Downsizing as a Strategic Tool for Effective Organizational Management: A Case Study of Nigerian Banks

International Journal of Research in Management, Science & Technology (E-ISSN: 2321-3264) Vol. 2, No. 1, April 2014

Posted: 8 Mar 2018 Last revised: 2 May 2018

See all articles by Professor Edwin Agwu

Professor Edwin Agwu

London - United Kingdom

Adele-Louise Carter

Independent

Peter J. Murray

Greenwich School of Management

Date Written: 2014

Abstract

Downsizing, in recent years, have assumed a commonplace in various organisations. The views of various practitioners and in fact results of various studies indicates that these initiatives, albeit, intended to produce positive results, often do more harm than good to some organisations, workforce and their performance. The unending quest for lower costs, higher productivity and fatter profits have often led to the wielding of the ‘’big stick’’. Organisations of varying sizes and shapes have used downsizing as a cost cutting management strategy, however, the untold stories are the actual cost of these exercise to the organisation, performance and it’s far reaching implications to the workforce. This paper explored the costs and implications of the massive wave of redundancies in the workforce in Nigerian banks. With the help of data obtained from open-ended interviews conducted with various stakeholders in downsizing operations and applied within a clinical framework, individual reaction patterns are explored in the victims, the survivors and the executioners. Among the victims and survivors within the Nigerian setting, a number of ways of coping can be discerned, and described as compulsive, abrasive, dissociate and depressive. Findings revealed a plethora of mixed feelings among various employees and expose the far reaching implications both to the organisations, affected individuals (victims) and the psyche of their co-workers (survivors). The article ends with a number of practical recommendations.

Keywords: Banks, Downsizing, Executioners, Nigeria, Survivors, Victims

Suggested Citation

Agwu, Professor Edwin and Carter, Adele-Louise and Murray, Peter J., Downsizing as a Strategic Tool for Effective Organizational Management: A Case Study of Nigerian Banks (2014). International Journal of Research in Management, Science & Technology (E-ISSN: 2321-3264) Vol. 2, No. 1, April 2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3120520

Professor Edwin Agwu (Contact Author)

London - United Kingdom ( email )

United Kingdom
London, 7500
United Kingdom

Adele-Louise Carter

Independent

Peter J. Murray

Greenwich School of Management

Meridian House
Royal Hill London
Greater London, SE10 8RD
United Kingdom

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