History of Corporate Change LO8750

Keith Cowan (72212.51@CompuServe.COM)
30 Jul 96 19:14:17 EDT

Replying to LO8666 --

John Constantine <rainbird@trail.com> comments on downsizing:

>...In so doing, business may have lost not only the "cost" of the downsized
>worker, but the trust which was built up over time, and the potential
>wisdom which may have existed which, due to the downsizing, is no longer
>available for use as a mentor/coach/leader/listener might well have
>wanted.
>
>Q: Is downsizing worth a thread of its own?

There is a significant body of thought about the adverse impact of
downsizing on a corporation: grieving by the survivors, and loss of trust
of "them who did this" are BUT TWO.

I would rather shift the focus of the question to be:

"Under what conditions would downsizing be necessary for an LO, and how
might an LO achieve it as distinct from some of the butcher shop
techniques being displayed recently?"

I believe that no corporations have been able to do it right. There are
some anecdotes about good practices, but they are pretty spotty...Keith

-- 

Keith Cowan <72212.51@CompuServe.COM>

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>