Every business has a culture whether they are single one-man bands or vast multinationals with thousands of employees. It is an unwritten code of behaviour and the can be defined as the "way we do things here". Often it is started with the person at the top and filters down through the ranks, but equally it can be apparent in a department or cell within an organisation where someone has developed a way of doing business that is unique. This works well as long as the rest of the business is able to interact effectively with that department/cell. 

Q1 What is the dress code accepted by the company?

LT - There is a dress code that everyone follows where a formal attire is the accepted norm. You can almost tell what rank someone is by this dress code. 

VS - Smart, efficient, practical, the dress to be seen in as far as business is concerned. There are no radicals here, rather a general standard that middle-of-road personnel would wear

HP - Very extreme in that you dress to get noticed and what to be noted for your attire. On the flip side the attire is if no importance and no one notices who is wearing what.

RT - More a segregation of sexes as much as anything else. Quite conservative but with a sensible flexibility. 

Q2 What are the offices like where you work?

LT - The senior staff have bigger and fancier offices and the higher up you go the better they get. 

VS - Very much decorated to the style of today. They get smarter and flashier dependent on your own personal success.

HP - Mostly "clone" cubicles with break out areas where people can have informal chats. The cubicles are classic IT environment and allow personnel to decorate them however they wish.

RT - There is little choice and you get what you are given. No extremes and the pictures around the office are all the same.

Q3 How do personnel progress in the company?

LT - Straight up via the career ladder

VS - It is all dependent on how much you sell.

HP - Little moving here, rather most will leave to take what they have learned and start their own businesses up.

RT - A very static environment with almost jobs for life. Many may get promoted around you to higher positions.

Q4 What does the company value most?

LT - Sticking to the rules and work using the proper channels. Do not rock the boat!

VS - Working as a team at all levels. Making sure everyone fits in and that there is conformity.

HP - Getting results now regardless of the cost. Short-term results are all that matter.

RT - As long as the way we work is documented and proven then the final result will come naturally.

Q5 Who of the personnel does the company value the most

LT - The experts who have been doing what they do for years and years

VS - The ones that made the difficult sale or who stepped up to the mark

HP - Regardless of right and wrong, the go getters who are aggressive. 

RT - The "steady Eddy" types that do their job without question and almost oblivious of the consequences. 

Q6 What style of interview did you go through?

LT - You saw many different people from different parts of the business and it was very intense. 

VS - Everything seems a rush and decisions were made there and then. The questions were very direct.

HP - You did all the talking and were expected to sell yourself to them. It was a fast process.

RT - It seemed to go on forever. You may have visited them a few times before any decision was made.

Q7 What is the view of retirement and pension plans?

LT - They get better the longer you stay and the higher to get within the company. 

VS - They are important but should not be all consuming.

HP - Haven't got time to think about pensions when there is work to be done. 

RT - These are an integral part to the whole package that is being offered.

Q8 How does the organisation handle a crisis?

LT - Using personnel experienced in that or similar crises, call a meeting to work through this one.

VS - Get everyone involved by calling an emergency meeting to develop some kind of strategy.

HP - You are on your own to sort it out as long as you tell your manager how you did it. 

RT - There are already experts in the organisation who are expert in handling this kind of situation so hand it over to them for resolution.

Q9 From where are ideas and decisions generated?

LT - Mostly during regular meetings in conference rooms

VS - Off site like the golf course or special "away days" where groups are set up to make specific decisions about the future of the business.

HP - From the individual working alone.

RT - Via committees and sub-committees and over a very long period of time with lots of proving and debating. 

How to score this checklist.

This type of business plans for Long Term security and values those that are specialists and those that have risen up the corporate ladder. Long term decisions are taken that may risk the future of the company and take many years to prove out. Typically, the type of company that falls into this category would be oil & mining companies, investment houses, chartered surveyors and large capital goods companies.

This type of business has Volume Sales as its primary goal. It likes it personnel to be active and persistent and as a whole, is considered to be one big happy family. Senior staff like to call this environment a "Work hard - Play hard" business. There are many kinds of business that fall into this category such as FMCG, IT, estate agents, high street stores and cold calling/selling organisations. 

This type of business is High Pressure and expects newcomers to be running from the word go. The focus is very much on short-term results and there is no room for "fluffiness". Such companies would include those in advertising, entertainment, medical specialists, building and construction.

This type of business is ruled by Red Tape and bureaucracy is the standard adopted by all. Everything has to be proved and there is a right and wrong way for all aspects of how business is done. Typically, health and government organisations are in this category as are finance and insurance companies.