Summary
Contents
This volume addresses key issues in organizational behavior and human resource management in a variety of European organizations. Covering select case-studies that are longer and richer than is typical, Organizational Behavior and Change in Europe captures the realistic breadth and complexity that exists in organizations that are changing, developing, and internationalizing at a rapid pace. This thorough approach allows the reader to locate organizational behavior or human research management themes in the context of the broader market and other issues facing the organizations concerned, as well as facilitating teaching and learning in a variety of ways, using a variety of theoretical frameworks. The cases discussed reflect sensitivity to the impact of different cultures on problems, and illustrate likely approaches and solutions to them. Topics covered include managing growth and “Europeanization”; managing decline and crisis; transforming cultures; and organizational design, leadership, autonomy, and control. This stimulating case-study volume addresses key issues in organizational behavior, organizational change, and human resource management in a range of European organizations, including international companies based in Europe.
Rhine and Rhone Transport: From Strong Cultural Fit to Weak Results
Rhine and Rhone Transport: From Strong Cultural Fit to Weak Results
This case highlights a series of managerial problems and paradoxes: if a company's cultural fit (that is, its adaptation to national norms and values) is exceptionally strong, this can be a source of rigidity and ineffectiveness; if a company sells itself exceptionally well in the financial markets this can lead to a severe loss of strategic control; if decentralization leads to fragmentation, restructuring can become unmanageable.
The RRT case is based on extensive research into Dutch haulage companies; the description of RRT is a composite picture drawn from many companies emphasizing processes which have been repeatedly witnessed. Thus the enterprise described is a Dutch transport ...
