In recent years, hospitals in Canada as elsewhere have witnessed unprecedented downsizing of their workforces. It is generally assumed that planned workforce reductions can have deleterious consequences on an organization's human resources. Scholars and practitioners alike have identified a number of humane or progressive approaches that are widely considered to be effective for organizations undergoing downsizing. This study examines the impact that workforce reduction approaches have on perceptions of organizational performance in a large sample of Canadian hospitals undergoing permanent workforce reductions.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AmbroseD. (1996). HEALING THE DOWNSIZED ORGANIZATION, New York: Harmony Books.
2.
Armstrong-StassenM. (1993). Survivors' reaction to a workforce reduction: A comparison of blue-collar workers and their supervisors. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES, 10: 334–343.
3.
BaumannA., O'Brien-PallasL., DeberR., DonnerG., SemogasD., & SilvermanB. (1996). Downsizing in the hospital system: A restructuring process. HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT FORUM, 9(4): 5–13.
4.
BrocknerJ. (1992). Managing the effects of layoffs on survivors. CALIFORNIA MANAGEMENT REVIEW, 34: 9–28.
5.
BurkeR.J., & NelsonD.L. (1997). Downsizing and restructuring: Lessons from the firing line for revitalizing organizations. LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT JOURNAL, 18: 325–334.
6.
CameronK. (1994). Strategies for successful organizational downsizing. HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT, 33: 189–211.
7.
CameronK.S., FreemanS.J., & MishraA.K. (1991). Best practices in white-collar downsizing: Managing contradictions. ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE, 5(3): 57–73.
8.
CameronK.S., & ZammutoR. (1983). Matching managerial strategies to conditions of decline. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, 22:359–376.
9.
Canadian Health Care Association. (1995). GUIDE TO CANADIAN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES 1995–1996. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Author.
10.
CascioW.F. (1993). Downsizing? What do we know? What have we learned?ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE, 7: 95–104.
11.
CascioW., YoungC., & MorrisJ. (1997). Financial consequences of employment-change decisions in major U.S. corporations. ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, 40: 1175–1189.
12.
ChanY.L., & LynnB.E. (1998). Operating in turbulent times: How Ontario's hospitals are meeting the current funding crisis. HEALTH CARE MANAGEMENT REVIEW, 23(3): 7–18.
13.
ChidleyJ. (December 2, 1996). Radical surgery: Cuts in public funding imperil medicare's future. MACLEAN'S MAGAZINE, 44–47.
14.
ChurchJ., & BarkerP. (1998). Regionalization of health services in Canada: A critical perspective. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SERVICES, 28: 467–486.
15.
CohnR.M. (1978). The effect of employment status change on self-attitudes. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, 41: 81–93.
16.
DelaneyJ., & HuselidM. (1996). The impact of human resource management practices on perceptions of organizational performance. ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, 39: 949–969.
17.
DeleryJ.E., & DotyD.H. (1996). Modes of theorizing in strategic human resources management: Tests of universalist, contingency, and configurational performance predictions. ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, 39: 802–835.
18.
DeMeuseK., VanderheidenP., & BergmannT. (1994). Announced layoffs: Their effect on corporate financial performance. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, 33: 509–530.
19.
EvansM.G., GunzH.P., & JallandR.M. (1997). Implications of organizational downsizing for managerial careers. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES, 14: 359–371.
20.
FeldmanD.C. (1996). Managing careers in downsizing firms. HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT, 35: 145–161.
21.
FeldmanD.C., & LeanaC.R. (1994). Better practices in managing layoffs. HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT, 33: 239–260.
22.
FisherS.R., & WhiteM.A. (2000). Downsizing in a learning organization: Are there hidden costs?ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT25: 244–251.
23.
Fitz-enzJ. (1997). The truth about best practices: What they are and how to apply them. In UlrichD., LoseyM.R., & LakeG. (Eds.). TOMORROW'S HR MANAGEMENT, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 217–226.
24.
FreemanS.J., & CameronK.S. (1993). Organizational downsizing: A convergence and reorientation framework. ORGANIZATION SCIENCE, 4: 10–29.
25.
FryerD., & PayneR. (1986). Being unemployed: A review of the literature on the psychological experience of unemployment. In CooperC.L. & RobertsonI.T. (Eds.). INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY, Chichester, UK: Wiley, Volume 1: 235–278.
26.
GilmoreT., & HirschhornL. (1983). Management challenges under conditions of retrenchment, HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, 22: 341–357.
27.
Globe & Mail (May 12, 2000) Gloom deepens about heath care, new poll shows. GLOBE & MAIL, Toronto.
28.
Globe & Mail (September 26, 1997) Hospital reform too hasty, far-reaching, report warns. GLOBE & MAIL, Toronto.
29.
GreenhalghL., LawrenceA., & SuttonR. (1988). Determinants of workforce reduction strategies in declining organizations. ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT REVIEW, 13: 241–254.
30.
HecksherC. (1995). WHITE COLLAR BLUES: MANAGEMENT LOYALTIES IN AN AGE OF CORPORATE RESTRUCTURING. New York: Basic Books.
31.
HeenanD.A. (1989). The downside of downsizing. JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STRATEGY, 10(6): 18–23.
32.
HenkoffR. (April 9, 1990). Cost cutting: How to do it right. FORTUNE, 40–43.
33.
HuselidM.A. (1995). The impact of human resource management practices on turnover, productivity, and corporate financial performance. ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, 38: 635–672.
34.
HuselidM.A., JacksonS.E., & SchulerR.S. (1997). The significance of human resource management effectiveness for corporate financial performance. ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, 40: 171–188.
35.
JahodaM. (1982). EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT: A SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
LeattP., BakerG.R., HalversonP.K., & AirdC. (1997). Downsizing, reengineering, and restructuring: Long-term implications for healthcare organizations. FRONTIERS OF HEALTH SERVICES MANAGEMENT, 13(4): 3–37.
38.
LeckieN., & BetchermanG. (1994). The impacts of HRM practices on established performance. CANADIAN BUSINESS ECONOMICS, 2: 36–45.
39.
LomasJ. (1997). Devolving authority for health care in Canada's provinces: Emerging issues. CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION JOURNAL, 156(6): 817–823.
40.
McKinleyW., SanchezC.M., & SchickA.G. (1995). Organizational downsizing: constraining, cloning, learning. ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE, 9(3): 32–42.
41.
MentzerM. (1996). Corporate downsizing and profitability in Canada. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES, 13: 237–250.
42.
MoneM. (1994). Relationships between self-concepts, aspirations, emotional responses, and intent to leave a downsizing organization. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, 33: 281–298.
43.
MullaneyA.D. (1989). Downsizing: How one hospital responded to decreasing demand. HEALTH CARE MANAGEMENT REVIEW, 14(3): 41–48.
44.
MurphyE.C. (1994). STRATEGIES FOR HEALTH CARE EXCELLENCE. Washington, DC: American Society for Work Redesign.
45.
NaylorC.D. (1999). Health care in Canada: Incrementalism under fiscal duress. HEALTH AFFAIRS, 18(3): 9–26.
46.
NoerD.M. (1993). HEALING THE WOUNDS: OVERCOMING THE TRAUMA OF LAYOFFS AND REVITALIZING DOWNSIZED ORGANIZATIONS. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
47.
O'NeillH., & LennJ. (1995). Voices of survivors: Words that downsizing CEO's should hear. ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT REVIEW, 9: 23–34.
48.
PerrowC. (1986). COMPLEX ORGANIZATIONS: A CRITICAL ESSAY (3rd Ed.). New York: Random House.
49.
PerryL.T. (1985). Cutbacks, layoffs, and other obscenities: Making human resource decisions. BUSINESS HORIZONS, 28(4): 68–75.
50.
RondeauK.V., & WagarT.H. (1998). WORKFORCE REDUCTION PRACTICES IN CANADIAN HOSPITALS, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, Queen's University: IRC Press.
51.
RoosN.P., BrownellM., ShapiroE., & RoosL.L. (1998). Good news about difficult decisions: The Canadian approach to hospital cost control. HEALTH AFFAIRS, 17(5): 239–246.
52.
TausigM., & FenwickR. (1999). Recession and well-being. JOURNAL OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR, 40(March): 1–16.
53.
TullyP., & Saint-PierreE. (1997). Downsizing Canada's hospitals, 1986/87 to 1994/95. HEALTH REPORTS, 8(4): 33–39.
54.
TurnleyW.H., & FeldmanD.C. (2000). Re-examining the effects of psychological contract violations: unmet expectations and job dissatisfaction as mediators. JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR, 21: 25–42.
55.
WagarT.H. (1998). Exploring the consequences of workforce reduction. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES, 15(4): 300–309.
56.
WagarT.H. (1997). Organizational outcomes and permanent workforce reduction: An exploratory analysis. RESEARCH AND PRACTICE IN HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT, 5: 1–15.
57.
WarrP.B., JacksonP., & BanksM.H. (1988). Unemployment and mental health: Some British studies. JOURNAL OF SOCIAL ISSUES, 44: 47–68.
58.
WorrelD.L., DavidsonW.N., & SharmaV.M. (1991). Layoff announcements and stockholder wealth. ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, 34: 662–678.
59.
WrightB., & BarlingJ.1998. The executioners' song: Listening to downsizers reflect on their experiences. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES, 15: 339–355.
60.
YoundtM., SnellS., DeanJ., & LepakD. (1996). Human resource management, manufacturing strategy, and firm performance. ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, 39: 836–866.
