Surviving middle managers : a critical component to enhancing a restructuring process

Abstract

Restructuring processes have increasingly become an adopted business strategy solution which is often implemented in order to manage the financial difficulties facing organisations in the current economic climate. While significant research has been conducted into understanding the effect such restructuring processes have had on surviving employees, very little is understood about how the implementation and execution of such processes may impact surviving middle managers. It was observed that business leaders do not always consider how remaining middle managers are affected by such processes and how this may, in turn, affect the successful implementation of a organisational restructure and the achievement of the financial goals. This study explored how surviving middle managers' feelings, behaviours and perceptions were affected by the restructuring process and how possible changes in these areas influenced their trust, commitment and loyalty to the organisation. A qualitative, exploratory study was performed in order to gain new insights into the affect a restructuring process has on surviving middle managers. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with middle managers who had experienced and survived a restructuring process. Through the use of quota and snowball sampling, 17 middle managers from organisations listed on the JSE, which had gone through a restructuring process in the past four years, were selected to be interviewed. The audio recordings of the interviews were transcribed and analysed through coding and thematic analysis. The key findings of the study observed that surviving middle managers were negatively affected by the restructuring process, and as a result they had a negative perception of the organisation following the process. Surviving middle managers trust, commitment and loyalty towards the organisation were lowered. Parallels were drawn between the key findings and existing literature on surviving employees however, it was further identified that surviving middle managers were more analytical in their assessment and interpretation of each of the various aspects of the restructuring process. For that reason, specific aspects of the process, which were considered to have contributed to the negative feelings, and perceptions, emerged from the findings as well as factors and subsequent actions to address these aspects. This culminated in a structured approach, ?Actions Towards an Improved Restructuring Process? which enabled a ii better understanding of the necessary steps business leaders can take to ensure better acceptance, implementation and execution of a restructuring process.