In this book, Unpopular Culture, INSEAD Professor John Weeks studies the culture of British bank NatWest. Looking closely at the appararent corporate culture of complaint, where all from the top down and back up again seem to be in complaining mode, Weeks makes the connection between social and corporate culture.
Changing such a culture would not be an easy task in any case, but add to that the fact that this particular culture trait may well be a mechanism that helps NatWest employees cope with, and at the same time, resist change... and things are getting rather more complicated.
Week's findings go well beyond the British bank scenario to conclude that when such mechanisms are firmly in place is it hard to alter them, as many top managers have found out... the hard way.