The Work Culture in my Virtual Internship
We often think more about the products or services companies provide and an overall very consumer-centric point of view. However, it’s interesting to think about the employee POV because the “culture” of the company is one of the tops, if not the top priority for employees when they are considering working for a company yet is really underestimated.
This internship opportunity is unique in that we’re working with 2 different Brazilian companies: CampusB and Parque Tecnológico São José dos Campos. When using the Harvard model to identify work culture, CampusB, in my opinion, has more of a Clan culture while Pq. Tech. is more of an Adhocracy.
I’ve had fewer interactions with Pq. Tech. since we were only given a brief introduction of the institution itself before we got right down to business and we’ve only had contact with our program mentor from the company. Since Pq. Tech. is a technology park, after all, the focus of its culture is surrounding innovation. There are different hubs within the tech park working on different projects in different areas (for example, mobility, water & sanitation, etc.). However, since there are many different companies working in close proximity, there is also a sense of expectation to bump into one another and even collaborate on different projects. In that manner, there is a sense of dynamic cooperation. From the video they showed us, it honestly gave me the Google kind of vibe (judging from my perception of Google that is) where there are many brilliant people with ambitious and innovative ideas. They seem to be working as a conglomerate of the whole park where many different innovations from all different fields are produced and run simultaneously. Thus, Pq. Tech. gives me the vibe of a controlled chaos kind-of-environment that is tailored for engineers to bounce ideas off one another to develop new innovations. Finally, the relationship between interns and my program coordinator have been professional but informal at the same time, as he has made it clear that he’s there to mentor and guide us along the way but not necessarily dictate the exact steps we need to take. He’s made it clear that he’s given us the freedom to approach what we ultimately see best to avoid stymying our creativity and individuality.
CampusB is quite different. Right off the bat, we were given an orientation speech by the CEO, who acknowledges his employees (our program coordinators) names and speaks rather informally to them. There is more of a homey feel whenever more than one coordinator is there to observe our events, as they make jokes with one another, talk about their previous experiences, etc. Certainly, it feels like they are focused on being a cohesive unit that is rather personal with one another but working together for the same purpose. It seems like they have their individual personalities but work together as a unit to convey the message that CampusB wants to uphold: facilitating experiential learning opportunities to students from all over the world.
Comments
Dear Josh- You and Stephanie have identified the adhocracy with Pq Tech and clan culture with Campus B. I would agree in principle with what I have come to know about both orgs (primarily through you and my other students- but with Campus B my personal experiences!). Like I asked Stephanie- what are the benefits and potential pitfalls of an adhocracy? Here I am thinking of WeWork in particular...which actually may have started in that vein and then evolved into somehing far more...cannibalistic( for lack of a better word)- they had many hybrid features of adhocracy and clan (Clan orgs can also be deceptive due to the family like atmosphere and folks taking advantage of this familairity etc)....something to think about at the very least!
These are three components (that I think are needed) to building better, more sound, more resolute companies:
role fit - meaning people are placed meaningfully in their position- that the position 'fits' the skills, competencies and aptitudes of an employee- AND there is room for growth
gatherings and gratitude - (sounds dorky but I love to celebrate events-milestones and other folks' achievements)- this recognition is important and helps build cohesion, self worth and connections (relationships!) amongst colleagues
Roles + purpose- this connection is very important- how do employees know they are making a difference? humans have a terribly deep need to feel relevant- how does the company ensure this is made possible?
You have alluded to a few preliminary observations here regarding these three elements...I am also wondering if you have thought further about how a company/organization creates an environment of trust, empowerment, teamwork etc? How does a company ensure its values are reflected outward and inward!? How do we ensure employees' values aren't compromised in the process? Is it even possible to achieve this- or are humans forever messy and fallacy-laden?
There is (also) that famous adage: One never leaves a job, one leaves a toxic work environment!!! - Kate Abney
Some potential benefits of a clan culture I feel are: people feel familiar and comfortable with the atmosphere, you are able to rely on your coworkers since you're a tight network, you don't have to feel burdened by the position you're in as you are all working towards the same goals. However, the potential setbacks revolve around people taking advantage of these benefits. Sometimes, the wrong people can be in that culture and ruin it. They can take advantage of the familiarity by being unprofessional or even out-of-line regarding your actions towards your coworkers. They can use that trust that's more easily established to use each other to get further and achieve selfish goals. Finally, groupthink is a big one I can think of. Being all one family, you might feel pressured to keep harmony and not speak up when something's not right. Opinions get suppressed and people are afraid to share their criticisms (which is so important as nothing can be perfect from the very beginning).
Some potential benefits of an adhocracy are: people aren't afraid to take risks and leaps of faith and understand the consequences involved (they're able to bounce back), the flexibility of working styles (not a strict hierarchy), creativity at an all-time high, and innovative products have massive success potentials. Some setbacks include: those who don't have this risky approach lack the ability to adapt to the environment and drop during the process, people can take advantage of the flexibility to escape responsibility or use it to gain power, individualism could result in personality clashes and conflicts between workers (who are mostly ambitious). It could be a dog-eat-dog world in an adhocracy if you don't emphasize you're all on the same team working for collective success.
I agree with you: role-fit is important so people feel comfortable (especially in early years) with the work that they're doing (but I would say you could challenge them later on), gatherings and gratitude are important to build trust and improve connections in the team (to prevent selfish mindsets from taking over), purpose definitely in the respect that there is a motivation behind everything. For a company, they need to unify their workers under these goals in order to give them a sense of fulfillment and a sense that they're contributing to this overall goal.
While I agree that humans are forever messy and fallacy-laden, there are ways you can prevent those limitations from hurting your company. A company must prove that they care about their workers first and foremost and remind them of the work and contribution they're making. They must establish clear expectations to hold them accountable, but also be flexible in the respect that things might go astray sometimes. They must unify the workers behind their main mission and make it clear that acts that compromise those values will be evaluated fairly and dealt with (not in an autocratic way though). I think this can be done by making sure those who are leaders in the groups within the company are able to instill confidence in their employees but also gain their respect through their actions. Give employees the feeling that they are working under an institution that will have a positive impact in society, but also ensure them that their well-being and happiness are considered in the decisions made by the company. This task is no walk in the park however. Companies must be flexible and change with the changing times as well in order to fulfill the demands of their employees or demands for society.
I still agree with my early classifications of these two companies I've worked with, and found that I was able to adapt to CampusB's culture much more easily as it is something I'm familiar with. However, I believe I gained something very valuable when trying to adapt to Pq. Tecnologico's challenging culture that can benefit the way I approach problems in the future, and I'm truly grateful for that. - Josh
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