The Velocity of Structural Changes in Corporations and the Psychological Effect on Employees

Author

Laura Davis, Fontbonne College

Year of Award

1987

Degree

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

College

College of Business & Professional Studies

Degree Program

Business

Department

Business Administration

Keywords

Management, Employees, Personnel, Mergers, Transition, Takeover, Corporate Culture

Abstract

American management has paid scant attention to the employed genius and sinew of its personnel in recent years, by concentrating on restructuring. Suddenly, knowledge, experience and wisdom no longer seem priceless, employee qualities. It is only natural, then, that American employees' faith in their companies is fastly deteriorating at a frightening pace. For the keepers of the flame have, perhaps, become expendable commodities.

Mergers, acquisitions and divestitures create new policies and procedures to be matched to post-merger strategies. These strategies entail that corporations do some restructuring. All too often, however, new strategies are formulated without enough consideration for structuring the resources that must support them during the post-merger transition. Unfortunately, employees become diminished in the corporate scheme of things.

The velocity of structural changes has many personnel caught in a merger syndrome. Personnel are worried about job security, for many layoffs have occurred in corporations in order to bring staffing levels in synch with revenues. The psychological and transitional implications for employees are important and at issue. Discomfort on the part of employees can cause dissonance.

Without its employees, a company is little more than a corporate shell. Corporations stage the momentum of the company, but the driving events of employees make the difference. The intrinsic value of many corporations, therefore, is its people. When employees sense a dramatic shift in a questionable direction, they degenerate--doubtful about the restructured corporation.

An assessment of the psychological issues and concerns of employees and corporate strategies will be the focal point of my thesis.

Document Type

Restricted Thesis

Recommended Citation

Davis, Laura, "The Velocity of Structural Changes in Corporations and the Psychological Effect on Employees" (1987). All Theses, Dissertations, and Capstone Projects. 571.
https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/all-etds/571