A Conceptual Framework for Assessing Organization, Work Group, and Individual Effectiveness During and After Downsizing

The need for a unified, cross-level (organization, work group, individual employee) model of organizational downsizing has been suggested by several authors (e.g., Kozlowski et al., 1993). The definition of downsizing, in terms applicable only at the organization level, prevents researchers from dev...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human relations (New York) 1997-02, Vol.50 (2), p.109-127
Main Authors: Shaw, James B., Barrett-Power, Elain
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bureaucracy
Capital assets
Cash flow
Decision making
Dependent variables
Downsizing
Effectiveness
Employees
Factors
Groups
Impact analysis
Labour force
Layoffs
Occupational stress
Organization Size
Organization theory
Organizational Change
Organizational Effectiveness
Organizational Structure
Performance evaluation
Productivity
Restructuring
Sociology
Sociology of organizations and enterprises. Bureaucracy and administration
Sociology of work and sociology of organizations
Stress
Variables
Work Groups
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Summary:The need for a unified, cross-level (organization, work group, individual employee) model of organizational downsizing has been suggested by several authors (e.g., Kozlowski et al., 1993). The definition of downsizing, in terms applicable only at the organization level, prevents researchers from developing a more cohesive view of the interactive impact of downsizing for the organization, work groups, and individuals. In this paper, we define downsizing more broadly as a constellation of stressor events centering around pressures toward work force reductions which place demands upon the organization, work groups, and individual employees, and require a process of coping and adaptation. This stress-based view of downsizing allows researchers to develop concepts to guide research on downsizing that are more broadly applicable across levels of analysis. To show the advantages of this stress-based view of downsizing, this paper uses concepts from the stress coping literature to identify a set of critical dependent variables that should be studied in downsizing research. We argue that these variables are applicable for organization, group, and individual employee-level research.
ISSN:0018-7267
1741-282X
DOI:10.1177/001872679705000201