ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the experiences of one major corporation as it sought to bring about substantial change in strategy, structure, culture and working practices and also sought simultaneously to build an integrated international organization. It illustrates the kind of tensions that often surround Corporate University (CU) in large organizational contexts. The chapter examines what senior managers are doing with these organizational forms; how they have been shaped, rationalized and received. It provides a case study research in the German headquarters of a corporation that, for purposes of anonymity, label 'Utility Co.'. The chapter describes and analyses the origins and rationale of the new CU and its functions and its range of products and service. The chapter explains its location and sponsorship within the organization and assesses its strengths and vulnerabilities. The case study reveals that CUs are not simply 'established', but rather that the process of introducing such initiatives is much more akin to a tentative, experimental, transitional process.
