There are companies which are champions or masters of corporate culture management. These include Starbucks, Ritz Carlton, Johnson & Johnson, and Huawei.  There are also companies whose management of corporate culture is so mangled and or dysfunctional that they are "corporate culture losers"!  Some corporate culture losers are just "highly dysfunctional" and just do not manage corporate culture well.  Examples included Uber and, United and Sears.  Other companies have cultures that are toxic or even approaching true evil.   We call these companies a culture "Frankenstein," because they are creations that are true monsters.

What does a dysfunctional family business look like? Although there are always individual differences, The Los Angeles Lakers ("Lakers") provide a classic example of a dysfunctional family business in action.  Not only are the Lakers in decline as a basketball team, but there is a classic family civil war going on among members of the Buss family-and there is nothing "civil" about it!

Once upon a time, the pejorative definition of an entrepreneur was someone able to grow a business meteorically-- but then watch it fail! This description characterized many once high-flying entrepreneurs.

Uber is a potentially a contemporary version of this phenomenon: spectacular rapid entrepreneurial success followed by equally spectacularly rapid failure.   By any standard, the success of Uber has been truly spectacular.  The company has created a global footprint and served as a disruptor of more traditional businesses ranging from taxi service to car services.  However, recent events at Uber indicate a clear and present danger to the company.

There is increasing recognition that most of current management theory is weak or empty.  The weakness of most of current management theory results from a very simple cause: the failure to apply the scientific method of empirical research to the creation and testing of management concepts, frameworks, methods and tools.

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd (known more simply as "Huawei") is an extraordinary company by any standard.  Its development and success rival any of the classic entrepreneurial stories of Apple Computer, Starbucks, or Amazon.  The reason for this article is not to describe Huawei's success per se; but because the things that Huawei did is available to all companies regardless of their size or stage of growth.

Management Systems is pleased to provide the 2017 Annual Digital Edition of Management Systems Perspectives ("MSP"). The editorial mission of MSP is to stimulate thought and help promote sound managerial practice globally based to the greatest extent possible upon proven empirical research.