Organizational Culture at Lucas Systems
When first entering the Lucas Systems UK office I immediately picked up on what kind of company culture I was going to be working in. Since the Lucas office in the UK is new and growing there are rarely more than eight of us in the office. This makes the culture more informal than most companies. This is especially seen with the attire as almost all of my fellow colleagues wear jeans and a t-shirt or polo to work. In addition, you can also see this with how individuals communicate with one another. There is obviously a time to be serious and do your work, but some of the time is spent making jokes and communicating with each other as friends rather than just co-workers. Although the culture is less formal than many US companies, which some might view as a weakness, I have not seen it in any way negative. Rather, I believe it is a strength and brings our small UK division closer together. This makes our division function in an even more productive way. Most importantly, the informality of the workplace has immediately made me feel welcome and at home. I feel comfortable enough to communicate with my colleagues in both a formal and informal manner which has made me even more productive when working on my marketing and business development work for the company. I have had a great first week getting to know my co-workers and getting introduced to the type of work I am expected to do for Lucas. I look forward to working with this company culture for the next seven weeks.
Sounds like an intimate environment in which to work, one that is relatively lively and engaging. Glad you are feeling welcome. As the weeks progress, it may be interesting to note if the informality does present any challenges (it may not in the end). Any sense of whether communication with clients is as informal? As you continue with your internship, I would encourage you to also consider how your site’s context (type of industry or history) affects the way it functions and is led, including whether the site’s context requires the leadership to be more attentive to certain issues than to others. Insights in regards to this will be useful for completing the fall academic assignments.