Organizations of all types have been plagued by low productivity and poor engagement of workers. At a time when international competition is strong, and hiring and retaining workers is a challenge, companies need to invest in creating a positive culture if they are to remain economically viable.
InUnleashing Human Energy Through Culture Changeauthors Donald Rust and Alan Weinstein recount the story of how General Motors' largest engine plant moved from being on the brink of being shut down, to becoming the top-producing engine plant within the GM organization. Decades later, the plant remains one of the company's most productive facilities.
Don Rust's values--fostered growing up on an Upper-Midwest farm--led him to challenge the way workers were treated at the company's Tonawanda, New York, engine plant. As plant manager, he became the change agent who energized both management and workers to partner, leading to positive and profitable culture changes--no small feat given the animosity that existed between managers and union workers.
Using Rust's experiences as a benchmark, the authors identify the reasons for poor performance at any organization, not just those in the manufacturing sector:

• industrial warfare (employee/management conflict)
• industrial depression (employee disengagement)
• bully management
• overemphasis on short term profits
• lack of job security
• dull and uninspiring work and working conditions

Unleashing Energy Through Culture Changeis a practical guide to culture change based on a set of three core values:

• faith that workers want to be productive
• trust between workers and management
• respect for all employees

The book shows readers how they can bring real, transformational change to their own organizations.