Downsizing And Reengineering The American Public And Private Sector

Downsizing And Reengineering The American Public And Private Sector Wheels of Industry

Over the past decade, more and more American organizations are downsizing and reengineering as a means of eliminating excesses in corporate staffing, bureaucracy, and expenditures. This is true today whether it’s a for-profit company or not-for-profit company. Constant change is a new way of life as companies strive to meet customers needs and the ability to successfully innovate, time after time to achieve competitive advantages. Moreover, American companies are facing a fierce global environment and are downsizing to achieve cost-lowering efficiencies to render their firm more fit to combat tenacious global competitors. American organizations are also downsizing in an effort to cope with fundamental and structural changes in economies and markets.1

Because downsizing and reengineering is excessively used in today’s organizations, we must not mistakenly confuse the two terms, and since American organizations are faced with the problem of massive overhauling, we must understand the meaning and the purpose of both. We must also consider the fundamental approaches organizations use in implementing downsizing. In addition, we must look at the cost benefits to the organizations, as well as the competitive advantages are that achieved. Moreover, while little emphasis of the employee is considered in terms of workforce reduction, there is a need to look at the adverse affects on the employee and the personnel problems that organizations incur due to the aftermath of downsizing.

Downsizing is associated and often confused with numerous terms. The term "downsizing" was coined to define the scaling down of the car by sizes by automobile manu...

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...ture. AMACOM American Management Association, 1987

(Pg. 55-67).

6Cohen, Steven and Eimicke, William. The New Effective Public

Manager. Jossey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco, 1995 (197-199)

7Tomasko, Robert M. Downsizing: Reshaping the Corporation for the

Future. AMACOM American Management Association, 1987

(Pg. 88-89).

8Tomasko, Robert M. Downsizing: Reshaping the Corporation for the

Future. AMACOM American Management Association, 1987

(Pg. 40).

9Tomasko, Robert M. Downsizing: Reshaping the Corporation for the

Future. AMACOM American Management Association, 1987

(238-245).

10Cohen, Steven and Eimicke, William. The New Effective Public

Manager. Jossey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco, 1995

(Pg. 103-109).

11Cohen, Steven and Eimicke, William. The New Effective Public

Manager. Jossey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco, 1995

(Pg. 109-111).