If the defining goal of modern-day business can be isolated to just one item, it would be the search for competitive advantage. And, as everyone in business knows, it's a lot harder than it used to be.

As David A. Nadler and Michael L. Tushman show, the last remaining source of truly sustainable competitive advantage lies in "organizational capabilities": the unique ways each organization structures its work, builds its cultures, and motivates its people to achieve clearly articulated aspirations and strategic objectives.

In this landmark book, the authors draw upon their experience with firms worldwide to illustrate how strong executive leadership has produced effective organizational architecture in practice. Firms described in some detail include AT&T, Corning, Xerox, ABB, BOC, and Kaiser Permanente.

This book offers managers a systematic means of analyzing their organizations and, in turn, building integrated organizations to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. It leads managers through the process of designing new and more flexible organizations that will provide a firm's competitive edge into the next millennium.