abstract: ABSTRACT This research reveals how governments cut budgets during fiscal crises and what pattern may emerge based on the cuts. It addresses a significant gap in literature by looking into the details of an agency for a full recession period to explain how cutback requirements were met. Through investigating a large Arizona state agency during the 2008 recession in the United States, the research reveals that cutback management is a stage-by-stage process lagging the immediate deterioration of the state’s economy and that patterns found among cuts are more often rational than not. Cutbacks in this agency proceeded through three stages: the beginning, middle and the end period of cuts. In each stage, the author used descriptive analysis, process map analysis and cause and effect analysis to explore the features of cuts made. These methods of analysis were used to break down an annual budget reduction into original appropriation budget cuts, mid year reductions and the final budget cuts required to end the fiscal year in balance. In addition, the analytical methods permitted more detailed analysis of specific appropriation line items. The information used was secondary data collected from seven fiscal years around the recession and from various sources, including budgetary materials, legislation, accounting materials and many program reports related to budget cuts. The findings suggested that across-the-board cuts are implemented at the beginning of cutback stage mainly to non-mandatory programs without jeopardizing the core functions of the agency. Later, in the middle period of the recession, selective cuts are made on large programs. Fund transfers and excess balance transfers are also preferred to reduce the budgets of other restricted funds. At the end stage of budget cuts, new revenue sources are established to support programs which had relied on general fund revenues in the past. Overall, the cutback process observed in this research reflects decremental and rational patterns of decision making, contrasting with the randomness observed in previous research on cutback management. Across the board cuts are decremental; the remainders are rational, even strategic decisions. This investigation reminds researchers to be aware of the context and the level of observation when analyzing cutbacks. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Public Administration and Policy 2018

This study focuses on employees in a public organization and their experiences of cutback management. In January 2017, the Swedish Migration Agency decided to initiate a cutback process in which a large number of employees risked losing their job. Such process is still ongoing, and we have performed qualitative interviews with seven respondents prior receiving a potential notice of termination. Through such interviews it emerged how the respondents experienced the cutback management process, and we divided such experiences into six themes. These were communication, participation, acknowledgement, job security, trust and motivation. Six of the respondents experienced a lack of communication, not being involved in the cutback process and a lack of acknowledgement by the management. Along with the insecurity a cutback process creates due to the risk of losing one’s job, such experiences led to a lower motivation, a lower organizational commitment but also a lower work commitment. Their experiences led as well to a lower trust both in the Swedish Migration Agency and the state as employers. As a consequence of their experiences, but specially of the job insecurity and family situation of each respondent, more than half of the respondents had left or decided to leave the organization. Our result differs from previous research specially in the matter concerning the work commitment and public service motivation. Our study shows that it is possible the employees of today’s public organizations work for the state because of what the state can do for them and not because of what they can do for the state and the users of public service. Our study shows the public service motivation appears to be in decline, and thus also the work commitment in times of cutbacks.