Downsizing Is Less Still More?

Downsizing is one of the most frequently used business strategies for reducing costs, returning firms to profit or for restructuring businesses following takeovers, mergers and acquisitions. Downsizing measures are also set to become much more prevalent in the public sector as governments seek to restrict levels of public spending. This book is one of the first to provide a thorough study of downsizing from a global perspective. It examines the phenomenon in its entirety, exploring how it is initiated and what the process of downsizing looks like. It also looks at the effects of downsizing at a number of different levels, from the individual (e.g., motivational effects, effects on health and stress levels) to the organizational (e.g., financial outcomes, reputational and productivity outcomes). Written by an international team of experts, the book provides a comprehensive overview of downsizing that examines both the strategic and human implications of this process.

List of figures; List of tables; List of contributors; Part I. Overview: 1. Job loss and effects on firms and workers Kevin Hallock, Michael R. Strain and Douglas Webber; 2. How does downsizing come about? Wayne F. Cascio; 3. The antecedents of downsizing Sarah J. Freeman and Kyle Ehrhardt; Part II. Human Outcomes: 4. Human motivation and performance outcomes in the context of downsizing Aharon Tziner, Erich C. Fein and Lior Oren; 5. To downsize human capital: a strategic human resource perspective on the disparate outcomes of downsizing Gary C. McMahan, Alankrita Pandey and Brian Martinson; 6. Health effect outcomes: 'survivor disease' in the context of economic change Johannes Siegrist and Nico Dragano; Part III. Organizational Outcomes: 7. Employee downsizing and organizational performance: what do we know? Deepak K. Datta, Dynah A. Basuil and Elena A. Radeva; 8. Executive perceptions: probing the institutionalization of organizational downsizing William McKinley and Jasmin Chia-Jung Lin; 9. Reducing costs and enhancing efficiency or damaging the company: downsizing in today's global economy Kenneth P. De Meuse and Guangrong Dai; Part IV. Post-Downsizing Implications: 10. The stress outcomes of downsizing M. Blake Hargrove, Cary L. Cooper and James Campbell Quick; 11. Good downsizing Rocki-Lee Dewitt; 12. Post-downsizing implications and consequences: a global perspective Franco Gandolfi, Lisa M. Renz, Magnus Hansson and John B. Davenport; 13. Exploring the etiology of positive stakeholder behavior in global downsizing Shay S. Tzafrir, Hila Chalutz Ben-Gal and Simon L. Dolan; Index.

Cary L. Cooper, CBE is Distinguished Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University Management School.
Alankrita Pandey is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Management at the University of Texas at Arlington College of Business.
James Campbell Quick is John and Judy Goolsby Distinguished Professor in the Department of Management at the University of Texas at Arlington College of Business.