Since the late 1990s, the healthcare industry has come under intense scrutiny. Rising costs, litigation, and patent legislation have driven the price of prescription drugs nearly out of reach of the average American. Additionally, direct marketing to consumers and vigorous lobbying efforts in Washington have not fared well with industry opponents. Healthcare, like tobacco in the 1960s and oil in the 1970s, has become the industry to vilify in a time of questionable business ethics and decreasing public trust. It is in this environment that this case study of a Midwestern healthcare company was conducted.; The purpose of this study is to understand the cultural dimensions that were the primary drivers of the transformation of a Fortune 500 healthcare company, a transformation spawned by the changing landscape of the healthcare industry. In the course of the transformation, both company leaders and external stakeholders acknowledged the need for the company to change its organizational culture from one that was perceived as non-responsive to one which was more customer- and quality-focused. This shift was warranted because of numerous unfavorable regulatory audits resulting in the imposition of a consent decree. The consent decree placed a moratorium on the manufacture and distribution of many of the company's products, creating a financial burden. The loss of revenue coupled with a slip in market leadership was the driving force leading to the transformation.
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