Jennifer Howard-Grenville has put together a timely and sparkling narrative of environmental advocacy within a highly successful, well managed and technically sophisticated organization. Corporate Culture and Environmental Practice is rich in ethnographic detail and wonderfully telling of the struggles structurally marginalized environmental specialists take part in when trying to balance immediate cost, schedule and production targets with long-term social and environmental risks. A blend of Mary Douglas, Karl Weick and Charles Perrow, this is a must read for students of organizations as well as the rest of us who worry about the fate of the planet. John Van Maanen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US Jennifer Howard-Grenville has hit the nail on the head technology is not the cause of our environmental problems; culture is. In Corporate Culture and Environmental Practice, she deftly shows us that the norms and practices that guide the way we think about our relationship with the natural environment are the critical point at which to understand the development of the technologies that facilitate that interface. Written from first-hand experiences, this book is a thoughtful and revealing glimpse into the culture of a company that only an accomplished organizational scholar can provide. Andrew J. Hoffman, University of Michigan, US Corporate Culture and Environmental Practice is an outstanding study that looks inside a firm to understand conditions under which it adopted superior environmental practices. It makes a persuasive case for not modeling firms as unitary actors. This careful and well-written study will be useful to both environmental policy scholars and practitioners. Aseem Prakash, University of Washington, US This book breaks new ground in understanding the generally difficult process of selling peripheral, in this case, environmental or sustainability initiatives to the mainstream culture of a firm. To those who seek to be change agents, it offers powerful ideas toward success for such intentions. But this book is not only for those on the outside of the mainstream; it offers lessons for anyone seeking change, even at the top. John R. Ehrenfeld, former Director, MIT Technology, Business, and Environment Program, US Although much has been written about how corporations deal with environmental problems, few books delve into the inner-workings of a company seeking to deal with environmental demands as deeply as Corporate Culture and Environmental Practice. Through first-hand observation, Howard-Grenville provides unique insights into the cultural factors that shape environmental management decisions in a major semiconductor manufacturing firm. By analyzing those decisions through a framework that relates internal and external factors, she provides a new cultural perspective on corporate environmental practices that should be of strong interest to both business leaders and students of corporate environmental management. Dennis A. Rondinelli, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Duke University, US Culture patterns of meaning and associated actions speaks volumes about what matters and what doesn t. Jennifer Howard-Grenville s study describes how corporate culture enables organizational change in some instances, or blocks it in others. As the need for corporate response to increasingly vital environmental issues looms more important, we need change models to help companies adapt to new realities. This study is vital 0reading for scholars and practitioners who care about the future. Jim Post, Boston University, US I found the writing style very engaging. The author writes clearly and with little jargon. She makes the technology come alive and gives a feel for elements that might be very complex in the hands of another writer. Alfred Marcus, University of Minnesota, US This innovative book explores from an insider s perspective a company s environmental decisions and actions. Based on clo

This guide to corporate environmental management explores the various organisational and cultural concepts which firmly place the corporate environmental management agenda within the human dimension.

As the 21st century advances, the global challenges and consequences posed by climate change are becoming increasingly apparent. Although organisations are considered significant contributors to climate change, they also have the potential to affect it positively through their employees. As a result, understanding how employees' pro-environmental initiatives can positively affect climate change has increasingly become the focus of inquiry among researchers. In this book a number of researchers review leading research in different areas of organisational environmental sustainability.

This study addresses the corporate cultural practices of German companies in the host country Indonesia from the perspective of Indonesian employees, managers and German expatriates. The focus is on the intercultural challenges that arise in the practice of daily cooperation between Indonesian and German organizational members. Using qualitative methods, the study examines how these challenges are viewed and managed by organizational members, what cultural differences are evident in them and how these differences can be explained, and finally, what strategies can be used to overcome the challenges in everyday business. This ethnographic study is based on interviews with Indonesian and German organizational members, analysis of internal company journals and newsletters, and observations collected by the author as a "professional stranger" at Indonesian sites of German multinational companies. The study concludes that four cultural issues are fundamental factors in the corporate culture of German companies in the host country Indonesia: first, the implementation of a culture of integrity; second, issues of leadership in a hierarchy-driven social environment; third, the daily use of language and the flow of information in a multilingual professional environment; and finally, the creation and maintenance of harmonious, family-like working relationships.

In today's global landscape, the need for environmental sustainability is increasing than ever. Organizations find themselves at a crossroads, navigating the intricate web of economic viability, social responsibility, and ecological integrity. The nexus of Human Resource Management (HRM) and Organizational Culture emerges as a critical juncture where transformative change can take root. As businesses grapple with the multifaceted challenges posed by sustainability, a solution-oriented guide is needed to help them reimagine their roles and foster a culture that places environmental well-being at its core. The urgent need for organizations to align HRM practices with environmental sustainability and cultivate a purpose-driven culture is palpable. In this complex terrain, a lack of guidance leaves stakeholders grappling with the intricacies of weaving sustainability into the fabric of their operations. The consequences of overlooking this critical intersection are dire—environmental degradation, disengaged employees, and a missed opportunity for businesses to lead the charge in building a sustainable future. The need for a comprehensive resource that addresses these challenges head-on, providing actionable insights and strategies, is paramount.

Recent years have seen a lively debate over the role of tacit knowledge and interactive learning in privileging the local over the global. Yet, our continuing inability to answer questions such as 'when and why is the local important in production and innovation processes?' indicates that our understanding of the firm and the forces that shape its managers' choices remains weak. Such a theory ought to be able to answer fundamental questions like: why do firms in particular places adopt particular production and innovation practices, and not others? What forces determine what a firm 'knows' and when it is able to act upon this knowledge? How easy is it to transfer this knowledge between places? This book presents a new conception of industrial practice and firm behaviour. It explains how the cultures that shape the practices of firms and the trajectories of regional and national economies are actually produced. The analysis shows how the internal and inter-firm organization of production, use of technologies, and the industrial knowledge underpinning these practices are strongly influenced by their social and institutional context. Routine forms of behaviour are not simply inherited from past practice. Instead, they are shaped and constrained - though not wholly determined - by a set of institutions that govern how work is organized, workers are deployed, and technology is implemented. Because of the slowly evolving nature of these institutions, distinctive national 'models' are not converging around a single global norm.

This text rethinks American literary history by focusing on the non-human, environmental agents that have shaped its development.