“The Worst of Both Worlds”: The Management Reform of the World Health Organization

The governance and management of global health institutions, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), are under increasing critical scrutiny. This management case study explores the first year of transformation at the WHO under Director-General Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, focusing on the key stakeholders and the role of complexity in institutional change. This is a story about transition in a difficult, politically fraught, and management-resource-constrained environment. In the search for appropriate management paradigms, organizations such as the WHO may believe that the answers lie in harsh reengineering and the search for high-profile “success stories.” Ironically, global business has moved away from such approaches and is far more focused on collaboration, empowerment, and knowledge sharing.