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The process of downsizing a mental health hospital : an ethnography Sage-Hayward, Wendy S.
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to identify and describe the approach and strategies used to downsize a mental health organization. This ethnographic study was conducted at a psychiatric hospital that is beginning the 4th year of a 10 year downsizing plan. Data were gathered through interviews, informal observations, and field documents. This research design facilitated an understanding of the phenomenon in the context of the practices and beliefs of the executive management team. Semistructured interviews were conducted with six executive and four middle managers who were involved in the downsizing decision making process. Freeman and Cameron's (1993) definition of downsizing was broadened to encompass not-for-profit reasons for downsizing. Cameron's (1994) downsizing model was supported and an additional best practice called alignment of purpose was proposed in which the leadership of an organization attempts to align the stakeholders with similar goals and objectives for downsizing. The emotional process of downsizing emerged as a key area to address concurrently with job security and other more pragmatic consequences of downsizing. Empathy was suggested as one method of dealing with the emotional process of downsizing.
Item Metadata
Title |
The process of downsizing a mental health hospital : an ethnography
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1996
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Description |
The purpose of the study was to identify and describe the approach and strategies
used to downsize a mental health organization. This ethnographic study was
conducted at a psychiatric hospital that is beginning the 4th year of a 10 year
downsizing plan. Data were gathered through interviews, informal observations, and
field documents. This research design facilitated an understanding of the phenomenon
in the context of the practices and beliefs of the executive management team. Semistructured
interviews were conducted with six executive and four middle managers who
were involved in the downsizing decision making process. Freeman and Cameron's
(1993) definition of downsizing was broadened to encompass not-for-profit reasons for
downsizing. Cameron's (1994) downsizing model was supported and an additional
best practice called alignment of purpose was proposed in which the leadership of an
organization attempts to align the stakeholders with similar goals and objectives for
downsizing. The emotional process of downsizing emerged as a key area to address
concurrently with job security and other more pragmatic consequences of downsizing.
Empathy was suggested as one method of dealing with the emotional process of
downsizing.
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Extent |
6729901 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-02-17
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0054097
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
1996-05
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.