Downsizing

As life unfolds, things tend to accumulate. When older adults undergo health, residential, and marital changes, they will face a reckoning with their lifelong store of possessions—special, ordinary, and forgotten. Such a predicament now confronts tens of millions of Americans as the Baby Boom cohort passes into retirement and beyond. Despite what a thriving industry of clutter manuals tells us, for most older adults, downsizing is no simple task. Drawing on in-depth interviews with recent movers in over a hundred diverse U.S. households, David Ekerdt analyzes the downsizing process and what it says about the meaning and management of possessions. He details how households approach and accomplish downsizing, exploring the decision-making process and the effectiveness of different strategies. From an expert gerontological perspective, he considers the cognitive, physical, emotional, and social tasks that the process entails and the role of factors such as gender and class on the divestment of things. Ekerdt finds that despite the fatigue and emotional challenges people encounter, afterward they report satisfaction in having completed a downsizing and feel empowerment on the other side of the task. Offering an empathetic and practical look at one of life’s major transitions, Downsizing brings forward the voices of elders so that older adults, their families and friends, and practitioners working with older clients can understand and benefit from their experience.

Originally publushed in 2002. In Downsizing Democracy, Matthew A. Crenson and Benjamin Ginsberg describe how the once powerful idea of a collective citizenry has given way to a concept of personal, autonomous democracy. Today, political change is effected through litigation, lobbying, and term limits, rather than active participation in the political process, resulting in narrow special interest groups dominating state and federal decision-making. At a time when an American's investment in the democratic process has largely been reduced to an annual contribution to a political party or organization, Downsizing Democracy offers a critical reassessment of American democracy.

It’s a rite of passage almost no one will escape: the difficult, emotional journey of downsizing your or your aging parents' home. Here, nationally syndicated home columnist Marni Jameson sensitively guides readers through the process, from opening that first closet, to sorting through a lifetime's worth of possessions, to selling the homestead itself. Using her own personal journey as a basis, she helps you figure out a strategy and create a mindset to accomplish the task quickly, respectfully, rewardingly—and, in the best of situations, even memorably. Throughout, she combines her been-there experience with insights from national experts—antiques appraisers, garage-sale gurus, professional organizers, and psychologists—to offer practical wisdom and heartwarming advice so you know with certainty what to keep, toss or sell.

The main focus of downsizing has shifted from the private to the public sector. The cutbacks began in the Department of Defense. Now the goal is a federal civilian workforce reduction of 12 percent by the year 2000. This pioneering study looks at the management of workforce reductions in the public sector both in theory and in practice. Three case studies -- of the Defense Logistics Agency, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Food and Drug Administration -- illustrate the organizational, managerial, and human dimensions of attempting to improve performance with reduced resources. The author draws on extensive interviews with senior executives and middle managers in the three agencies; at the General Accounting Office, the Office of Personnel Management, and the National Performance Review; the Senior Executives Association and the Federal Managers Association; and scholars and researchers. In a larger sense, this work pushes the boundaries of knowledge concerning organizational change and makes a significant contribution to organization theory. It offers important new insights not only for public sector managers but for organization theorists and management specialists whose work on downsizing has been presumed but not shown to be applicable to the public sector.

Does your organization have an immediate need to reduce the number of employees? Do you plan to downsize in the future? Downsizing will force you to think about the human side of workforce reductions and make downsizing with dignity your ultimate goal. Author Peter Garber will not only help you implement a reduction of force in your organization. He also will present important factors you must consider as you go through the process. How do you ensure each person is treated with respect and dignity? Garber gives his insight into this sensitive area as well as advice such as: Don¿t blame yourself, focus on what you can control, develop a plan and don¿t make things worse for employees. Get answers to such questions as: When should you make a public announcement? Will you have to re-assign employees who are staying to pick up the slack? How will employees be informed? What should you tell employees about long-term job security? How can you ensure a legally defensible plan? How can you restore morale moving forward? The book concludes with a checklist of the principal tasks involved in a downsizing initiative. This book is part of the HR Skills Series.

This book examines the impact of downsizing on employee morale and productivity. Downsizing, due to economic changes, has played an integral part in business, the public sector, and schools. No longer are companies inclined to maintain the status quo for the sake of employee loyalty. Downsizing has have resulted in the lives and careers of employees being destroyed. The purpose of this study was to provide insight on the perception of the work environment in light of downsizing in the states of California and Illinois Cooperative Extension. The primary role of Extension is to plan pertinent programs that are effective in meeting the educational needs of the community in agriculture, family and consumer studies, and youth development. This study focuses on how to maintain professional competencies with less staff. Data was provided by the Manson's Workplace Environment Analysis Inventory, and original instrument, to secure reactions of employees in a downsized environment, specifically on morale, survivor job security, and trust. The findings suggested that even though there were discrepancies between the employees' and management's perceptions of morale and survivors job security, they did share similar perceptions on trust in the workplace. The results of this study can be used in designing leadership training programs for community based organizations and others faced with downsizing.

Learn how to stay ahead of the game when budgets and staff are cut Medical Library Downsizing: Administrative, Professional, and Personal Strategies for Coping with Change explores corporate downsizing and other company-wide events as they relate to medical librarians in their organization. This training manual is designed to help librarians prepare for a new era where shrinking budgets, inflated journal costs, and the increasing demand for new and expensive services now put salaries and jobs at risk. While focused on health care issues, this book will appeal to a general library audience and can be used in a graduate course in library administration, corporate librarianship, or hospital librarianship. Medical Library Downsizing investigates the BCEs (Bad Corporate Events) that can negatively affect a librarian, including: an across-the-board budget cut a downsizing a restructuring (also called a re-organization or re-engineering) a buyout a merger a consolidation With Medical Library Downsizing, you will learn how to prepare for the possibility of a BCE, what signs to look for that a BCE is about to take place, and how to weather the storm. The book provides the typical patterns for a downsizing, budget cut, merger, or pension buyout—teaching you step-by-step to make the most out of each possible scenario. This unique guide uses sardonic wit and entertaining examples to bring home each lesson, making Medical Library Downsizing a vital asset to librarians in any field. Medical Library Downsizing will help you deal with: consultants who recommend downsizing and outsourcing staff communications planning your survival—and your escape route presentations to help you keep your job implementing change re-training staff and more