Week 6: Organizational Culture at Pure Public Relations

As I mentioned in another blog post, the organizational structure at Pure PR is very divided and hierarchical, if you will. However, what’s unique about the agency is that because it’s only a small-sized local business handling international accounts, there is not more than 1 employee per position title (e.g. Social Media Coordinator), whereas in a large company you would find multiple people under a broad title (e.g. there are many district sales reps at my mother’s company, Pfizer).

This hierarchy goes for not just the large tasks (like press release creation), but also the very small tasks (like making coffee). To be more specific, we generally think of the intern as the one who provides everyone with coffee, right? Well, at Pure, interestingly enough anyone can make coffee, but they will only offer to make it for their superiors, never anyone below them. Hence, I’m never offered coffee; rather, it’s a unspoken expectation that the intern should always offer coffee/tea to everyone in the office.

Also, because I am immersed in the British culture here at my internship site, there were a few fundamental ways in which businesses are run to which I had to adapt. My colleagues are quite blunt when giving feedback; if you do something wrong, they will make a point to tell you…in front of everyone in the office. Though I understand this is an aspect of the British culture that tends to differ from the American culture, I do think Pure PR employs ~2-3 very outspoken individuals who provide feedback in an overly harsh way. In my opinion, leadership shouldn’t exist just to exert power, but rather to enhance the effectiveness of the entire group in a manner that allows you to maintain your followers’ respect and dignity. Overall, however, I’ve found the organizational culture at Pure PR to be very empowering, as I’m surrounded by all strong, intelligent women in business.