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CHOICE Review

During the past few years, terms such as ``downsizing'' and ``flattening the pyramid'' have become commonplace in the lexicon of corporate America. Tomasko's book provides some practical and balanced insights into the pluses and minuses of organizational downsizing. Moreover, he presents helpful suggestions for companies to streamline their operations without incurring the disastrous consequences of massive, ill-timed layoffs. This book is must reading for anyone involved with or interested in the art and science of organizational restructuring. Chapters 1 and 2 highlight the growing problem of excessive corporate bureaucracy and the destructive impact of one response to this issue-massive managerial retrenchments. In Chapter 3 Tomasko introduces planned downsizing as a preferable alternative to deep, across-the-board cutbacks. Subsequent chapters cover in detail how to pinpoint excess staff and manage a staff cutback strategically. The author also offers alternatives to mass layoffs for streamlining corporate operations, and presents tips for maintaining a lean organization once that goal has been achieved. The book is well written, uses case-study examples effectively, and includes an impressive bibliography. All in all, an important and exciting contribution to the literature. Academic and public library collections.-T. Gutteridge, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale