The modern perils of leading knowledge-based organisations

ndetails

Volksvagen | VW

Now, with the benefit of hindsight, it is a stupid surprise. How is it that a group of employees at VW could be so self-deluding as to wilfully falsify emission testing with the US government? Corporate culture is pervasive, and its role in famous value collapses like Enron, Arthur Andersen, Parmalat and now VW, are infamous.

This month’s InFocus features a Humatica viewpoint from RealDeals magazine on the root cause of VW’s issues and its lesson for portfolio company executives.

 

Hard lessons for the soft factors

> Go to article

Related Insights

The AI Organisation: How Artificial Intelligence is Redrawing the Org Chart
08 Jul, 2026 By Bryan Turner

The AI Organisation: How Artificial Intelligence is Redrawing the Org Chart

Every significant technological shift in economic history has ultimately changed the shape of organisations — not just the tools they use, but their structures, hierarchies,…

Read more arrowicon
TOM Series Part III: Implementing the TOM – Turning Design Into Financial Results
30 Jun, 2026 By Claudio Limacher

TOM Series Part III: Implementing the TOM – Turning Design Into Financial Results

This is the final article in a three-part series on designing and implementing a fit-for-purpose Target Operating Model. In Part I, we explored how to…

Read more arrowicon
The Agentic AI Inflection Point: When AI Stops Answering Questions and Starts Running Processes
24 Jun, 2026 By Bryan Turner

The Agentic AI Inflection Point: When AI Stops Answering Questions and Starts Running Processes

For the past three years, the AI conversation in business has been primarily about AI as an assistant — a tool that helps humans work…

Read more arrowicon

Subscribe to our Monthly Newsletter and other News Updates

Receive our news and valuable perspectives on organizational effectiveness each month.