Resizing the Organization: Managing Layoffs, Divestitures, and Closings (J-B SIOP Professional Practice Series) [Hardcover]

Kenneth De Meuse (Editor), Mitchell Lee Marks (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0787958913 | ISBN-13: 978-0787958916 | Publication Date: January 6, 2003 | Edition: 1

Presented by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, this much-needed resource offers a wealth of theoretical information, best business practices, and winning techniques for executives who must guide their companies through the often difficult processes of mergers, acquisitions, downsizings, and other transitions. Written by top experts in the field, Resizing the Organization is a field guide for applying industrial and organizational psychology theories and practices to the management of change strategies.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

If organizations are to survive in today's turbulent business environment they must be able to adapt to ongoing external pressures and market shifts. Organizations must be able to restructure, downsize, reengineer, merge, seek financial protection, and form alliances. The question is not whether executives should resize their organizations but how to resize them in order to more effectively deal with the dramatic shifts that occur when businesses reorganize.

In one comprehensive volume, Resizing the Organization brings together the most renowned experts in the field to offer the latest theories, best business practices, and proven techniques for effectively meeting the challenge of resizing today's (and tomorrow's) organizations. This important resource offers executives, managers, and human resource professionals a guide to addressing the human and cultural aspects of mergers, acquisitions, downsizings, and other transitions while managing effective change strategies with insight and innovation. Throughout Resizing the Organization the contributors show how to apply industrial and organizational psychology theories and concepts that will best guide an effective course of action. Resizing the Organization offers a wealth of information on a variety of topics, including:

• The psychological effects of organizational resizing
• The response of customers and competitors to resizing
• Rethinking the resizing process
• The impact of layoffs on family, friendships, and community networks
• Planning for resizing
• How to implement resizing
• Revitalizing the organization after resizing
• The financial consequences of employment-change decisions

Resizing the Organization gives executives the information they need to master the rightsizing process and respond to change in a way that will engage their employees and keep their businesses competitive.

From the Back Cover

Presented by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, this much-needed resource offers a wealth of theoretical information, best business practices, and winning techniques for executives who must guide their companies through the often difficult processes of mergers, acquisitions, downsizings, and other transitions. Written by top experts in the field, Resizing the Organization is a field guide for applying industrial and organizational psychology theories and practices to the management of change strategies.

Contributors to Resizing the Organization
David T. Bastien
Thomas J. Bergmann
Scott M. Brooks
Anthony F. Buono
Wayne F. Cascio
Jeffrey Crandell
Kenneth P. De Meuse
Daniel C. Feldman
Emily L. Hause
Todd J. Hostager
Jill R. Kickul
Scott W. Lester
Raymond G. Lorenz
Mitchell Lee Marks
Kathryn D. McKee
Philip H. Mirvis
Jessica L. Saltz
Roger D. Sommer
Ronny Vansteenkiste
Jack W. Wiley
Nina E. Woodard
Clifford E. Young

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Pfeiffer; 1 edition (January 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787958913
• ISBN-13: 978-0787958916
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,932,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Done, February 15, 2009

By 

Diane M. Pfadenhauer "Human Resources Lawyer" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Resizing the Organization: Managing Layoffs, Divestitures, and Closings (J-B SIOP Professional Practice Series) (Hardcover)

Detailed overview for anyone considering restructuring in an organization. As someone who assists companies navigate the layoff or plant closing process, this is an indispensable guide.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Wrong Title For This Book, December 12, 2009

By 

B. Botz - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Resizing the Organization: Managing Layoffs, Divestitures, and Closings (J-B SIOP Professional Practice Series) (Hardcover)

This book should have been entitled "How To Destroy The Lives And Families of Loyal Employees In One Easy Lesson." Seems to me the knee-jerk reaction of most companies is to immediately fire personnel when the business experiences a hiccup or a better dollar amount could be had by a merger. Don't judge a book by its cover? It would be criminal not to! How many execs are willing to tighten their personal belts or trade in that thick juicy steak dinner for a can of pork and beans? While most who have read this 'book' may not agree with my opinion, we can agree that most of you reading this post may have been laid off recently or are about get the pink slip. Mortgage payments are missed, cash reserves run dry, past due bills are stacking up, fear and worry consume your thoughts daily. I think a better idea would be to write a book about how companies can create business through innovation and a strong detail to professional integrity, keeping the best personnel, value their humanity instead of measuring them as a liability on the balance sheet. While reality is reality, layoffs should be the very last resort and consideration should be given to those who have made that company great in the past.