize the role of legal and organizational consultancy needed in critical decision-making to prevent workplace violence.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes and teaching guide.
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Nikolaos Karfakis and George Kokkinidis
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…
Abstract
Purpose
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.
Design/methodology/approach
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.
Findings
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.
Research limitations/implications
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.
Originality/value
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.
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Zachary Sheaffer, Abraham Carmeli, Michal Steiner‐Revivo and Shaul Zionit
How does downsizing affect long‐ and short‐term organizational performance? The present study aims to address this important question and attempts to extend previous research by…
Abstract
Purpose
How does downsizing affect long‐ and short‐term organizational performance? The present study aims to address this important question and attempts to extend previous research by examining the effect of both personnel and assets reduction on long‐ and short‐term firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses data collected through secondary sources on 196 firms traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) between 1992 and 2001.
Findings
Econometric analyses indicate the positive impact of a combination of downsizing strategies on short‐term performance, and the negative effect of this combination on long‐term performance and high‐tech industry performance is negatively related to assets and personnel cutbacks. Whereas downsizing affects the short‐term performance of larger and established companies positively, it generally affects long‐term performance inversely.
Originality/value
This study offers a first examination of the effects of simultaneous cutbacks in personnel and assets. This combined strategy goes further than dismissing employees, since layoffs are linked to the sale of such tangible assets as product lines or manufacturing facilities. By so doing, firms downscale their activities commensurate with the reduction in workforce and are less likely to generate excess workload on the remaining employees.
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– This paper aims to explore the culture of working life in British financial services multinationals in the period leading up to the financial crisis of 2007-2008.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the culture of working life in British financial services multinationals in the period leading up to the financial crisis of 2007-2008.
Design/methodology/approach
Informed by labour process theory, the paper is based on a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews with technicians and junior managers in British insurance and banking MNCs.
Findings
The data demonstrate widespread employee disaffection with a new culture of corporate life that has emerged in the last two decades. Employees faced work intensification and were highly critical of what they saw as detached, ruthless, and often incompetent top leadership. Senior management is described as operating in an “echo chamber”, insulated from the “realities” of the workplace.
Research limitations/implications
The paper argues that the unpleasant work culture experienced by employees at middle and lower levels closely mirrors the broader excesses and failings of banks and insurance firms during the recent financial crisis. Excessive risk-taking, short-termism, and inattention to detail are widely given as causes of the crisis. This paper argues that senior leadership failings are also manifest in short-sighted, undignified, and ethically unsound treatment of staff, leading to severe problems with staff morale.
Originality/value
The paper provides detailed qualitative data on the realities of working life in financial services before the recent financial crisis, and suggests ways for labour process theory to consider how restructuring is not only challenging for employees but can also be debilitating for the organisation itself.
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