Case Studies in Cultural Learning & Change
If our understanding of culture fits with yours, we’d
like to help develop your ability to think in terms of cultural
learning, change and development. Every few weeks
we’ll post
a short excerpt from articles about organizational culture
in the popular, business or academic press. We’ll then provide a
commentary using the framework provided in our
response to the questions in “What’s
in this Website for You?” If you have a cultural
learning, change or development situation that you’d like us to comment
on, please send it along.
Click on the article title of any of the following
case studies to link to the excerpt. Then click on the bolded
blue phrases in the excerpt to link to the commentary
Case Study Summary
The
Five Imperatives For Managing Company Culture
A summary of insights from Case Studies
#1 to #38
Case Study 38 | 19.10.09
Cultivating Company Culture
and Pride
Report on [Small] Business,Globe and Mail,
September, 2009
Case Study 37 | 15.09.07
Shaped By the Crucible of Chaos
Globe and Mail, Patrick
Brethour, May 28, 2007
Case Study 36 | 30.03.07
The Unintended Consequences
Of Culture Interventions: A Study Of Unexpected Outcomes
British Journal of Management, L.C. Harris; E.
Ogbonna, March 2002, Vol.13, Issue 1
Case Study 35 | 30.12.06
The Tools of Cooperation and
Change
Harvard Business Review, Clayton M. Christensen;
Matt Marx and Howard Stevenson, October, 2006
Case Study 34 | 15.09.06
Tribal Tribulations--It's cultcha,
stupid! New Zealand Management.
March 2005
Case Study 33 | 15.06.06
The Importance & Challenge of
Managing the Business Culture
Supervision, Michael E. Smith. May 2002, Vol.
63, Issue 5
Case Study 32 | 01.05.06
EMPLOYEE LOYALTY: NOT DEAD, JUST
DIFFERENT. Learning and development,
pride in the brand, work/life balance, and returning the
feeling: these are the new drivers.
Globe & Mail, John Izzo, March 3, 2006
Case Study 31 | 21.03.06
Leading By Leveraging Change
California Management Review,
Jennifer A. Chatman and Sandra Eunyoung Chay.
Summer 2003, Vol. 45, Issue 4
Case Study 30 | 30.01.06
Happy
At HomeBanc
Mortgage Banking, Mary McGarity. June 2005
Case Study 29 | 01.01.06
THE
BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR IN BC
BC Business, Vancouver
2005. Volume 33, Number 12.
Case Study 28 | 01.12.05
WHY
WE HATE HR
Fast Company,
Keith H Hammonds. Boston:
Aug. 2005. Iss. 97.
Case Study 27 | 01.11.05
Building
a sound company culture.
Civil Engineering, Steven J. Chapin, T.
Howard Noel. New York:June 2000. Vol.70, Iss. 6.
Case Study 26 | 15.10.05
The
Cultural Paradigm of the Smaller Firm.
Journal of Small Business Management, H. Haugh,
L. McKee. Milwaukee: Oct. 2004. Vol. 42, Iss. 4.
Case Study 25 | 01.10.05
Closing
the cultural divide in today's start-ups.
Network World,
Ari Azhir.
Framingham:
Nov. 13, 2000. Vol. 17,
Iss. 46.
Case Study 24 | 15.09.05
Culture
Shock: How two cultures become one in a merger.
Across the Board,
Vadim Liberman.
New York:
May/Jun 2005.Vol.42, Iss. 3.
Case Study 23 | 31.07.05
Know
Thyself: Assessment tools can save millions in hiring
costs - but only if you know the kind of staff you
want. That means understanding your own culture.
Human Resources, Matt Farquharson. London:
May 2005.
Case Study 22 | 15.07.05
Opening
minds: Cultural change with the introduction of open-source
collaboration methods.
IBM Systems Journal,
A. Neus, P. Scherf,
Armonk: 2005. Vol. 44, Iss. 2.
Case Study 21 | 15.06.05
Using
Appreciative Inquiry to drive change at the BBC.
Strategic Communication Management,
Sam Berrisford, Chicago:
Apr/May, 2005, Vol.9, Iss. 3.
Case Study 20 | 31.05.05
Five
Guiding Principles of Culture Management: A Synthesis
of Best Practice.
Journal of Communication Management,
Donna McAleese, Owen Hargie,
London: 2004. Vol.9, Iss. 2.
Case Study 19 | 15.05.05
The
Role of Middle Managers in the Transmission and Integration
of Organizational Culture.
Journal of Healtcare Management,
Caterina Lucia Valentine, Francis W. H. Brunelle,
Nov/Dec, 2004. Vol.49, Iss. 6
Case Study 18 | 30.04.05
Making
Change. Why is it so darn hard to change our ways? New
insights from psychology and neuroscience offer some
surprising answers — and ways to improve the odds.
Fast Company,
Alan Deutschman,
May, 2005
Case Study 17 | 15.04.05
Corporate
Culture.
Canadian HR Reporter asked chief executive officers about the cultures of their
organizations and how the people at the top influence the corporate environment.
Canadian HR Reporter,
Dec. 6, 2004. Vol.17, Issue. 21
Case Study 16 | 31.03.05
The
Anxiety of Learning. Everyone touts learning organizations,
but few actually exist. World-renowned psychologist Edgar
H. Schein draws on decades of pioneering research to
explain why.
Harvard Business Review,
Diane L. Coutu, March, 2002
Case Study 15 | 15.03.05
Execution
Without Excuses. Dell's sustained competitive advantage
is due to more than its famous business model. Consistent
execution requires real-time P&L management, an emphasis
on ingenuity rather than on investment, and a culture of accountability.
Harvard Business Review,
Thomas A. Stewart and Louise O'Brien, March, 2005
Case Study 14 | 28.02.05
Gospels
of Failure: The reports on three high-profile disasters
offer rich lessons in why organizations fail -- and how
not to.
Fast Company, Jena McGrego, February, 2005
Case Study 13 | 15.02.05
THE 100
BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR. The Wegmans Way. There's
a new No. 1. The 89-year-old Rochester-based chain is
that rare breed: a grocer beloved by its employees — and
one that is also trouncing its competitors in a very
tough industry. Here's how the company does it.
Fortune, Matthew Boyle, Jan. 24, 2005
Case Study 12 | 31.01.05
Can Kevin
Rollins Find the Soul of Dell? The president of the computer
world's most relentless competitor is urging his colleagues
to ask and answer a soul-searching question: What does
it mean to be a great company.
Fast Company, Linda Tischler, November,
2002
Case Study 11 | 15.01.05
50 Best
Employers in Canada: Doing it Right. Doing it Wrong.
Key Lessons from the Highest and Lowest Scoring Employers
in Canada.
The Globe & Mail: Report On Business, Jim
Sutherland,
January, 2005
Case Study 10 | 31.12.04
Turn the Tide
Canadian Business Magazine, Jonathan Davidson,
Kathleen McLaughlin & Richard Benson-Armer, February
16, 2004
Case Study 9 | 15.12.04
The Real Reason People Won't Change
Harvard Business Review, Robert Kegan &
Lisa Laskow-Lahey, November, 2001
Case Study 8 | 30.11.04
Lou Gerstner Takes the
Gloves Off: The IBM CEO on the turnaround and his critics
Business Week, Ira Sager, November 18,
2002
Case Study 7 | 15.11.04
What's Your Culture
Worth?
Forbes, Bo Burlingham, September 30, 2002
Case Study 6 | 15.11.04
Unmasking Your Motivations: The 'vision thing' may sell books,
but getting real with employees works best
Fortune,
Ellyn Spragins, November 1, 2002
Case Study 5 | 30.10.04
Across the Great Divide
Business Week, Christopher Kenton, June 14, 2004
Case Study 4 | 15.10.04
Hidden Asset:
Thomas Davenport has helped midwife some of the biggest trends to have shaped
business over the past 25 years--among them, reengineering and knowledge management.
Now he's asking: Where do ideas come from? And how do they get traction?
Fast Company, Bill Breen, March, 2004
Case Study 3 | 15.10.04
Taking On the Street. The Culture
Club's Good Karma: Chris Davis
of Davis Advisors judges companies by their value systems—and
makes money doing it
Fortune,
David Rynecki, October1, 2003
Case Study 2 | 30.09.04
Changing a Culture of Face Time
Harvard Business Review, Bill Munck, November,
2001
Case Study 1 | 30.09.04
Putting the
Muscle Back in the Bull:
Stan O'Neal may be the toughest—some say the most ruthless—CEO in America.
Merrill Lynch couldn't be luckier to have him
Fortune Magazine, David Rynecki, 21 March, 2004
|