Cutbacks, Management, and Human Relations: Meanings for Organizational Theory and Research

Retrenchments are a common occurrence in business, educaitonal, social service, and civic and public organizations in the United States. Administrative responses to the events leading to reductions have been reactive and last-resort activities typically leading to centralizations, formalization, and increased downward initiatives of communications and directives. In turn, these have tended to exacerbate the existing problems, especially those of employee morale, trust, depression, and productivity. Variations by types of organizations are presented and implications are drawn for practical consequences and solutions and for analytical contributions to organizational theory.