Managing A Culture Slide

Managing A Culture Slide

  • Submitted By: ddlewis
  • Date Submitted: 03/26/2014 12:31 PM
  • Category: Business
  • Words: 920
  • Page: 4




Managing a Culture Slide

Harold D. Lewis, Sr.























Managing a Culture Slide
This written assignment examines the corporate culture slide of the Ciba-Geigy Company in light several critical questions raised in the article by John Humphreys and Hal Langford (2008) as it relates to corporate culture. Within the context of this assignment, we will take a close look at how the top executives of the Ciba-Geigy Company anticipate and manage their culture shifts predicated upon the questions as raised by Humphreys and Langford (2008) in their article. To assist us in framing this brief analysis, we will present a working definition of corporate or company culture.
What is Corporate Culture?
When defining corporate culture, a working definition that would help shape our understanding would include the basic assumptions and characteristics that an organization values as it engages problems external adaptation and internal integration (Schein, 2010) as well as those dynamics that may influence the attitudes, efforts and behaviors of the organization’s stakeholders (Humphreys & Langford, 2008). In essence, the core foundation of understanding a corporate culture is the collective beliefs, standards and values that govern that organization (Schein, 2010).
Anticipating a Culture Shift
In light of the questions presented by Humphreys & Langford (2008) in their article regarding culture shifts and change, the top executives at the Ciba-Geigy Company, in particular the chairman of the executive committee, Sam Koechlin, were perceptive enough to see a need for some radical changes to sustain itself (Schein, 2010). The questions that Humphreys & Lanford (2008) raise include: 1) how is your company going to look different in the future; 2) what the consequences of the shift; and 3) what can be done about the shift (p. 26).

The anticipation of major shifts in the economy, politics and technology stimulated the desire...

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