Identifies high-profile companies whose failures the author attributes to a lack of a strong corporate culture, in a resource that also provides numerous case examples of companies that have demonstrated effective applications of his "Hierarchy of Corporate Cultures," through which all levels and aspects of a business are carefully defined and guided. 40,000 first printing.
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No subject is more important to the success of today's business organization than Corporate Culture. After so many years of failed fads and fix-its, such as business-process reengineering, outsourcing, downsizing, flawed go-for-growth strategies, and outrageous cases of corporate lawlessness, Dr. Jerry Want brings clarity and direction to the one subject that is most critical to the success and very survival of today's corporation- corporate culture. Corporate Culture: Illuminating the Black Hole is the definitive source of knowledge for understanding and building the new type of business culture that is required in this age of radical business change. Through dozens of real-life examples drawn from his many years of consulting and corporate experience, and unique tools such as the proprietary Hierarchy of Corporate cultures ranging from Predatory through Bureaucratic to high-performing New Age cultures, Dr. Want shows concretely and clearly how a company's culture permeates everything it does, and how to revitalize the culture in order to grow and perform to maximum capability. Case studies show how corporate culture has contributed to the success of such companies as Nucor, Harley-Davidson, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and Cisco Systems, among others. The book also examines how flawed corporate cultures have contributed to the failure or near failure of former industry leaders such as SmithKline, Motorola, Arthur Andersen, Xerox, and Polaroid, among others.Dr. Jerome Want is a business change strategist and organizational consultant with more than twenty-five years of corporate and consulting experience. He holds a doctorate in the behavioral sciences from the University of Maryland and an advanced postdoctoral certificate in organization planning and development from Chicago Loyola University's School of Labor Relations. He is the author of numerous business articles and the bookManaging Radical Change: Beyond Survival in the New Business Age.Corporate culture is a key component in the success of today's business organizations. After years of failed fads, such as business-process reengineering, outsourcing, downsizing, flawed go-for-growth strategies, and outrageous cases of corporate lawlessness, Dr. Jerry Want brings clarity and direction to the one subject that is most critical to the success and very survival of today's corporationcorporate culture. Corporate Culture: Illuminating the Black Hole is the definitive source of knowledge for understanding and building the new type of business culture that is required in this age of radical business change. Through dozens of real-life examples drawn from his many years of consulting and corporate experience, and unique tools such as the proprietary Hierarchy of Corporate cultures ranging from Predatory through Bureaucratic to high-performing New Age cultures, Dr. Want shows concretely and clearly how a company's culture permeates everything it does, and how to revitalize the culture in order to grow and perform to maximum capability. Case studies show how corporate culture has contributed to the success of such companies as Nucor, Harley-Davidson, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and Cisco Systems. The book also examines how flawed corporate cultures have contributed to the failure or near failure of former industry leaders such as SmithKline, Motorola, Arthur Andersen, Xerox, and Polaroid, among others."Jerry Want demonstrateswith no-holds-barred, real-world examplesthat ignoring the importance of a company's culture can lead to the demise of even the mightiest enterprise. His archetypes of cultures of change vs. cultures of shame can provide a helpful guide to assessing and transforming corporate cultures."Jeffrey L. Bleustein, Ph.D., chairman, Harley-Davidson, Inc. "The human side of business continues to confound even the best of corporations. Cultures must change as the business model changes. Dr. Want's newest book provides useful insights and strategies for transforming any business culture into a winning business culture."James Walker, Ph.D, president, The Walker Group; founder, The Human Resource Planning Society "At last, a real-world perspective on the vital issue of corporate culture with solid recommendations for transforming underperforming and flawed business cultures into high-performing cultures that will drive corporate success. No one understands the issue better than Jerry Want."Howard Levin, president and chief executive officer (retired), Digicon Electronics "In today's radically changed business climate, corporate culture has become the critical difference between failure and long-term success. Dr. Jerry Want provides keen insights for understanding and building an ethical and performance-driven business culture."James M. Coblin, vice-president, Nucor Corporation "Consultant Want tells us that since radical change is the only constant in today's business world, a company must have a highly performing culture in order to be competitive. He defines corporate culture as the reflection of the 'behaviors, values, dreams, assumptions, hopes, commitments, performance, knowledge, competence, recognition and rewards systems, performance, innovation and communications that exist within a company.' Culture is reflected in a company's leadership and management effectiveness; its communications and decision making; its organizational behaviors (such as its ethical conduct); and its tolerance for risk. We learn that a culture singularly focused on making money at any cost is often dominated by fear, poor morale, bad customer relations, reduced innovation, and inconsistent financial performance. Studies conclude that there is a direct connection between a high-performance culture and strong financial results. As Want quotes Louis Gerstner, former chairman of IBM, 'corporate culture is not one thing a CEO doesit is everything he does.'"Mary Whaley, Booklist
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