Organisational Culture Check List

Organisational Culture Check List
Boundaries
· Who is a member of organisation
m Agency staff?
m Casual?
m Customers?
m Departed staff?
m Family members of staff?
m Permanent staff only?
m Redundant staff?
m Retired staff?
m Temps?
Change
· Perceived as continuous?
· Sense of stability?
Communications (see also “Words”)
· Attitude towards
· Frequency
· How are strangers greeted
· Style
· Use of language
· Preferred modes?
· Most common modes?
· Written or verbal?
m E-mail or memo?
m Telephone or face to face?
· Acceptable ways of offering opinion
m Impassioned arguing?
m Rational debate?
m Shouting acceptable?
Deviancy
· Is non-normative behaviour admired or deprecated?
· Are ‘fools’ and ‘tricksters’ celebrated?
m Formally or informally?
Dress code
· Formal or informal?
· How rigidly enforced
m Are there ‘dress down’ days? How are they treated?
m How do people dress for off-site meetings?
· What differentiators—how many classes?
m for example:
m Uniforms for security
m Casual for operations
m Two piece suits for middle managers
m Three piece suits for senior managers
Fixtures & fittings
· Office furniture—expensive or cheap?
· Differences due to status or function?
m Do managers have chairs with arms and high backs?
m Are some areas carpeted? Why?
· Decor—bright? Dowdy?
· Level of maintenance and decorative order
Food
· Number and structure of canteens
· Use of food in meetings
· Working lunches
· Out of office activities
· Attitudes to alcoholic drinks
m Wine for managers, beer for workers?
m Wine for managers, nothing for workers?
m No alcohol on premises?
Groups and networks
· Formal or informal
· Rumour & gossip rate
· Sanctioned or illegitimate
· Strength of grapevine
History
· Attitudes to history
· Attitudes to past folk heroes & villains
· Lots of stories? Told in public or told in corridors?
· Organisation myths
Home and work
· Attitudes towards child care
· Role of spouse
· What is the policy towards domestic crises?
· How are domestic crises actually dealt with?
m More flexible than policy?
Meetings
· How are new members (employees) assimilated
· How often
· Setting
· Shape of table
· Who attends
· Who sits where
· Who speaks
Money
· Openness?
m Salary levels known? Much talk about salary?
m Business figures widely known?
· Degree of thrift
m All letters first class?
· Expenses
m Paid easily?
m Much querying?
Rewards and recognition
· Basis of reward
m Individual-based
m Team-based
m Organisation-based
· Indicators of status—grade or salary?
· Private bonus system
· Public reward?
m Titles
m Salesman of month, etc.
Space, use of
· Allocation of office space
m Decor an indicator of social structure?
m Location an indicator of social structure?
m e.g. ‘top’ management at top of building?
m Size an indicator of social structure?
· Indicators in open plan:
m Higher partitions?
m Some offices?
· Labelling—how easy is it for stranger to find a specific person
m Analogue of ease of entry to organisation?
· Mapping of function or process to space?
· Open plan vs. individual offices
· Public vs private space:
m Use of toilets
m “Executive washroom”?
m Shared toilets?
· State of building—clean, in need of decoration, etc
Time
· Attitudes to time
m Busy, busy or relaxed?
· Attitude to past and future
m Emphasis on planning
· Punctuality—virtue or vice?
Words
· Jargon
m Indicator of boundary strength
m Subgroups using jargon?
· Modes of address
m Different to clients?
m First name to all?
m Mr upward, first name downward?
m Sir?
m Terms of address; terms of reference
m Treatment of women different from men?
· Sexual innuendo?
m Harassment?
m Pinups?
m Sexual joking?
· Swear words?

Copyright :
New Paradigm Consulting
Organisation Consultancy & Development
Richard Seel, Seabrink, Beach Road, Bacton Green, Norfolk NR12 0EP
Phone/fax: 01692 650 706 http://www.new-paradigm.co.uk richard@new-paradigm.co.uk