Management development and a mismatch of objectives: the culture change process in the NHS

Analyses the contribution of management development to culture change in the health service. Is concerned with the public sector managerialism promoted in the health service by government reforms since the Griffiths Report. In the hospital trust which is the focus of the study there is resistance to such an agenda because the expectations of the various stakeholders are not matched. The lesson for strategists is that management development programmes need to recognize where participants are starting from if they are to promote culture change.