University of Michigan

Negotiating Culture Change during the Adoption of a New Management System: The Case of Lean Manufacturing

The ability to change is critical to an organization�s survival, however; organizations frequently invest heavily in improvement programs that fail to yield clear benefits. Several factors have been linked to successful management of change initiatives including modifying the corporate culture, adapting the system to the needs of the organization, and focusing on the management of meaning over time. The integration of these factors will be studied through a framework of culture at organizations engaged in adopting lean manufacturing. Individualism-collectivism and process-results value orientations are expected to influence both how change is implemented and performance measures related to lean implementation. The goal of this research is to generate new insights into how managers can more effectively guide organizational change.