Changes in the Work Environment for Creativity during Downsizing - Annotated Bibliography Example

Annotated Bibliography Annotated Bibliography Amabile Teresa M. & Conti Regina (1999). Changes in the Work Environment for Creativity during Downsizing. Academy of Management Journal. 42 (6), 630-640. This article examines the work environment for creativity at a large high-technology firm before, during, and after a major downsizing. Creativity and most creativity-supporting aspects of the perceived work environment declined significantly during the downsizing, but increased modestly later; the opposite pattern was observed for creativity-undermining aspects. Stimulants and obstacles to creativity in the work environment mediated the effects of downsizing. These results suggest ways in which theories of organizational creativity can be expanded and ways in which the negative effects of downsizing might be avoided or alleviated. Brockner et al., (2004). Perceived Control as an Antidote to the Negative Effects of Layoffs on Survivors Organizational Commitment and Job Performance. Administrative Science Quarterly. . 49 (1), 76-100 Two field studies tested the hypothesis that high perceived control may serve as an antidote to the negative effects of layoffs on the employees who are not laid off. In Study 1, some participants witnessed the layoffs of fellow employees, but others did not. In Study 2, all participants survived a layoff, but they varied in the extent to which they experienced the post layoff environment as threatening to their well-being. Conceptually analogous results emerged across the two studies. Study 1 showed that the negative impact of layoffs on survivors organizational commitment was reduced when perceived control was relatively high. Study 2 showed that the tendency for survivors job performance to be adversely affected by high threat to their well-being was reduced when perceived control was relatively high. In other words, perceived control was more strongly related to employees organizational commitment in the presence than in the absence of layoffs and to survivors job performance when they experienced the post-layoff environment as more threatening. These findings account for additional variance in the reactions of layoff survivors and identify when perceived control will be more versus less strongly related to employees work attitudes and behaviors. Practical implications for the management of organizational downsizings are discussed Buhler Patricia M (2014). Ten tips for more effective downsizing. Supervision.  75 (8), 17-19 The article presents 10 tips for the effective downsizing of a business or corporation in order to reduce the companys expenses. Topics include how to consider a companys long term goals to determine whether or not downsizing is the appropriate action, how to continue creative thinking after a downsize, and how to retain employees with the necessary skills to move the company forward. Gandolfi Franco. (2008) Cost Reductions, Downsizing-related Layoffs and HR practices.SAM Advanced Management Journal 73 (3), 52-58. The article examines human resource practices as they pertain to cost reduction. The author stresses the importance of careful planning of any cost reduction activities to minimize the after-effects and other undesirable consequences of downsizing and possible layoffs. He notes that laying people off should be the last resort, not the first, because of their widespread negative effects. In this article, he presents a useful conceptual framework of cost reduction stages that contain short, medium, and long-term adjustments. Gandolfi, Franco (2008). HR Strategies That Can Take the Sting Out Of Downsizing-Related Layoffs. Ivey Business Journal. 72 (4), 1-8. While the pain of downsizing-related layoffs cant be avoided entirely, it can be mitigated. Anticipating the duration and depth of an industry downturn, for example, can definitely help a manager prepare and deploy HR practices that will, in turn, help both employees and firms adjust to difficult times. This article discusses some responses that have been known to be effective Handwerker, E. W & Mason, L. G. (2012) which layoffs and which laid-off workers are in the Mass Layoff Statistics. Monthly Labor Review.  135 (10), Employers surveyed in the Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program are larger, pay higher wages, and have larger drops in employment than other employers with declining employment not surveyed in the MLS program; workers in the MLS are older, appear more likely to file for unemployment insurance, and appear to collect unemployment insurance over a longer period than the general population of recently unemployed workers Itkin, Dina; Salmon, Laurie (2011) How occupational employment is affected by mass layoffs. Monthly Labor Review.  134 (6), 3-33. An analysis of business establishment micro data, created by combining micro data from the Occupational Employment Statistics program and the Mass Layoff Statistics program reveals that jobs lost between 2000 and 2007 in establishments where extended mass layoffs occurred tended to be those which required less training and fewer analytical skills; jobs in occupations that were core to the specific industry generally were retained. Kostopoulos, Konstantinos & Bozionelos Nikos (2010) Employee Reactions to Forms of Downsizing: Are There Any Lesser Evils. Academy of Management Perspectives.  24 (4), 95-96. The article focuses on employee reactions to different forms of organizational downsizing. It examines how job layoffs, outsourcing of jobs, and off shoring is perceived by job survivors compared to workers who do not experience downsizing. It states that employees who survived organizational layoffs had an increased likelihood of negative attitudes toward employers and poorer perceptions of their work environment. It mentions that outsourcing and off shoring did not result in a similar effect as employees may perceive these as less harmful for their jobs. It comments that outsourcing is considered more benign than off shoring to employees. It talks about the effect managerial ethics and management communication to employees did counterbalance some of the negative influence of downsizing Lakshman, C. & Rai, Sumita. (2014) Organizational Culture and Commitment among Lay-Off Survivors: A Tale of Two MNCs in India. South Asian Journal of Management. 21 (4), 7-26. Although a large volume of research has examined the causes and consequences of downsizing, the role of organizational culture in the process of layoffs has been largely unaddressed. This article examines the relationship between organizational culture and employee commitment among layoff survivors in two MNCs in India. It identifies and categorizes organizational culture (strong- synergetic versus weak - soft) in the context of values. Using a sample of employees from two Indian MNCs in the service sector, it shows that reactions of layoff survivors have a direct effect on their organizational commitment. It contributes to the literature by showing that this direct effect is moderated by organizational culture with a positive effect in strong cultures versus weak cultures. Luan Chin-Jung, Tien Chengli & Chi, Yi-chuang. (2013) Downsizing to the wrong size? A study of the impact of downsizing on firm performance during an economic downturn. International Journal of Human Resource Management. 24 (7), 1519-1535. This article extends research on downsizing strategies and influences of an economic downturn to examine the relationship between downsizing strategies and firm performance, and to clarify how a firms downsizing strategies interact with an economic downturn to affect firm performance. The findings indicate that downsizing may not always be the appropriate strategy for improving firm performance because downsizing with layoffs and reduction of organizational slacks may leave the firm at an inappropriate size, thus, negatively affecting firm performance, while downsizing on pay cuts may not negatively affect firm performance, but it may not be an effective strategy to use in the face of an economic downturn. Maertz et al., (2010) Downsizing Effects on Survivors: Layoffs, Offshoring, and Outsourcing. Industrial Relations.  49 (2), 275-285. In a representative sample of 13,683 U.S. employees, this article compared survivors of layoffs, offshoring, outsourcing, and their combinations to a group who experienced no downsizing. Survivors of layoffs perceived lower organizational performance, job security, affective attachment, calculative attachment, and had higher turnover intentions. Offshoring survivors perceived lower performance, fairness, and affective attachment, but outsourcing survivors generally did not have more negative outcomes than the no-downsizing group. Layoffs generally had more negative outcomes than other downsizing forms Mirabal, N., & DeYoung, R. (2005). Downsizing as a Strategic Intervention. Journal of American Academy of Business, 6(1), 39-45 The effects of downsizing as a strategic intervention typically stem from organizations seeking to reduce the number of employees through layoffs, attrition, redeployment, early retirement and reorganization or delayering. These reductions are generally a response to one or more of the following conditions: a response to mergers and acquisitions; revenue loss or loss of market share through technological and industrial change; the execution of new organizational structures; and social pressures attributed to the philosophy that smaller is better. The article applies five application stages using downsizing as a strategic intervention, which examines organizational goals and objectives, overall assessment of the organization, relevant choices and decisions, the implementation stage, workforce reduction, survivor syndrome and organizational renewal and growth strategies. Noer, D. M. (2009). Healing the wounds: Overcoming the trauma of layoffs and revitalizing downsized organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Reports of the most recent layoffs are making the front pages of our newspapers with frightening regularity. And massive downsizing continues to reshape the face of American business. But what about those who remain behind? Healing the Wounds provides an antidote to the widespread malaise on the American business scene left in the wake of workforce reductions. Drawing on case studies and original research, David M. Noer-an expert frequently quoted in major media such as The Wall Street Journal and Fortune on the topic of layoffs and layoff survivor sickness-provides executives, human resource professionals, managers, and consultants with an original model and clear guidelines for revitalizing downsized organizations and the employees left behind Parks-Yancy, Rochelle (2011) The Impact of Downsizing on the Social Capital Resources and Career Prospects of African-American Survivors. Journal of African American Studies.  15 (3), 307-326. This article examines African-American survivors perceptions of how downsizing impacted their access to social capital resources and its effect on their careers. Layoffs can negatively affect the composition of the survivors social ties at work and their access to career-related social capital resources. Using interview data, I find that most respondents lost contacts who offered social capital resources, which they perceived as detrimental to their career advancement. They also did not discuss having immediate access to additional sources of social capital resources. The implications of layoffs for the advancement of historically disadvantaged groups and organizations ability to maintain a diverse workforce are discussed Pfeffer, Jeffrey (2010). Lay Off The Layoffs. (Cover story) Newsweek. 155 (7), 32-37. The article presents an overview of the negative impact the downsizing of corporations and layoff systems are having on employees, the U.S. economy and the ability of the U.S. to recover from a recession in 2010. In the article the author offers his opinions on layoff systems and their social implications, and on moments in which layoff systems can and/or should be utilized. He is critical of layoff systems and suggests that they cause more problems than they solve. Reinardy Scott (2010) Downsizing Effects On Personnel: The Case Of Layoff Survivors In U.S. Newspapers. Journal of Media Business Studies  7 (4), 1-19. Lewins (1947) organizational development theory says that after an organization reorganizes and downsizes, it "refreezes" to prechange comfort levels. This study of 2,159 newspaper layoff survivors indicates they perceive that refreezing at this time would be problematic because it would result in a journalism of mediocrity, more focused on quantity rather than quality. In light of previous research, the reduction of newsroom staff also alters the product attributes. In this case it may perpetuate the downward spiral of lost circulation and advertising revenue. The results indicate that for those employees experiencing a decline in trust, morale, satisfaction and commitment, newspapers are creating production-line journalism that is seen as void of purpose and function Shah Priti Pradhan (2000). Network Destruction: The Structural Implications Of Downsizing.  Academy of Management Journal. . 43 (1), 101-11 Downsizing disrupts existing social networks in organizations. Layoff survivors reactions to losses of both friends and coworkers in similar structural positions (structural equivalents) are examined here. A field study conducted in a consumer electronics firm revealed negative reactions to the loss of friends and positive reactions to the loss of coworkers in similar structural positions. The loss of friends weakened survivors network centrality, but the loss of structural equivalents benefited network position and increased satisfaction with promotion opportunities. Van Dierendonck, Dirk & Jacobs Gabriele. (2012) Survivors and Victims, a Meta-analytical Review of Fairness and Organizational Commitment after Downsizing. British Journal of Management.  23 (1), 96-109. There is a lack of consistent evidence that downsizing leads to improved financial performance. Lowered commitment after painful downsizing periods is identified as an important reason why downsizing does not show the intended long-term effects. This paper provides a meta-analytical overview of the impact of fairness on organizational commitment for survivors and victims after a downsizing operation. Among 37 samples (11,256 persons), a positive relationship was found between fairness and affective organizational commitment for both survivors and victims. Three moderators of the fairness-commitment relationship were identified: (1) for survivors, procedural justice matters more than distributive justice; (2) the impact of fairness is stronger in countries with an individualistic (versus collectivistic) culture; (3) fairness matters more when mass layoff is initiated for profit maximization (versus economic necessity Read More