What Is the Difference Between Downsizing and Delayering? to What Degree Does Each Contribute to Restructuring for Performance? Use Examples from Your Own Company or One You Know Well.

Traditional organizational forms have demonstrated to not to be conductive for innovation and flexibility, as confirmed by Child (2005).

On the other hand, innovation and flexibility are nowadays fundamental for Organizations to compete in the modern markets, where ability to adapt to the changing environment or anticipate the change are often the key success factors.

This is why many Companies decide to go through deep Organizational transformation processes, whose final aim is to make them more competitive.

Restructuring is probably the deepest form of corporate re-organization, for the effects it causes on the organizational structure and shape, and delayering and downsizing are two options through which it can be executed.

Delayering is the process through which an Organization reduces the number of organizational layers with the purpose to streamline the structure and make the decision-making process faster.

Downsizing, on the other hand, is the process through which an Organization reduces the workforce with the purpose to be more cost-effective.

In my view delayering is a powerful lever to improve the performance when an Organization is often stuck in complex decision-making processes, resulting in a very execution and poor change capabilities. Eliminating unnecessary managerial layers and empowering employees with higher level independence, accountability and responsibility can really unleash the potential of the Organization, as clearly demonstrated by the Semco case.

My company is also adopting such delayering practice, since pure management layers are very limited and management responsibilities are diluted among empowered employees, who can really have high visibility to the top management level based on their performances and their contribution to the Corporate strategy.

Downsizing is a very common practice used by big Corporations in crisis situations or even when, in absence of business growth opportunities, they want to maintain their...