CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION AT NUMMI

A hybrid of its Japanese and American parents, NUMMI provides a case s tudy of the successful introduction of a new production system. By wor king on the assembly line in the NUMMI plant and interviewing hundreds of people, the authors observed the transformation of an out-of-date General Motors auto plant into the world-class assembly operation it i s today. Their study has implications for other organizations that are trying to learn from each other, particularly across national borders . Their findings also show how organizational culture plays a central role in companies that are adapting to a constantly changing environme nt.