Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review

Culture Is Not the Culprit: When Organizations Are in Crisis, It's Usually Because the Business Is Broken

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Emily McTague
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

When organizations get into big trouble, fixing the culture is usually the prescription. That's what most everyone said GM needed to do after its recall crisis in 2014—and ever since, CEO Mary Barra has been focusing on creating "the right environment" to promote accountability and head off future disasters. The corporate leaders we have interviewed say that culture isn't something you "fix." Rather cultural change is what you get after you've put new processes or structures in place to tackle tough business challenges like reworking an outdated strategy or business model. The culture evolves as you do that important work.

Keywords

Culture; Cultural Reform; Organizational Culture; Crisis Management; Business Processes

Citation

Lorsch, Jay W., and Emily McTague. "Culture Is Not the Culprit: When Organizations Are in Crisis, It's Usually Because the Business Is Broken." R1604H. Harvard Business Review 94, no. 4 (April 2016): 96–105.
  • Find it at Harvard
  • Register to Read

About The Author

Jay W. Lorsch

→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • 2023
    • Faculty Research

    How the Harvard Business School Changed the Way We View Organizations

    By: Jay W. Lorsch
    • March 2018
    • Faculty Research

    A Nonprofit Board in Transition at Farrington Nature Linc

    By: Jay Lorsch and Emily Irving
    • June 2017 (Revised October 2017)
    • Faculty Research

    Uber in 2017: One Bumpy Ride

    By: Suraj Srinivasan, Jay W. Lorsch and Quinn Pitcher
More from the Authors
  • How the Harvard Business School Changed the Way We View Organizations By: Jay W. Lorsch
  • A Nonprofit Board in Transition at Farrington Nature Linc By: Jay Lorsch and Emily Irving
  • Uber in 2017: One Bumpy Ride By: Suraj Srinivasan, Jay W. Lorsch and Quinn Pitcher
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College.