Mitsubishi Case Analysis

1. What effect is the century-old organization culture at Mitsubishi having

on the company?

The organization culture at Mitsubishi is making the company unable to compete or

maybe not concerned with competition. If nothing is done to tackle this issue, this effect

may get deeper and may drive the company out of the market or simply leads it to total

failure.

2. What role do you believe the crisis of losing nearly a billion dollars

annually will have on fostering change at Mitsubishi? Do you see this issue

as one that will promote calm-water or white-water rapids forces of

change? Explain.

It does not seem from the answer of the senior Mitsubishi executive that the company is

perceiving this crisis as a major Iceberg that their ship (Mitsubishi) is about to hit, if this

is indeed the case, then I think this issue will promote calm-water change and nothing

major will be done to change anything. On the other hand, if my interpretation of the

senior Mitsubishi executive response to the reporter was not accurate and instead, he was

just trying not to sound as if the company is in chaos and is lacking stability and

predictability. If this is the case, then this implied recognition of failure caused by the

company’s senior leaders will promote white-water rapids force of change.

3. Using 3 characteristics of organizational culture and innovation, describe how

each of the three elements is affecting innovation and creativity at Mitsubishi.

• Reward criteria: Mitsubishi executives lacked incentives, which demotivated

employees and therefore affected any potential for innovations or creativity.

• Low external controls that lead to non-competitive culture and keep doing things

the way Mitsubishi has been doing them and eventually no creativity or

innovation to be mentioned.

• The focus on means rather than on ends that Mitsubishi was adopting also

affected negatively it’s employees creativity and innovation...