Downsizing: Is Less Still More?

Cambridge Companions to Management

by Cary L. Cooper (Editor), Alankrita Pandey (Editor)

Downsizing is one of the most frequently used business strategies for reducing costs, returning firms to profit or for restructuring businesses following takeovers, mergers and acquisitions. Downsizing measures are also set to become much more prevalent in the public sector as governments seek to restrict levels of public spending. This book is one of the first to provide a thorough study of downsizing from a global perspective. It examines the phenomenon in its entirety, exploring how it is initiated and what the process of downsizing looks like. It also looks at the effects of downsizing at a number of different levels, from the individual (e.g., motivational effects, effects on health and stress levels) to the organizational (e.g., financial outcomes, reputational and productivity outcomes). Written by an international team of experts, the book provides a comprehensive overview of downsizing that examines both the strategic and human implications of this process.

460 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2012

About the author

Sir Cary Lynn Cooper, CBE AcSS (born 28 April 1940), is an American-born British psychologist and professor of organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University Management School.

Prior to working at Lancaster University, Cooper was Head of the Manchester School of Management (within UMIST) from the early 80s. In 1995 he became Pro-Vice Chancellor and then Deputy Vice Chancellor of UMIST until 2002. From 1979 to 1980 he was chairman of the Management Education and Development Division of the Academy of Management and was elected as Founding President of the British Academy of Management.

He was the founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Organizational Behavior.