Eric Paul
BUSI 522
Dr. Wenger
Culture
When looking at the culture that was put in place under Jim Carpenter, one could say that National was a clan culture. A clan culture can be described as a “A friendly, people-oriented working environment where colleagues have a lot in common, similar to a family. They value teamwork and consensus. Executives are seen as mentors or father figures”(Google, "Organizational Culture Change - 6 Advantages to Enhance Performance," n.d.).This was evident at National under Jim Carpenter. “Carpenter had always treated his employees like family” (Daft 402). Carpenter was familiar with the majority of them, knowing their names and even visiting them if they were ill. Carpenter thought it was important to treat his employees this way so that they would remain loyal.
While usually the clan culture is an adaptable one, it appears in this instance that the clan culture that was set up under Carpenter was unadaptive. It is clear that National was not able to adapt to their external environment. The industry was continuing to change around National. Their competitiveness was declining, along with sales and profits. If they were able to adapt to the changes that were being presented in the external environment profits and sales would not have dropped as much and Simpson probably would have left Carpenter in charge.
New Management
At the current time in the industry was undergoing change. Nationals four largest competitors merged forming two larger companies that were in a better position to meet customer needs. This was one of the factors that lead to National being purchased by Simpson Industries. After National was purchased by Simpson, their sales and profits continued to drop while cost continued to rise. In addition to the lower sales and profits, senior leadership was also concerned about the lower productivity. Because of these problems that National was having Simpson decided it was time to bring some one else in to run...