{"id":23408,"date":"2014-11-28T16:23:35","date_gmt":"2014-11-28T15:23:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/?post_type=news&#038;p=23408"},"modified":"2025-09-10T12:35:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T10:35:06","slug":"can-force-change-within-company","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/","title":{"rendered":"Can You Force Change Within a Company?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/CANATO-Anna-25.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-6627 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/CANATO-Anna-25-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"CANATO Anna-25\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/CANATO-Anna-25-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/CANATO-Anna-25-682x1024.jpg 682w, https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/CANATO-Anna-25-100x150.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>Based on an interview with <a title=\"Anna Canato\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/faculty-and-research\/professor\/?id=1534\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Anna Canato<\/a> and on her article, \u201cCoerced Practice Implementation in Cases of Low Cultural Fit: Cultural Change and Practice Adaptation During the Implementation of Six Sigma at 3M,\u201d co-authored with Davide Ravasi, (Professor at City University, London) and Nelson Phillips (Professor at Imperial College London, , and at Aalto University, Finland), published in Academy of Management Journal, December 2013.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Change management consultants often say that it is necessary to create consensus in an organization before initiating large-scale changes. However, there has been little analysis of actual cases of change initiatives, and how they develop in the long term. A new study takes a look at what happened at 3M\u2014a company known for its permissive, innovative culture \u2014 when a CEO came in and imposed the analytical, data-driven Six Sigma method.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Flash back to the year 2000 and the Internet bubble. The American multinational company 3M had always been known for innovation and creativity, as popularized by the Post-it product, yet its board was beginning to feel that the company was too insular. The stock price was not growing as rapidly as it used to be, and business analysts were claiming that high-tech Silicon Valley based companies were more innovative than the well-established mid-west multinational.<\/p>\n<p>The 3M board decided it was time to introduce new blood and hired Jim McNerney as the first CEO in 3M\u2019s 100-year history to come from outside the company. McNerney had been vice president of General Electric under Jack Welch, and he quickly introduced into innovation-oriented 3M the Six Sigma practices that Welch popularized at GE.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>A GOOD MARRIAGE?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As the authors of the paper \u201cCoerced Practice Implementation in Cases of Low Cultural Fit\u201d explain, \u201cSix Sigma is a process management methodology originally developed to enhance efficiency in manufacturing: when applied to administrative processes, it enforces process standardization and efficiency improvement.\u201d Compare this to the culture at 3M, which encouraged \u201centrepreneurial spirit, serendipitous discovery and tolerance for mistakes.\u201d Could a marriage between two such disparate approaches possibly work out? <a title=\"Anna Canato\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/faculty-and-research\/professor\/?id=1534\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Anna Canato<\/a>, the first author of the study, notes that traditional organizational theory and change management theories tend to hypothesize that \u201cif a company isn\u2019t ready for change, you can\u2019t implement it. It would just be rejected, or you\u2019d have a ceremonial implementation.\u201d However, the study found something different: initially there was a honeymoon period with the Six Sigma method because the company realized cost savings and increased profitability, and because 3M\u2019s culture was favorable to new experiments. Also, the new CEO personally advocated the implementation of Six Sigma across the entire 3M organization worldwide. He forcefully emphasized its importance in helping the company to regain efficiency and profitability, and how crucial it was to him personally. It was \u201cat the top of [his] agenda,\u201d he said. The 3M share price nearly doubled between 2001 and 2004.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>THE HONEYMOON IS OVER<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>However, after this early period, doubts returned about the disconnect between Six Sigma and what many employees saw as the identity of the company. \u201cSix Sigma has this terrifying thing of not wanting errors,\u201d one 3M divisional director said in the study. \u201cBut if you do innovation the way we do, pure risk is something you have to be able to admit and accept.\u201d He hypothesized that the company\u2019s star product, Post-its, would never have been produced if Six Sigma had been in place at the time. \u201cAnd if Six Sigma would block a hypothetical new Post-it, then Six Sigma is not for us.\u201d Many participants in the study felt that Six Sigma became \u201cdetrimental to growth and innovation.\u201d Eventually, eve McNerney himself seemed to back away from the methodology, and began to talk more about the importance of developing new products. But Six Sigma had taken on a life of its own, with some managers enforcing it more strictly than the CEO himself, regardless of fears of some 3M employees that it was undermining the \u201csoul\u201d of the organization.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>ADAPTATION AND ACCOMODATION<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Then, in June 2005, McNerney unexpectedly left 3M to take a position at Boeing. His successor, George Buckley, began to relax the emphasis on the Six Sigma structure. What happened at this point is perhaps the most revealing part of the study. \u201cEventually, after five or six years after the adoption, the Six Sigma practice was integrated into the company, which is surprising, because it started as a methodology that clashed with the culture of the company,\u201d explains Professor Canato. But it was perhaps a kinder, gentler Six Sigma that was accepted into the company, a version that was more in keeping with the company\u2019s essence. The study observed that the relaxation of coerced adoption allowed employees to drop elements that were considered less useful and retain others. One element of Six Sigma that was initially disliked but ultimately retained was standardization tools. In the end, these tools offered employees worldwide a common vocabulary with which to communicate. This facilitated collaboration and innovation \u2014values in keeping with traditional 3M culture.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>A DIFFERENT CULTURE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It was not only how Six Sigma was used at the company that changed: Six Sigma changed the company\u2019s culture as well. Even though past research suggests that implementation of a specific management practice would not have a substantial impact on an organization\u2019s culture, this study found that 3M\u2019s culture had indeed shifted after its experimentation with Six Sigma. Some employees acknowledged the value of having been forced to adopt the new methods: \u201cNow that we have tried it, it is clear that we are something different,\u201d one marketing manager said. For example, though certain Six Sigma tools might not be employed, the data-driven approach remained in some departments. \u201cAt first blush, it seemed impossible that Six Sigma would work at 3M,\u201d Anna Canato says, \u201cand yet in the end, people were saying, \u2018You know what? This methodology has enriched my way of doing things.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>BUSINESS APPLICATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In situations where it\u2019s important from a business, market and\/or financial perspective to make a radical change in a company\u2019s culture, it may be more effective to test a new initiative rather than try to convince everyone of its benefits. \u201cObserving the 3M case, we realized that, in certain cases, you don\u2019t know the value of something, and whether it would be beneficial, until you try it,\u201d say <a title=\"Anna Canato\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/faculty-and-research\/professor\/?id=1534\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Anna Canato<\/a>. \u201cWe always tend to believe that a certain organizional culture can\u2019t be changed, but in practice we observed that they are more malleable and prone to evolution than what predicted by the current literature\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">She also points out, \u00a0that the study indicates that a change initiative works best when leaders take the time to analyze a company\u2019s culture and identity to work out a plan to ease the shift in culture. Although the study looked at change initiated from the highest level (the CEO), the information from the study could be also applied to a business unit or other division within a company. For example, if a unit manager had to begin the implementation of a new software but the unit\u2019s team members were resistant, it might make sense to spend some time to analyze where the biggest difficulties lie, and where are the opportunities to have a fit between the company values and the new application.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>BIOGRAPHY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Anna Canato\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/faculty-and-research\/professor\/?id=1534\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Anna Canato<\/a> worked forseveral yearsas a strategy and change management professional and taught in other major European business schoolsbefore joiningIESEGin 2009, where she directs the management and strategydepartment. She has studied andpublished numerousarticles oncorporate cultureand teams.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>METHODOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The study consisted of a qualitative, longitudinal case analysis that examined a European subsidiary of 3M and its American. The researchers conducted several interviews and noted their observations during extensive company visits in Europe and in the US in the period between 2005 and 2008.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Based on an interview with Anna Canato and on her article, \u201cCoerced Practice Implementation in Cases of Low Cultural Fit: Cultural Change and Practice Adaptation During the Implementation of Six [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","news-category":[78,298],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Can You Force Change Within a Company? - I\u00c9SEG<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Based on an interview with Anna Canato and on her article, \u201cCoerced Practice Implementation in Cases of Low Cultural Fit: Cultural Change and Practice\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can You Force Change Within a Company? - I\u00c9SEG\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Based on an interview with Anna Canato and on her article, \u201cCoerced Practice Implementation in Cases of Low Cultural Fit: Cultural Change and Practice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"I\u00c9SEG\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/IESEG-School-of-Management\/358733860458?fref=ts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-10T10:35:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/CANATO-Anna-25-200x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrew Miller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@IESEG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Ieseg\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/edu\/school?id=12453\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/IESEGChannel\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/IESEG-School-of-Management\/358733860458?fref=ts\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IESEG\"],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/IESEG-Logo-2012-rgb.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/IESEG-Logo-2012-rgb.jpg\",\"width\":\"1000\",\"height\":\"311\",\"caption\":\"Ieseg\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/\",\"name\":\"I\u00c9SEG\",\"description\":\"School of Management\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/CANATO-Anna-25.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/CANATO-Anna-25.jpg\",\"width\":\"3840\",\"height\":\"5760\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/\",\"name\":\"Can You Force Change Within a Company? - I\u00c9SEG\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-11-28T15:23:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-10T10:35:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"Based on an interview with Anna Canato and on her article, \u201cCoerced Practice Implementation in Cases of Low Cultural Fit: Cultural Change and Practice\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"I\u00c9SEG\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Executive Education\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news-category\/executive-education\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Can You Force Change Within a Company?\"}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can You Force Change Within a Company? - I\u00c9SEG","description":"Based on an interview with Anna Canato and on her article, \u201cCoerced Practice Implementation in Cases of Low Cultural Fit: Cultural Change and Practice","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can You Force Change Within a Company? - I\u00c9SEG","og_description":"Based on an interview with Anna Canato and on her article, \u201cCoerced Practice Implementation in Cases of Low Cultural Fit: Cultural Change and Practice","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/","og_site_name":"I\u00c9SEG","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/IESEG-School-of-Management\/358733860458?fref=ts","article_modified_time":"2025-09-10T10:35:06+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/CANATO-Anna-25-200x300.jpg"}],"author":"Andrew Miller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@IESEG","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/#organization","name":"Ieseg","url":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/edu\/school?id=12453","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/IESEGChannel","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/IESEG-School-of-Management\/358733860458?fref=ts","https:\/\/twitter.com\/IESEG"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/IESEG-Logo-2012-rgb.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/IESEG-Logo-2012-rgb.jpg","width":"1000","height":"311","caption":"Ieseg"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/","name":"I\u00c9SEG","description":"School of Management","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/CANATO-Anna-25.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/CANATO-Anna-25.jpg","width":"3840","height":"5760"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/","name":"Can You Force Change Within a Company? - I\u00c9SEG","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2014-11-28T15:23:35+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-10T10:35:06+00:00","description":"Based on an interview with Anna Canato and on her article, \u201cCoerced Practice Implementation in Cases of Low Cultural Fit: Cultural Change and Practice","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/can-force-change-within-company\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"I\u00c9SEG","item":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Executive Education","item":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news-category\/executive-education\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Can You Force Change Within a Company?"}]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/23408"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/23408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":178589,"href":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/23408\/revisions\/178589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-category?post=23408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}