Downsizing as a Strategic Tool for Effective Organizational Management: A Case Study of Nigerian Banks

Agwu, M.E and Carter, Adele-Louise and Murray, Peter J. (2014) Downsizing as a Strategic Tool for Effective Organizational Management: A Case Study of Nigerian Banks. International Journal of Research in Management, Science & Technology, 2 (1). pp. 1-9. ISSN 2321-3264

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Abstract

Downsizing, in recent years, have assumed a commonplace in various organisations. The views of various practitioners and in fact results of various studies indicates that these initiatives, albeit, intended to produce positive results, often do more harm than good to some organisations, workforce and their performance. The unending quest for lower costs, higher productivity and fatter profits have often led to the wielding of the ‘’big stick’’. Organisations of varying sizes and shapes have used downsizing as a cost cutting management strategy, however, the untold stories are the actual cost of these exercise to the organisation, performance and it’s far reaching implications to the workforce. This paper explored the costs and implications of the massive wave of redundancies in the workforce in Nigerian banks. With the help of data obtained from open-ended interviews conducted with various stakeholders in downsizing operations and applied within a clinical framework, individual reaction patterns are explored in the victims, the survivors and the executioners. Among the victims and survivors within the Nigerian setting, a number of ways of coping can be discerned, and described as compulsive, abrasive, dissociate and depressive. Findings revealed a plethora of mixed feelings among various employees and expose the far reaching implications both to the organisations, affected individuals (victims) and the psyche of their co-workers (survivors). The article ends with a number of practical recommendations

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Banks, Downsizing, Executioners, Nigeria, Survivors, Victims
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HG Finance
Divisions:	Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Mrs Hannah Akinwumi
Date Deposited:	03 Mar 2015 14:02
Last Modified:	03 Mar 2015 14:02
URI:	http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/id/eprint/3651

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