CIPD PDS MANAGEMENT RESEARCH REPORT

CIPD PDS Management Research Report

Acknowledgements

Writing this thesis has been very demanding, challenging and time-consuming, but also remarkable, informative and above all fun. Nevertheless, it feels great to have finally completed my bachelor's or master's thesis and I am now looking forward to a nice relaxing period for recovering. It has been both advantages and drawbacks with the limited amount of earlier research conducted within this area, even though I faced serious troubles but sometimes the advantages of this research luckily were in my favor and have made this research both challenging and interesting. I would like to thank my supervisor hank Terri Pettifer-Eagles former DHL HR Director, External DHL training consultant .Council Z Executive team and managers for participating in the research, Helen Johnston, Internal Communications, Severn Trent who has been great in guiding my through this thesis, helping me through the difficulties I faced during the entire process and motivated me to work hard. Furthermore, I would like to thank all my friends, for their contributions by sharing their perceptions and opinions with me. Above all I would like to thank my family and teachers that provided me with valuable and constructive criticism.

Executive Summary

The purpose of this report is to review current management literature to identify best management practice in terms of minimising the adverse effects of downsizing an organisation. For reasons of confidentiality, agreed with tutor, the council within this report will be referred to as Council Z. Current unemployment figures in the UK are currently at a 15 year high of 2.43 million people - a 73% employment rate. Workforces in both the private and public organisations are being streamlined to maximise their output in a period of financial and economic constraint. The primary and secondary research assesses the traditional 'command and control' style of management within Council Z in order to identify if this style is suitable to the economic and national government climate in which downsizing is being imposed. This report will discuss effective and ineffective practices within these themes in order to identify areas of 'best practice'. Council Z will be evaluated against the identified 'best practice' in order to establish their appropriateness, identify improvement areas and the organisational added value these practices can provide. The report will explain what measures should be taken and the feasibility of how well they can be introduced into the management culture of the council within its limitations of budget constraints. Recommendations to modify Council Z's current practices will be proposed, based on the analyses, which will enhance the management of downsizing and enable the people and organisation to be prepared for the future.

Table of Content

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Overview1

Aim of Report2

Significance of study3

Research process4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW6

Management and Leadership role6

Communication Gap7

Managers Leadership8

Downsizing Defined9

Why Do Firms Downsize?10

Downsizing Typologies11

?Workforce Reduction Strategy11

?Organizational Redesign Strategy12

?The Systemic Strategy12

How Do Firms Downsize?13

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY15

Research Method15

Secondary Research15

Council Z Employee Survey 200415

Council Z Employee Survey 200716

CIPD 2006 Survey How engaged is British Employees Summary17

CIPD Employee Attitudes Survey 200917

Local Government Sickness Absence Levels ...