🚀 go-pugleaf

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> Gary Southon wrote
>
This seems to be very significant information. Are you able to provide any
supporting evidence (that firms with high trust cultures have
performed well in the US. GM traditionally used a high fear culture,
on the other hand.)


A number of best sellers like Theory Z and In Search of
Excellence, have argued for the potential success of high trust
although the validity of Peter and Waterman's book is
questionable (see Hitt and Ireland's article in the Academy of
Management Executive about 4 years ago).  High trust or at least
putatively high trust firms with successful life cycles include
Hewlett packard, IBM, Merck.

Lots has been written about GM in the popular press--see "On a Clear
Day You can See General Motors" by Charles De Lorean, which goes into
almost comical descriptions of strategic planning sessions on GM's
14th floor--and the firm's highly authoritarian culture.  The
wonderful film "Roger and Me" depicts the paranoia and mistreatment
of employees at the firm.  The law suit Nader v.  GM, where Nader won
$400,000 because GM tried to frame him is another example of paranoia.
The history of GM's labor relations from the 1920s through the late
1930s illustrates repressiveness on a grand scale.  It is not clear
that the pattern is generalizable--some firms with negative
atmospheres may be better or worse performers than some firms with
positive atmospheres.  It's dangerous to generalize about performance,
because performance is often based on market fluctuations,
scale/monopoly advantages; political influence leading to tariffs and
other supportive legislation, etc. that do not reflect quality.

                                        Dr. Mitchell Langbert
                                        Dowling College
                                        langberm@maillink.dowling.edu