Honeymoon interrupted: Mary Barra, CEO, GM (B)
It had been two months since Mary Barra had faced two days of questioning in both the US Senate and House of Representatives. After a no-holds-barred investigation by Anton Valukas of Jenner & Block, the report into the ignition switch fault at GM was made public. It made grim reading – showing a company with a deeply troubled culture, including rigid silos, lack of accountability, and skewed priorities. Based on the report, Barra announces firings and other measures.
1) To illustrate the challenges facing a newly-appointed CEO facing a major crisis. 2) To highlight how a company’s culture can distort organizational decision-making and contribute to a major safety failure costing lives. 3) To explore the extent to which the failure was a “predictable surprise” and how it might have been avoided. 4) To discuss how to approach changing a “toxic” culture in a large and complex organization.
General Motors, Automotive, Automobiles
April to June 2014
Cranfield University
Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK
Tel +44 (0)1234 750903
Email [email protected]
Harvard Business School Publishing
60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA
Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600
Fax (617) 783-7666
Email [email protected]
NUCB Business School
1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
Email [email protected]
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in European Journal of Operational Research August 2025, vol. 324, no. 3, pp. 799-813, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2025.01.035
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