ORGANIZATIONAL DOWNSIZING AND THE AFTERMATH: SURVIVORS’

231 Pages·2015·4.63 MB·English

ORGANIZATIONAL DOWNSIZING AND THE AFTERMATH: SURVIVORS’
PERCEPTIONS OF THE IMPACT ON ORGANIZATIONAL
COMMITMENT AND PERSONAL PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT IN THE CONTEXT
OF SCHOOLS
by

Lynn Taylor, B.S., M.B.A
A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Council of
Texas State University in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
with a Major in Adult, Professional and Community Education
May 2015

Committee Members:

Steve Furney, Chair
Jovita M. Ross-Gordon
Joellen Coryell
Patricia Guerra
COPYRIGHT
by
Lynn Taylor
2015
FAIR USE AND AUTHOR’S PERMISSION STATEMENT
Fair Use
This work is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553,
section 107). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations
from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of this material for
financial gain without the author’s express written permission is not allowed.

Duplication Permission

As the copyright holder of this work I, Lynn Taylor, authorize duplication of this work, in
whole or in part, for education or scholarly purposes only.
DEDICATION
For my family Brenda, Ashley and Monica; your steadfast support made this
possible.
For my close friend-D’ Angela Green- who gave me unwavering support and
stood in the gap and pointed me to the rainbow during the many storms encountered on
this journey towards a Ph. D.
For those African-American children with a lemonade stand and a dream. Others
might say your dreams are too big. Don’t believe them- I didn’t.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The completion of my doctoral dissertation would not have been possible without
the assistance of so many people in my life. First and foremost I would like to thank my
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is my Rock and His Grace, Love, Guidance and
Wisdom was instrumental on this journey. He was my strength in the valley experiences
and His Faithfulness was unwavering and evident. To my chair, Dr. Steven Furney, there
are no words that would adequately articulate what his support and belief in me has
meant. I will simply say, thank you and I am eternally grateful. My dissertation
committee of Dr. Jovita Ross-Gordon, Dr. Joellen Coryell and Dr. Pat Guerra, provided
constructive feedback, professional guidance and valuable insight to me as an emerging
researcher and scholar that contributes to the field. I express my gratitude to my
community of support: my doctoral cohort, my friends, my four-legged son Preston, my
church, and the staff at the RRC library and others that played any role on this journey.
This journey would not have been possible without the support of my mother Brenda
Cotton, who gave me the encouragement to endure the valley experiences and instilled in
me a resolve and tenacious spirit to never give up no matter the obstacles. Monica and
Ashley, my sister and niece, for all the time spent away from you, you gave me the
encouragement and support to reach for my dreams. I want to acknowledge my close
friend D’ Angela Green for her unrelenting support and words of encouragement as I
faced tremendous obstacles on this journey. She believed in me and kept me focused
v
when my valley experiences seemed daunting. She gave me the courage to endure and
determination to continue forward. I am forever grateful for our enduring friendship over
so many years. I am immensely grateful for God and His faithfulness on this journey. He
was my strength and my refuge. I am thankful He has given me the Faith to believe in
spite of adversity and the opportunity to live my purpose and to inspire others to do the
same.

vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... v
LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... xi
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... xii
CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1
Statement of the Problem ................................................................................. 2
General Methodology ............................................................................ 3
Specific Approach ................................................................................. 4
Ontological Beliefs ................................................................................ 4
Epistemological Beliefs ......................................................................... 4
Axiological Beliefs ................................................................................ 5
Methodological Beliefs ......................................................................... 6
Research Questions .......................................................................................... 7
Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................ 8
Researcher’s Background ................................................................................ 8
Definition of Terms ........................................................................................ 10
Summary ........................................................................................................ 11

II. REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE ................................................... 13

Organizational Change ................................................................................... 16
Downsizing .................................................................................................... 19
Reasons for Downsizing ...................................................................... 20
Downsizing Characteristics ................................................................. 21
The Survivors ................................................................................................. 23
Layoff Survivor Syndrome ............................................................................ 25
Organizational Commitment .......................................................................... 29
Increased Workload for Survivors ....................................................... 32
New Work Roles and Relationships in New Organization .................. 34
New Organizational Vision Adoption.................................................. 37
Survivor Engagement .......................................................................... 39
vii
Organizational Learning ................................................................................ 40
Personal Career Development........................................................................ 42
Organizational Effectiveness ......................................................................... 46
Reduction-in-Force in Public Schools ........................................................... 48
Teacher Layoffs ..................................................................................... 52
Teacher Professional Development ....................................................... 55
Synthesis of the Literature ............................................................................. 61
Summary ........................................................................................................ 61

III. METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................ 63

Research Design............................................................................................. 63
Researcher’s Perspective ............................................................................... 64
Theoretical Framework .................................................................................. 68
The Study ....................................................................................................... 70
Setting ................................................................................................... 70
Sequence of Events ............................................................................... 70
Sampling Procedures and Participants ........................................................... 73
Recruitment .................................................................................................... 75
Data Collection Procedures ............................................................................ 77
Semi-Structured Interviews .................................................................. 77
Researcher’s Journal ............................................................................. 78
Documents and Artifacts ....................................................................... 78
Case Study Method ........................................................................................ 79
Data Analysis ................................................................................................. 81
Evaluation Methods ....................................................................................... 83
Trustworthiness .............................................................................................. 84
Ethical Considerations ................................................................................... 86

IV. FINDINGS OF THE STUDY ........................................................................ 87

Communication Protocol and Transparency to Bridge Theory
and Implementation of the Reduction in Force ........................................ 88
Process of the Reduction in Force ............................................................ 89
Criteria for Reduction in Force ................................................................ 95
Loss of Key Personnel as a Result of the RIF ............................................. 100
RIF Impact on Instruction ...................................................................... 101
RIF Impact on Student Programs ........................................................... 103
RIF Impact on Increased Workload ........................................................ 105

viii
Emotional Toll on Those who Remain with the School and
School District as a Result of the RIF and Its Impact on
Their Psychological Well-Being ............................................................. 108
Emotions of Fear, Anxiety, and Guilt ..................................................... 109
Personal Connection with Former Colleagues ....................................... 111
Impact of RIF on Personal Professional Development ................................ 114
Relevancy of Professional Development Opportunities ........................ 117
The Pursuit of Personal Professional Development Opportunities ........ 122
Commitment to Increase Marketability in the event of a Future RIF.... . 127
Impact of RIF on Commitment to School.................................................... 130
Decline in Morale ................................................................................... 133
Increased Commitment to Students ........................................................ 135
Summary ...................................................................................................... 139

V. DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......... 143

Brief Overview of the Study ........................................................................ 144
Overview of the Introduction to the Study ............................................. 144
Overview of the Literature Review ........................................................ 146
Overview of Methods ............................................................................. 150
Discussion of Study Findings ...................................................................... 154
Theme One: Communication Protocol and Transparency to
Bridge Theory and Implementation of the RIF .......................... 155
Process of reduction in force ...................................................... 155
Criteria of reduction in force ...................................................... 156
Theme Two: Loss of Key Personnel ...................................................... 159
Reduction in force impact on instruction ................................... 160
Reduction in student programs ................................................... 160
Reduction-in-force impact on increased workload ..................... 161
Theme Three: Emotional Toll on Those Who Remain With the
School and School District as a Result of the RIF
and Its Impact On Their Psychological Well-Being ................... 162
Emotions of fear, anxiety and guilt ............................................. 166
Personal connection with former colleagues .............................. 169
Theme Four: Impact of RIF on Personal Professional Development .... 172
Relevancy of professional development opportunities ............... 173
The pursuit of personal professional development
opportunities ................................................................... 177
Commitment to increase marketability in the event
of a future RIF ................................................................. 179
Theme Five: Impact of RIF on Commitment to School ......................... 183
ix
Decline in morale ........................................................................ 186
Increased commitment to students ............................................. 189
Implications to the Field of Study ................................................................ 190
Impact on Policy Research and Practice ...................................................... 191
Strengths and Limitations ............................................................................ 193
Recommendation for Future Practice and Research .................................... 193
Recommendation for Future Practice ..................................................... 194
Recommendation for Future Research ................................................... 197
Researcher Reflections................................................................................. 199
Concluding Thoughts ................................................................................... 202

APPENDIX SECTION .................................................................................................. 205
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 210

x