Some Ideological Foundations of Organizational Downsizing

Abstract

This article explores the ideological foundations of organizational downsizing in the 1990s and focuses on the ideology of employee self-reliance and the ideology of debureaucratization. We document these two managerial ideologies by examining business press articles and popular management literature in which they are being promulgated. Based on past organizational research that has traced the effects of ideologies on organizations, we argue that these two ideologies increase the likelihood of downsizing. This theoretical framework is developed, and its implications for future research, management practice, and government policy are discussed.