Leading Culture Change in Global Organizations: Aligning Culture and Strategy

Filled with case studies from firms such as GT Automotive, GE Healthcare China, Vale, Dominos, Swiss Re Americas Division, and Polar Bank, among others, this book (written by Dan Denison and his co-authors) combines twenty years of research and survey results to illustrate a critical set of cultural dynamics that firms need to manage in order to remain competitive. Each chapter uses a case as a means to illustrate an important aspect of culture change focusing on seven common culture-change dilemmas including creating a strategic alignment, keeping strategy simple, and more.

About the Authors

Daniel Denison is professor of management and organization at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland, and is also chairman and founding partner of Denison Consulting, LLC, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Denison received his bachelor's degree in psychology, sociology, and anthropology from Albion College and his Ph.D. in organizational psychology from the University of Michigan. He has written several books, including Corporate Culture and Organizational Effectiveness, published by Wiley in 1990. His writings have appeared in a number of leading journals including Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization Science, Organizational Dynamics, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management, and Policy Studies Review. Professor Denison's research, teaching, and consulting focus on organizational culture and its impact on the performance and effectiveness of organizations.

Robert Hooijberg has a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and teaches at IMD in Lausanne. His areas of special interest are leadership and 360-degree feedback, negotiations, team building, and organizational culture. Before joining IMD in September 2000, Professor Hooijberg taught at Rutgers University in their MBA and Executive MBA programs in New Jersey, Singapore, and Beijing. In 1997, while at the Rutgers Business School, he was named Professor of the Year by both the MBA students and the faculty.

Mr. Hooijberg's research has appeared in such journals as Academy of Management Learning and Education Journal, Leadership Quarterly, Journal of Management, Human Relations, Organization Science, Human Resource Management, Hospital and Health Services Administration, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Journal of Management Education, Administration & Society, International Journal of Organizational Analysis, and Journal of Organizational Behavior. In 2007 he published an edited collection entitled Being There Even When You Are Not: Leading Through Strategy, Structures, and Systems.

He has provided programs for and consulted with organizations such as Vale, Wavin, WWL, Ernst & Young, DSM, Rabobank, Axel Springer, Credit Suisse, EMC, Novo Nordisk, Carlsberg, DNV, HSBC, Unilever, Bekaert, Roche Pharmaceuticals, Roche Vitamins, PSE&G, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Merck, AT&T, Korea Telecom, Lucent, the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

Nancy Lane (M.Sc., London School of Economics) is a researcher at IMD in Lausanne whose work focuses on coaching effectiveness and leadership. Before joining IMD she worked in the financial services industry. She earned her bachelor's in economics from the University of California at Berkeley.

Colleen Lief is a research associate working with IMD on corporate culture, leadership, and change management projects. She earned a master of philosophy degree in economics from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh. Ms. Lief worked for over twenty years as a commercial banker at major financial institutions in the United States.