Downsizing

The general tendency is to perceive downsizing in the context of significant personnel reductions and organizational restructuring throughout an organization. In actual practice, however, downsizing tends to affect different elements of an organization in different ways and to different extents. It is certainly possible for a downsizing program to lead to increases in personnel strength for some organizational functions. The information system function is one organizational function that could be enlarged an one outcome of a downsizing program. Downsizing implies that an organization can become more productive because of an improved flow of information and because of the incorp

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ervers, the middle manager was perceived as a knowledge worker. When middle management is perceived simply as a knowledge worker function (the upward face), it is not terribly difficult to make a case against the function. The critics of middle management pointed out that in 1983 American industry spent $800 billion per year on 25 million managers (Business Week, 1983, p. 68). Obviously, when considered only in the information transmission context, there was a good deal of efficiency to be achieved through the replacement of middle managers with computer technology. The contention is that computer technology eliminates the need for the middle manager, both as a transmitter of information and as a processor and interpreter of information. The implication is that the middle management function will no longer be required in organizations, because the functions can be accomplished by senior management with computer support. The elimination of most middle managers and the placing of a greater reliance on information systems technology leads to the need for changes in an organization's structure (Byrne, 1992, p. 50). Most organizational structures may be generally described as either mechanistic or organic. The differences betwe
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Malone Rockart, Keys Bell, Jay Lorsch, , Business Week, Management World, Institute Technology, Andersen Consulting, John Rockart, Van Vorst, middle manager, information systems, organizational structure, systems function, information systems function, middle management, organizational structures, post-industrial society, organizational downsizing, organizational downsizing affect, downsizing affect, expert systems, systems function organization, function middle manager, middle manager perceived,
Approximate Word count = 5356
Approximate Pages = 21 (250 words per page)

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