SOME IDEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL DOWNSIZING

This article explores the ideological foundations of organizational do wnsizing in the 1990s and focuses on the ideology of employee self-rel iance and the ideology of debureaucratization. We document these two m anagerial ideologies by examining business press articles and popular management literature in which they are being promulgated. Based on pa st organizational research that has traced the effects of ideologies o n organizations, we argue that these two ideologies increase the likel ihood of downsizing. This theoretical framework is developed, and its implications for future research, management practice, and government policy are discussed.