http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
Measuring the cultural change at Bell Helicopter
xiii, 272 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm.
Organizations are unique. It is almost as though organizations are a living entity in that the culture of organizations is continually changing, much like humans continually change. Successful organizations in the 1990's are conducting business differently than they did ten years, or even five years ago. The wants and needs of customers are the driving force for better quality products made and delivered to the customer in times that would have been considered impossible a few years ago. The rules are continually changing and successful organizations must break away from their old paradigms and create new rules in order to survive. The objective of this case study was to document the cultural change of Bell Helicopter. The researcher had two roles in this study; first, as a participant in the Bell programs, and second, as an observer to document the process used by Bell Helicopter to measure and change the organizational culture. Both qualitative and quantitative data, from the five year period from 1986 to 1992, were collected and analyzed. Quantitative data from a company wide culture survey was used to establish a baseline from which Bell Helicopter will measure change when future surveys are administered. Other data were collected by reviewing employee training records, interviews of strategic groups, reviewing committee meetings minutes and training course evaluations, and researcher observations. Results of data evaluation indicate that Bell Helicopter has changed in a positive manner throughout the time frame of this study. Observations drawn from the study include: 1 . Company programs and activities need to linked with the company mission and strategy, and to the philosophy of continuous improvement, and then communicated to all the employees. 2. Executive management needs to be more consistent and cohesive in their words and actions if greater positive change is their desired result. 3. Bell Helicopter employees need to be inspired and led by word and deed. 4. Inspiration and leadership is the responsibility of management, especially executive management. 5.The management/leadership training series has a major role in helping management/leadership understand their new roles in the changing organization.