This paper by Gretchen M. Spreitzer and Aneil K. Mishra examines how survivor reactions to a downsizing influence their retention with a firm two years following a downsizing.
Research and Insights Archive
Research and Insights from the Center for Effective Organizations
Available Content
Preserving Commitment During Downsizing: Examining the Mitigating Effects of Trust and Empowerment
Drawing on Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) stress theory, Gretchen Spreitzer and Aneil K. Mishra hypothesize that the negative effects of downsizing on commitment can be mitigated when trust and empowerment are high.
Pay System Change: Lag, Lead, or Both?
Edward Lawler explains that changes in an organization’s pay system are usually high visibility, high impact and difficult to execute. As a result they are often considered “hot” change levers that potentially can derail as well as support an organizational change effort.
Breaking the Code of Change: The Role of Formal Structure and Process
This chapter by Jay R. Galbraith will argue that under many circumstances, the change to formal organizational structures and systems is central to the success of the overall change process.
Identifying Strategic Leaders
Kathleen K. Reardon and Alan Rowe state that the key component of successful leadership now and in the next century is a responsiveness to continuous change.
Identifying Strategic Leaders
Kathleen K. Reardon and Alan Rowe argue that the key component of successful leadership now and in the next century is a responsiveness to continuous change. Such responsiveness requires suspending the illusion of control and denial of uncertainty psychologists tell us are characteristic of human thinking.
The Leader’s Change Handbook
Jay Conger, Gretchen M. Spreitzer, Edward E. Lawler III (eds.), (Jossey-Bass, 1999)
Full of fascinating case studies, action strategies, and unbeatable advice, The Leader’s Change Handbook contains the best new thinking from each of its distinguished contributors on the twin challenges leaders face as they try to create leaner, more responsive organizations while empowering their workforces.
Preserving Commitment During Downsizing: An Empirical Test of the Mitigating Effect of Trust and Empowerment
Gretchen M. Spritzer and Aneil K. Mishra explore whether the commitment of downsizing survivors can be preserved at a level comparable to employees who have not been subjected to a downsizing.
The Role of Top Management in Large Scale Change: The View From Within
Sue Mohrman argues that top management should focus on organizational architecture, on leading the learning process, on providing very clear strategic direction, and on building a new employment relationship.
Explaining How Survivors Respond to Downsizing: The Roles of Trust, Empowerment, Justice and Work Redesign
In this paper, Aneil K. Mishra and Gretchen M. Spreitzer develop a stress-based framework of survivors’ responses to downsizing.
Voices from the Field Trends in Executive Education and Development
Jay Conger and Katherine R. Xin explain that in the smaller, faster world of the 21st century, business executives must know how to lead change within their organizations.
Accelerated Learning During Organizational Transition
R. Tenkasi, S. Mohrman, and A. Mohrman, Jr. argue that in this world of constant change, the only sustainable competitive advantage is an organization’s capacity to learn.
