Values and Valuations: The Conflicts between Culture Change and Job Cuts

Based on empirical work from two major UK organizations. British Airways and BT (formerly British Telecom), both of whom have, after privatization, engaged in large‐scale culture change programmes. Both organizations have made substantial job cuts and (at the time of writing in May 1991) both organizations have announced the need for further redundancies. Considers the objectives of culture change programmes and evaluates the extent to which they have been achieved in the organizations concerned, i.e. what values are cultivated and to what extent are they shared by organizational members? Considers the conflicting messages offered by the redundancy programmes and attempts to assess the implications for individuals and for self‐perception of job losses in the context of culture change.