The pressure for economic integration has been reinforced by developments in technology, changes in market structures and the emergence of transnational corporations. Rightsizing has emerged as a critical process in this present era of shrinking space, shrinking time and disappearing borders in the context of employee engagement and human capital. It is often adopted by most organizations to help them become more agile and flexible and thereby cater to the competitive demands. The diverse impacts of rightsizing on various actors however question the justice aspect of the entire process. This study addresses rightsizing from the perspective of social justice by taking into consideration the assessments of the processes by the affected actors namely, the implementers who drive the rightsizing processes; the separated who leave the organization as a result of rightsizing; and the stayers who remain in the organization and have observed the process. It also aims at understanding the various rightsizing processes from an empirical perspective and examines the causal relatedness of the rightsizing processes and outcome across some of the Indian organizations and the actors. Review of literature: The gamut of literature in rightsizing has provided a strong foundation for the researcher to gain a critical understanding of the various processes underlying rightsizing. The key challenge in rightsizing concerns the fairness aspect of the entire process considering the fact that in most cases rightsizing results in gains for some people and loss for others. Given that judgments of fairness are highly subjective, the lack of an absolute standard for determining fairness in this situation has been identified as a gap. As many studies highlight the ambivalence in results with regard to the outcome of rightsizing and attribute them to the rightsizing processes, the relationship of the rightsizing processes and the outcome has emerged as an area of interest. Though there have been correlation based analysis between various rightsizing variables, causal models that link the rightsizing processes to the outcome have been found missing. The dearth of studies from the Indian set up have also prompted the need to build segregate and aggregate causal models of rightsizing processes and outcome at the organization and actor levels. Aim, objectives and methodology: The aim of this study has been to identify the rightsizing processes that contribute towards positive outcome for both the organization and the individuals concerned from the social justice perspective. The objectives were: 1. To compare and contrast the implementation of rightsizing processes in some of the Indian organizations. 2. To develop a framework for understanding and classifying rightsizing processes in relation to the social justice perspective. 3. To identify the effective rightsizing processes that contribute significantly towards minimizing individual stress and maximizing commitment towards the organization. 4. To outline appropriate guidelines based on the justice perspectives of the actors for better implementation of rightsizing in organizations. The conceptual model links the actors, their assessments of the rightsizing processes and the outcome of the entire process as affecting their individual stress and commitment towards the organization. The just processes of rightsizing have been decided based on the assessment of actors and on the extent of their agreement with one another on implementation of the discrete rightsizing practices. Accordingly those practices that all the three groups of actors, namely the implementers, stayers and separated perceive to have been implemented will be classified as the "best practices" or system 4 practices; the practices that have been perceived to have been implemented by the implementers and stayers but not the separated will be classified as the "better practices" or system 3 practices; those practices that the implementers and separated perceive as implemented will be the "ineffective practices" or system 2 practices; and the practices where all the three groups differ with one another with regard to the extent of implementation will be termed the "poor practices" or system 1 practices. The questionnaire was finalized after a preliminary and pilot study. Data was collected from 727 respondents across four organizations, one private manufacturing unit referred to as Org-1, one state public sector unit referred to as Org-2, two central public sector units referred to as Org-3 and Org-4. The total sample consisted of 137 implementers, 320 stayers and 270 separated. Results and discussion: The first part of the analysis focused on validating the rightsizing processes through factor analysis and also testing the reliability using Chronbach alpha. The implementation of the rightsizing processes across the four organizations was compared using Bonferroni post hoc comparisons. Org-1 and Org-4 had implemented most of the rightsizing practices adequately. The perceptions of the employees of Org-2 and Org-3 were found to be significantly inadequate when compared to Org-1 and Org-4 with respect to many of the practices. The second set of analysis compares the assessments of the actors with regard to the implementation of the various rightsizing practices, and classifies them into one of the four systems based on the framework developed. The system 4 practices consist of, the notification period; the severance package; the amount of money that the organizations wished to save after rightsizing and avoidance of ineffective cost reduction strategies. The outcome of rightsizing with respect to role clarity and role sufficiency also falls into system 4. The system 3 practices consist of understanding the need for rightsizing; the need for manpower reduction, proactive cost reduction strategies, separation of the sick and criteria for separation of the redundant. System 1 practices comprise of internal stakeholders, alternate strategies adopted by the organization before resorting to separation of the employees, preparation and communication, leadership, review and control and assistance provided to the separated. The outcome with regard to job security and commitment also falls in this category. The final set of analysis aims at identifying those processes that contribute significantly towards the outcome at both the organizational level and from the perceptions of the actors through path analysis. The path analysis was conducted at the segregate and aggregate levels for the organizations and the actors. Initially a full segregate model where all the independent variables are linked to the dependent variables was fit for the 4 organizations and for the 3 categories of actors. Those processes that contributed significantly towards the outcome with respect to the actors and the organizations were structured onto two final aggregate models. The validity of these aggregate models was examined for the organizations and actors respectively. Conclusion: This study provides a deeper understanding of the various processes underlying rightsizing in the three different stages of implementation. These validated measures can be used as a template by the organizations to study and guide further rightsizing initiatives. Through this research three groups of individuals diversely affected by rightsizing have been brought together under one common framework which is a methodological innovation. Inspite of having different interests, it is possible to obtain a consensus in their assessments of some of the rightsizing practices. This is an important conclusion that can be drawn in support of the social justice perspective with regard to rightsizing. The relationship between the rightsizing processes as affecting the outcome of stress and commitment can also be understood from a causal perspective across organizations and actors through segregate and aggregate models. The best practices with knowledge capital and social capital can also be included in understanding the perspectives of the actors and classification of rightsizing best practices in future work.

Från 1970 fram till 2020 har 117 av Sveriges 290 kommuner haft en minskad befolkning. Trots att det är så pass många kommuner som har en minskande befolkning är det inte ett ämne man generellt sett pratar om i Sverige. Denna studie har studerat två av dessa kommuner, Avesta och Hällefors kommun, genom bland annat intervjuer med både tjänstemän och politiker som metod för att få en djupare förståelse i frågan. Fokus har legat på vilka konsekvenserna blir av en långvarig befolkningsminskning samt hur en kommun kan hantera denna situation.  Studien visade att de två studerade kommunerna har ett flertal tomma bostäder, en högre arbetslöshet bland unga människor och en avvikande demografi, med en överrepresenterad del av befolkningen i ej arbetsför ålder till skillnad från övriga landet. En vidare konsekvens av överskott av tomma bostäder kan bli att dessa kommuner utsättas för social dumpning, ett fenomen där personer i behov av kommunalt stöd får aktiv hjälp att flytta till andra kommuner. I detta fall har Hällefors fått en högre andel av personer i behov av kommunalt stöd.  Båda kommunerna visade att de fortsatt planerar att nå en befolkningstillväxt. De åtgärder de har genomfört för att bevara sin befolkning är att delvis satsa på utbildning. De är medvetna om att unga personer i större utsträckning tenderar att flytta ifrån kommunen, och för att hantera detta har Hällefors satsat på utbildning för att locka till sig lika många studenter som det antal som flyttar därifrån för att studera. I Avesta vill man att personer som flyttat från kommunen ska ha ett positivt minne av kommunen och således flytta tillbaka senare i livet, när man eventuellt vill skaffa familj. / Between 1970 and 2020, 117 out of the 290 Swedish municipalities have been shrinking, despite that almost half of the municipalities have had a shrinking population; the subject is generally not discussed in Sweden. This study has been focusing on two different municipalities, Avesta and Hällefors municipality, to get their perspective on the consequences of a prolonged population decline and how to handle it. This has been done through interviewing both officials and politicians from each of the two municipalities.  This study has been indicating that the two municipalities have had a higher amount of empty residences, a higher degree of unemployment of young people and a higher degree of people not in working age compared to the rest of Sweden. One consequence of the large amount of empty residences is social dumping, a phenomenon where a person in need of support gets active help from their own municipality to move to another municipality. In this study Hällefors municipality has had a higher proportion of the population in need of support. Both of the municipalities have been planning for population growth, they have implemented measures to preserve the current population, partly through investments in education. Both are aware that young people in a greater extent will move out from their municipality, to handle this Hällefors municipality has been expanding their education with the goal of attracting the same amount of students that move away to study. Avesta municipality wants people who have moved away to have a positive memory of the municipality, in hope that they want to move back later in life when they want to settle down.

This research project examines the experiences of school principals when implementing the staff-reduction process of the rationalisation policy stipulated by the National Department of Education in 1994. The implementation of this policy has its origins in the Transformation policy of the National government after the first democratic election in South Africa in 1994. The aim of the rationalisation policy is to bring about equity and affirmative action in the staff provision in schools. Achieving this is a collective agreement between the National Education Department and the teachers’ unions where the decision was made that the teacher:learner ratio would be 1:35 in secondary schools and 1:40 in primary schools. The aim of this research is to determine what principals experience during the staff-reduction process(es) and what impact it would have on the principal as the manager of the institution. The researcher also intends to examine the influence that staff reduction has on the working conditions of the principal as well as how this process affects the teaching and learning culture in a school. Ultimately the researcher intends to make recommendations to assist principals that are affected by staff reduction. The research concentrates on a selected group of principals, regardless of race, gender or religion (including principals from secondary, middle and primary schools) who are currently busy with their Masters Degree in Education Leadership and Management at the University of Pretoria. A qualitative research methodology is used to exemplify the perceptions and experiences of principals. The dissertation is divided into five chapters. Chapter One provides an overview and orientation of the study. The focus is the problem statement and the exposition of the aims of the research. Chapter Two concentrates on the literature study that is supported by the collection of empirical data with specific reference to the rationalisation process and the resulting staff reduction process in some schools. Chapter Three discusses the research design and data collection instruments. The focus is on the individual interviews (face to face) done with principals of schools where they air their views regarding the rationalisation process, staff reduction and the impact that the abovementioned has on the teaching and learning process in schools. Transcriptions are made of the audio recordings of the interviews and field notes have also been included as background information for the interviews. In Chapter Four the analysis of the collective interviewed data is done and the empirical data is discussed. Chapter Five is a summary of the research. In this chapter the important findings are discussed and suitable recommendations are made. / Dissertation (MEd (Educational Leadership))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Thesis (MEd )--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This qualitative study explores the effect that staff deployment has on the morale and professional attitudes of educators who have been identified as being in excess at their schools. The study was done by doing interviews with teachers who have been affected by rightsizing and redeployment and principals who have had to manage the process. The Department of Education goes through an annual process of determining the school‘s staff establishment for the next academic year. This determination is based on the number of learners enrolled at the institution. The CEMIS statistics are used to determine the number of learners enrolled at the school and the schools‘ staff establishment for the next academic year. If a school‘s learner numbers have increased since the last survey, the school will gain some teaching posts. Conversely, if the learner numbers have dropped a number of educators at the institution, as determined by the education department, have to be identified and declared in excess. Change associated with staff redeployment can have a negative impact on the morale and motivation of teachers. A school‘s functioning and ability to supply quality education can also be compromised as a result thereof. This is especially true when schools do not have the financial resources to employ additional teachers out of school funds. The problem is researched by exploring the ‗lived experiences‘ of selected teachers at primary schools in two of the education districts that fall under the WCED. Educators who were selected to participate in the study were individuals who had been declared in excess and who were redeployed or who were awaiting redeployment. Teachers were given the opportunity to relate their individual experiences. Their accounts of the process reflect how these experiences affect behaviour, professional attitude and general health. My discussion of their perceptions pays particular attention to their perceptions of how their general health and well-being were affected. Two principals (who managed the process at their respective schools) also shed some light on their experiences of the effects of downsizing. It seems that whilst there are cases where the process of rightsizing and redeployment is handled with the necessary care and circumspection, this is not always the case. Too often rightsizing and redeployment are handled in a clinical way, which creates the impression that the principals are biased and unsympathetic. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie kwalitatiewe studie ondersoek die effek wat personeel ontplooing op onderwysers het wie oortollig verklaar word by hul skole. Dit beoog ook om vas te stel tot watter mate die persoon se professionele gedrag en moraal geaffekteer word hierdeur. Tydens die studie was data ingesamel deur onderhoude te voer met onderwysers wie oortollig verklaar is, en prinsipale wat hierdie proses moes bestuur. Jaarliks gaan die Departement van Onderwys deur 'n proses waar skole se onderwysvoorsiening vir die volgende jaar bepaal word deur die aantal leerders wat by die skool ingeskryf is. Die stelsel wat deur die WKOD gebruik word om leerder inskrywings by skole te bepaal, word die Sentrale Opvoedingsbestuur en Inligting Stelsel genoem. Fundameteel tot die proses is die feit dat indien 'n skool se leerdertal vermeerder het sederd die vorige opname, sal die skool addisionele onderwysers win. Indien die inskrywingstotaal egter gedaal het, word die aantal onderwysers wat aan die skool voorsien word verminder. Verandering wat deur die onderwyser herontplooiing teweegbring word kan 'n negatiewe uitwerking op die moraal en motivering van onderwysers het. Die funksionering van skole en hul vermoeë om gehalteonderrig te voorsien kan ook negatief beïnvloed word daardeur. Dit is veral skole wat dit nie kan bekostig om addisionele onderwysers aan te stel en uit skoolfonds te besoldig nie, wat die swaarste getref word hierdeur. Die probleem word nagefors deur te kyk na 'n paar onderwysers in primêre skole in twee opvoedingsdistrikte wat onder die WKOD werksaam is. Onderwysers wat deel vorm van die studie is persone wat oortollig verklaar is en verplaas is, of wie nog wag op verplasing. Hierdie studie het onderwysers se ervaringe van die herontplooingsproses bestudeer. Onderwysers was die geleentheid gegee om hul ervaringe met die naforser te deel en sodoende lig te werp op hoe die proses hul gedrag, professionele houding en algemene gesondheid geraak het. Die naforsing het getoon dat terwyl daar gevalle is waar die proses van regstellende aksie en herontplooing met die nodige sorg en omsigtigheid hanteer word, is dit nie altyd die norm nie. Hierdie proses word ten tye op 'n kliniese wyse hanteer en dit skep die indruk dat die prinsipaal onsimpatiek is en nie neutraal staan in die proses nie.