But regardless of the reasons for downsizing, fact remains that it is a process which severely affects both the organization as well as its employees. The major effect upon the organization is related to the corporate culture. In this order of ideas, Ford, like most American companies, promoted the idea of a secure workplace, one in which the employee is valued, cherished and accordingly rewarded. But his firing directly contradicts this initially stated mission, forcing as such the stakeholders to question the true intentions and capabilities of the organization which led it to stepping over their promoted culture. Looking at it from a different angle, the situation presents itself with an opposite conclusion. To better explain, the corporate culture at Ford, again like in most American companies, clearly states the company's intent to register profits. And if achieving this desiderate requires the downsizing of the personnel, they will engage in according activities.
Depending on how one looks at it, the process of organizational downsizing can have both negative as well as positive effects upon the corporate culture. In this order of ideas, the negative effect is that it presents an organization with an unstable culture and with increased attention to financial rather than moral values. Then, the positive effect is that the culture is emphasized, in the meaning that the organization will go to extreme lengths to achieve their goal of registering profits. Whichever the case, fact remains that downsizing will force the organization to rethink and reorient...
industry, but incapable of sustaining growth and development. Then, it revealed a weak company which was unable to internationally compete as it once did, and risking to lose the second position in terms of sales and falling on the forth position, behind General Motors, Toyota and Daimler Chrysler (Maynard, 2007).
The employees' commitment to the organization is also severely impacted by the commencement of the downsizing process within a corporation. This can also be negative or positive. On the one hand, as stated before, it could decrease the employee's trust and automatically his commitment to the organization. Then, on the other hand, it could increase it, in the meaning of motivating the employee to prove his worth, increase his skills and performances and prove the management that his presence within the organization is extremely valuable. It all depends on the stand point taken by each respondent and the personal characteristics of those involved in the process.
References
Maynard, M., 2007, Ford Chief Sees Small as Virtue and Necessity, the New York Times
Downsizing, What Is, 2008, http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,sid9_gci759501,00.htmllast accessed on March 8, 2008
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 2008, http://pewebdic2.cw.idm.fr/last accessed on March 8, 2008
