Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2006. / Title from title screen (site viewed on Aug. 24, 2006). PDF text of dissertation: 210 p. : ill. ; 1.14Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3208085. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm, microfiche and paper format.

An audit report by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) indicated that a company needs to ensure that support is provided to those employees who remain after a staff reduction process and that their needs are managed effectively. One of the recommendations by ANAO for companies that are embarking on restructuring and future staff reduction programs, is the facilitation of change management workshops, or intervention to prepare the staff to manage change. A literature study revealed that no change management model existed that specifically focused on the “survivors” of a retrenchment or restructuring strategy in a company. The literature study was therefore used to assist in developing a change management in Telkom SA. Pre-assessment and post-assessment questionnaires were developed to test the employees’ abilities to manage change and their understanding of the changes that the telecommunications industry is facing. The findings of the survey showed a high level of employee tolerance to change and illuminated the value that was added by the developed change management model.

M.Phil.

The aim of this study was to develop a model to assist a South African information technology company with its organisation redesign interventions. A modernist qualitative methodology, with casing as research design and grounded theory as research strategy, was employed to develop a substantive model. Seven employees were selected as research participants by means of purposive sampling. Their experience of the company’s redesign was explored with a view to developing the model. Various data collection methods were used: semi-structured and follow-up interviews, solicited e-mail essays and policy documents. These yielded rich descriptive data, which were systematically analysed by means of grounded theory methodology. Manual and computer-based (ATLAS.ti 5.0) qualitative data analysis techniques were used to develop the substantive model. After conclusion of the data analysis, the literature on the most current organisation downsizing typologies, models and theories was reviewed. The results of this review informed a focus group discussion that was aimed at substantiating the model. This discussion culminated in the formulation of the Organisation Redesign Model. Thereafter recommendations were made for future research in this field. The Organisational Redesign Model has implications for the information technology sector in South Africa, and the formalisation of grounded theory and the roadmap thereof should facilitate the application of grounded theory in future research. Authenticity, trustworthiness, credibility and reflectivity were ensured by following the guidelines provided in the literature. / Prof. W.J. Schurink

No description available.

Research on the effects of downsizing has focused on several levels including the global, organization, and the individual. However, this research, at the individual level, focused specifically on the effects of downsizing on the survivors of the organization. Downsizing refers to activities undertaken by management to improve the efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness of the organization by reducing the workforce size. Many researchers explain the types of response we can expect from survivors of a corporate downsizing. The possible attitudes and behaviors due to downsizing are of particular interest to managers, because managers will inevitably face a workforce at least partially staffed with survivors of downsizing activities. The purpose of this research is to give a better understanding of the effects of downsizing on survivors. This is accomplished by systematically analyzing and combining the findings of independent studies through meta-analysis. This research investigates the variables and variable relationships which represent effects of downsizing on the survivors. The individual downsizing studies are the sources of the variables used to measure behaviors and attitudes prevalent among downsizing survivors. The results of this research give a summary of the cumulated correlations for sixteen(16) variable relationships specifying the strength, direction, and the range of the correlations. These findings enable the manager to preview, in a combined sense, a certain set of downsizing survivor responses. These results support the findings reported in the independent studies and by other downsizing researchers. The studies that did not qualify for use in the meta-analysis cumulation procedures are analyzed, through the meta-analysis vote count method, and show that the majority of the survivors had experienced negative downsizing effects. Included also is an analysis of the small sample of studies done in the public versus those done in the non-public sectors that shows no real differences, due possibly to the small sample size. This research, through the use of meta-analysis, confirms the findings of the independent studies and gives more statistical reliability and confidence to the findings. / Ph. D.

<p> This thesis investigates the impact of layoffs on the emotions, attitudes and behaviours of emergency room nurses in a large trauma hospital. This thesis is premised upon the conclusions drawn by Joel Brockner in his laboratory and survey studies of downsizing survivors. Equity theory provides a framework for Brockner's analyses. According to equity theory, participants in social exchange relationships, such as those between an employer and employee, prefer that these relationships be equitable. That is, that the input to outcome ratio of each participant in the exchange be proportionate. Brockner contends that a situation of positive inequity results when the input to outcome ratio of one participant is greater than that of the other(s). Central to Brockner's work is the hypothesis that all downsizing "survivors", those who remain employed with the organization after downsizing, experience positive inequity as a result of simply surviving the process. In addition, how survivors respond to this positive inequity, Brockner contends, depends in large part on how fairly they perceive management's handling of the layoff. </p> <p> Equity theory has also been used to analyze the responses of the nurses to the layoffs in their department. However, the application of equity theory presented in this thesis differs from that of Brockner. Unique to this study is the finding that the nurses' responses to the layoffs were dictated by the increased workload they experienced following the layoffs. The nurses experienced this workload as another type of inequity, one that has to this point been overlooked in the literature. It was also found that the nurses' experience of "workload induced negative inequity" superseded any positive responses they may have exhibited as a result of simply surviving the layoffs in their department and for having perceived these layoffs to have been fairly managed. The nurses became distressed as a result of this workload inequity. This thesis includes a discussion of how the nurses strove to alleviate this distress and restore equity to their workplace. </p> <p> This thesis demonstrates that while equity theory has proven to be an effective tool, alone it is not an adequate theoretical framework for the analysis of the experiences of all downsizing survivors. Similarly, the findings of this thesis show that the factors influencing the nurses' responses to downsizing differ greatly from those of the survivors in Brockner's studies. Thus, the recommendation is made that scholars remain open to the possibility that survivors are likely affected by a multitude of factors. Consideration of these issues will ensure that the literature in this area grows in a substantive way. </p> / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

by Suen Mei-Yan Priscilla, Tsoi Wing-Hoi Elaine. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-65). / ABSTRACT --- p.i / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.ii / CHAPTER / Chapter I --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter II --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.8 / Chapter III --- METHODOLOGY --- p.13 / Subjects --- p.13 / Data Collection Procedure --- p.13 / Measurements --- p.15 / Questionnaires for the Employees --- p.14 / Questionnaires for the Human Resources Managers --- p.18 / Chapter IV --- RESULTS --- p.19 / Downsizing --- p.19 / Companies' Actual Practice to Laid-off Staff --- p.19 / Comparison of Employees，Expectation to Companies' Actual Practice to Survivors --- p.20 / Comparison of Employees' and Human Resources Managers' Perception Regarding Things Being Done to Survivors --- p.21 / Comparison of Employees，Expectation to Human Resources Managers' Actual Practice to Survivor During Downsizing --- p.22 / Human Resources Managers' Perception of Survivors' Productivity and Morale After Downsizing --- p.23 / Measures of Employees' Organizational Commitment And Psychological Health with or without Downsizing --- p.23 / Salary Cut and Fringe Benefits Cut --- p.24 / Comparison of Employees' Expectation to Companies' Actual Practice Regarding Salary Cut and Fringe Benefits Cut --- p.24 / Comparison of Employees' and Human Resources Managers' Perception Regarding Things Being Done During Salary Cut or Fringe Benefits Cut --- p.25 / Comparison of Employees' Expectation and Human Resources Managers' Actual Practice Regarding Salary Cut or Fringe Benefits Cut --- p.26 / Measures of Employees' Organizational Commitment and Psychological Health with or without Salary Cut --- p.26 / Measures of Employees' Organizational Commitment and Psychological Health with or without Fringe Benefits Cut --- p.27 / Chapter V --- DISCUSSIONS --- p.30 / Downsizing --- p.30 / Companies' Common Practice to the Laid-off Staff and Employees' Expectation of the Things Being Done to the Survivors --- p.30 / Comparison of Employees' and Human Resources Managers' Perception Regarding Things Being Done to Survivors --- p.31 / Affective Commitment --- p.32 / Continuance Commitment --- p.33 / Normative Commitment --- p.33 / Psychological Health --- p.34 / Salary Cut or Fringe Benefits Cut --- p.34 / Comparison of Employees'Expectation to Companies' Actual Practice --- p.34 / Comparison of Employees' and Human Resources Managers' Perception Regarding Things Being Done Done to Employees --- p.35 / Affective Commitment --- p.36 / Continuance Commitment --- p.36 / Normative Commitment --- p.36 / Psychological Health --- p.37 / Chapter VI --- RECOMMENDATIONS --- p.38 / "Before Downsizing, Salary or Fringe Benefits Cut" --- p.38 / "During Downsizing, Salary or Fringe Benefits Cut" --- p.41 / "After Downsizing, Salary or Fringe Benefits Cut" --- p.45 / Ways to Improve Morale --- p.45 / Ways to Improve Organizational Health --- p.47 / Ways to Improve Productivity --- p.48 / Ways to Improve Organizational Commitment --- p.50 / Chapter VII --- LIMITATIONS --- p.51 / Chapter VIII --- CONCLUSION --- p.53 / APPENDIX I --- p.54 / APPENDIX II --- p.55 / APPENDIX III --- p.59 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.63

Thesis (M.B.A.) -- Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Ponce, 2007. / Digitized and made available on the World Wide Web by Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, 2007.

Ce travail s'inscrit dans le cadre d'un partenariat entre Honeywell Turbo Technologies et le département d'Aérodynamique, Energétique et Propulsion de l'ISAE. En réponse à des objectifs industriels d'amélioration des étages turbine des systèmes de suralimentation automobile, deux axes d'étude sont dégagés: le diagnostique et l'amélioration des étages de turbine à géométrie variable utilisés dans la suralimentation des moteurs Diesel, et l'évaluation d'une turbine axiale spécifiquement conçue pour la suralimentation des moteurs essence. La première partie traite de l'influence des paramètres permettant de réaliser le couplage avec le moteur. Cette étude, basée sur une double analyse, permet d'identifier les enjeux du point de vue des performances de l'étage turbine mais aussi leur intégration dans la performance globale du moteur. Nous traitons ensuite des contraintes d'intégration imposées par le fonctionnement optimal de la boucle de suralimentation. En réponse aux problématiques soulevées, une procédure d'optimisation, basée sur une approche théorique, des étages turbine est présentée. Celle-ci permet de dégager des conclusions fortes sur la spécificité des étages à géométrie variable qui sont finalement déclinées dans un contexte industriel. Une synthèse bibliographique des règles de dimensionnement des turbines axiales débute la seconde partie. Cette architecture de machine, disposant d'une faible inertie et d'une grande compacité, semble toute indiquée pour répondre à la problématique de suralimentation des moteurs essence. La conception a nécessité une étude spécifique des différents critères de design car la géométrie axiale est atypique dans cette gamme de débit. Des résultats de simulations numériques permettent d'évaluer le potentiel aérodynamique de cet étage. Enfin, celle-ci est confrontée à l'étage de turbine radiale actuellement utilisé afin d'évaluer son potentiel dans le cadre du couplage moteur. / This work results from a partnership between Honeywell Turbo Technologies and the département d'Aérodynamique, Energétique et Propulsion of the ISAE. The main industrial goal are improving turbine stages of boosting systems. The problem is tacked through two thematics : the optimization of variable geometry radial turbine used for boosting systems of gasoline engines. The first part deals with the influence of parameters used for matching are first discussed. This study, based on double analysis, is used to identfy the stakes of turbine stage performance but also take global engine performances into account. Contraints ipmposed by peripheral systems such as cooling systems or catalytic converter are then traited. This leads to an optimization process based on theorical approach wich allows to conclude on radial turbine stage characteristics. Finally, we turn in information about industrialization. The second part begin with a literature survey of axial turbine stage design method. This type of machine, with low inertia and high compacity, can be relevant for boosting systems of gasoline engines. Design needs a specific study on criterion parameters because it is unsual to encounter axial turbines with such small diameters. CFD results give aerodynamics performances of axial stage. Then, comparison of turbocharger with engine matching between radial and axial stages is proposed.