CAREER INSIGHT
Corporate Cultures
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Iiii'.1 Stmnentehi
aJ\isc‘s sampling .»•'
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lures as possible
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It's all too
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jump at your
first decent job
offer...
I m patient and v an stick it nut. thcfc s a pot
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,iu at ! Bs I think I ^ an Jo reall> vs ell in a
l itih
Su/anne I loll .11 \oithucslcin aetecs that
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also important, partictilail\ loi undcietadu
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happiness '
Mi Ihompson a lotmet Associated Press cottespondenl is
an Atlanta based freelance miter
Baseball Team, Club> Atademy, Fortress
These four labels describe the most prevalent corporate cultures m today s business world accord
ing to Jeffrey Sonnenlcld at fmory University Each culture has distinctive characteristics ond genei
oily oppeors to attract ceilom personalities he soys Ihe following ore thumbnail descriptions ol coch
culture
BASIBAU TEAM: Baseball team companies are entiepieneurially oriented havens lor risk tok
ers ond innovators Ihey oflei big dollars ond gieat freedom to then star performers who ore
reworded for what they produce But the risks ton be high and stability ond long term security are
virtually non existent
lob hopping is commonplocf lop performers see themselves os free agents much like profes
sionol othletes If one company doesn l give them the freedom or rewards they think they deserve
they II leave for a company that docs or form then own company
Baseball team companies include advertising agencies many investment banks law firms con
suiting firms broadcasting ond entertainment firms software developers and bio research concerns
CLUB: Seniority is the key at clubs Age ond experience count Not surprisingly these companies
lend to be stable secure and considered reliable by their customers
Clubs place a high volue on fitting in' on loyalty on commitment on geneiol skills and on
doing things for the good of the group Quick upward mobility ond notoriety ore hotd to come by it s
not uncommon for on employee of a club company to start os a teenager or right out of college and
spend 35 to 40 years with one firm Ihe company storts people ot Ihe bottom then grooms man
agers as generolists Managers learn a number of |obs as they criss cross their woy up the corporate
ladder
At United Parcel Service for example the chief executive and his monogemcnt committee begon
then careers as clerks drivers ond management trainees Other clubs include Oelto Airlines the Bell
operating companies ond other utilities government agencies most regionol commercial banks and
the military
ACADEMY: An ocodemy is the plate for sleody (limbers who won! lo thoioughly mosler each new
|ob they bold
Academies sutb os IBM Corp hire new lecruits early ond then lioin them lo be experts in a poi
titular function At IBM lor mstome someone hired lo be o marketing representative would roreiy
betontc a software engineer (or vite verso)
the strengths of the otodemies ore continuity of service institutional wisdom ond functional
expertise Employees can betorne insulated fiom othei areas by funttionol barriers however Risk
takers ond those motivated entirely by money may feel stifled at on ocodemy but there is some
100m for fost traders Company exomples also include Cota Colo the large oulo firms pharmoceu
licol companies office product and electronics companies ond many consumer product firms such os
Procter It Gomble
FORTRESS: fortresses ore preoccupied with survival Many ore academies clubs or baseball
teams seeking to reverse soggmg fortunes Others such os retailing and oil companies suffer never
ending cycles of boom ond bust
forliesses offei little promise of |ob security ond con t reword people simply on performance A
restructuring or downswing seems olwoys to be looming possibly throwing even the best managers
out of their |obs This may be exciting for those who like the challenge of a turnaround lo do well
you con I be concerned obout feelings of belonging professional growth ond future income Security
and conviviality oie in short supply ond there s little of what Sonnenfeld colls 'core ond feeding’ for
tumor level employees
fortress companies include large retailers hotels textile firms, oil ond natural gas exploration
firms forest products companies and publishing houses
BUNDS AND TRANSITIONS: Many companies con t be so neatly cotegonted Some hove a
blend of cultures others are in transition.
Apple Computer Co for example storied out as o baseball team but is maturing into an acode
my Sonnenfeld points out thol General Electric Co has distinctly different cultures within different
units