A TENTATIVE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

TITLE OF THE STUDY A STUDY ON ORGANISATIONAL DOWNSIZING WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO IT SECTORS IN BANGALORE.

Introduction Organizational downsizing has been a pervasive phenomenon in the United States since the mid-1090s, with over 85% of the Fortune 1000 firms having engaged in some downsizing activity (Freeman & Cameron, 1993; Hitt, Keats, Harback & Nixon, 1994). Organizational downsizing has also been observed in other countries as increasing global competition and has led organizations to seek lower labor costs and increased productivity (Chao & Kozlowski, 1994; Kozlowski, 1993). While organizational downsizing has become a common activity, it remains a phenomenon that has received relatively little theoretical or empirical attention (Cameron, 1994a). Accordingly, varities of actions, like rightsizing, resizing, restructuring, delaying, have been addressed under the general rule of downsizing. Thus the wish of organisation to go flexible , to be trim and to become more responsive downsizing has becum important tool. Downsizing literature shows that organizations have experienced increased demand to improve downsizing processes in order to bring about desired results.

A substantial body of downsizing literature has accumulated over the last decade,. Downsizing is often not distinguished from related phenomena, such as restructuring and declining. The literature mainly gives descriptions of the downsizing actions and prescriptions for solutions or steps that can be taken for improvements. Downsizing theory and research have tended to compartmentalize the phenomenon; it is fragmented by different levels of conceptualization, time-frames, and content areas. This chapter gives a review of thedownsizing literature. Downsizing Different concepts, different levels of analysis, and different measurement criteria have been applied to this single construct (Cameron etal.,1993). Cameron and others report that terms encountered as synonyms of downsizing include resizing, declining, restructuring, reorganizing, re-engineering, leaning-up, streamlining, reduction-inforce, rightsizing, retrenching, slimming, researching, nonadaptating, consolidating, and many others.

What is organizational downsizing? Organizational downsizing constitutes a set of activities, undertaken on the part of the management of an organization, designed to improve organizational efficiency, productivity, and/or competitiveness. Downsizing represents a strategy implemented by managers that affects the size of the firm's workforce and its work processes (Cameron et al.,1993). According to Cameron et al.(1993), downsizing has four(4) major attributes that help define and separate it from related, but non-synonymous concepts such as decline and layoffs. These four(4) attributes, intent, personnel, efficiency, and work processes are described as follows: 1) Downsizing may occur intentionally as a strategic, proactive response designed to improve organizational effectiveness. This response may involve mergers, acquisitions, sell-offs, or restructuring to better enable the organization to meet its mission or fill an environmental niche (Kozlowski, 1991). 2) The personnel attribute of downsizing usually involves reductions in personnel. However, downsizing is not limited entirely to personnel reductions. In some downsizing situations new products are added, new sources of revenue opened up, and/or additional work acquired. Even though some people may be added, the overall process results in fewer numbers of workers employed per unit of output as compared to some previous level of employment. 3) Downsizing occurs either reactively or proactively Statement of the problem
The ability of downsizing to generate positive sustaned financial and organisational improvements remains questionable.due to overstaff or non productive staff IT secors suffers from labour cost , material cost which is a additional financial burden.downsizing is stil in infancy stage in some organisations .thus rather than a framework upon which pther concepts can be built it just remained as trend .

Objectives of the study 1) A chronological glance at downsizing and some of its tools and technique; 2) The development and the implementation of downsizing strategies; 3)To wake up th organisation to the serious conditions that exists 4)To motivate cost-savings in day to day work 5)To unfreeze the organisation for further change
Instead of being the first target for elimination emloyees are defined as resources to help generate andimplement downsizing ideas.

Methodology questions will be asked related to downsizing strategies, organisation characteristics, organisation changes, approaches to quality, organisation culture , and organisation effectiveness.