Type of Organizational Culture According to Handy Test - the question form
Questions: 86 · 16 minutes
1. The organizational structure is formed by dividing work by product, region, customer group, etc.
Yes
No
2. The organizational structure is organized by functions, with clearly defined responsibilities of departments and employees (e.g., marketing, finance/accounting, production, design engineering, process engineering).
Yes
No
3. The purpose of the organization is to provide employees with opportunities to achieve their personal goals.
Yes
No
4. The organization is a network of interrelated teams or units, each of which is somewhat independent but accountable within the overall strategy.
Yes
No
5. The functions and tasks of departments and individual roles are classified according to a defined criterion, forming an organization-wide workflow scheme.
Yes
No
6. Power and influence are concentrated around the head of the organization and weaken the further one is from senior management.
Yes
No
7. Power is determined by formal position and the role held in the organization.
Yes
No
8. The leader’s authority is based on the respect of the team of subordinates.
Yes
No
9. The leader’s power or influence comes from experience, creative thinking, initiative, competence, and professionalism.
Yes
No
10. Relationships with the organization’s leader matter more than a person’s formal job title.
Yes
No
11. Decisions are made quickly; speed is considered more important than the quality of the decision-making.
Yes
No
12. Decisions made are usually procedural (e.g., whether to approve or start an operation, whether to forward a request).
Yes
No
13. In this organization, decisions in certain areas are made using a group decision-making approach.
Yes
No
14. Selecting employees is considered the most important process in the organization.
Yes
No
15. Employee selection is based on a strict principle of succession: a person is hired only if they have been previously introduced or recommended by someone in the head of the organization’s circle.
Yes
No
16. When selecting or deciding on a promotion or transfer to another position, the only requirement for an employee is to match their job description exactly (no more and no less).
Yes
No
17. Personnel selection is based on the candidate's professional competence.
Yes
No
18. Employees are selected based on strict adherence to continuity: a person is hired only if they have been previously introduced by someone from the organization head’s circle.
Yes
No
19. Internal communication is based on empathy; that is, decisions are made based on guesses and assumptions about the views of the organization’s central figure.
Yes
No
20. The amount of internal documentation (memos, written directives, etc.) is minimal.
Yes
No
21. In this organization, formal written rules, directives, orders, and policies are highly valued.
Yes
No
22. The role of personal contact (by phone, in negotiations, etc.) greatly outweighs the role of written orders and regulations.
Yes
No
23. Members of the organization see themselves as colleagues.
Yes
No
24. Management of the organization is carried out through meetings (via proposals and feedback).
Yes
No
25. Management in the organization is based on obedience and discipline.
Yes
No
26. Management in the organization is based on persuasion (each decision is justified, and employees are expected to be convinced that it is correct).
Yes
No
27. Management is carried out by coordinating the activities of colleagues based on shared agreement.
Yes
No
28. There is little or no monitoring of compliance with directives, because management is based on trust.
Yes
No
29. Management has limited ability to monitor task completion because the organization is run on the basis of broad consensus.
Yes
No
30. There are high costs for telephone calls and business travel in the organization.
Yes
No
31. The organization is based on traditions, a leader personality cult, personal authority, and friendly relationships and trust within the leader’s close circle.
Yes
No
32. In this organization, personal achievement and initiative are highly valued.
Yes
No
33. Creative initiative is generally not encouraged (acting on orders without questioning).
Yes
No
34. Trust, both in employees and in the leadership center, is based on successful performance and sound decision-making.
Yes
No
35. Any changes in the organization involve replacing a person: an employee who has made a mistake is dismissed, and a new person is hired to take their place.
Yes
No
36. Rational arguments do not carry weight on their own. They need to be presented by someone who is trusted; the source matters more than the content.
Yes
No
37. In the organization, rational arguments carry significant weight regardless of who presents them.
Yes
No
38. There is strict centralized management in the organization: decisions are made by a central authority that closely controls their implementation.
Yes
No
39. People and the organization’s external environment are viewed in terms of rationality and logical analysis.
Yes
No
40. Job descriptions are developed that specify a set of prescribed duties and roles for employees.
Yes
No
41. Management in the organization is based on the assumption that events and the future are stable and predictable.
Yes
No
42. The organization’s work is broken down into separate, regulated work operations.
Yes
No
43. People are seen as an integral part of work operations—an interchangeable part of a machine.
Yes
No
44. People are viewed as individuals with specific resources that the organization can use to solve particular problems.
Yes
No
45. Individual differences are not taken into account (little importance is placed on the human factor).
Yes
No
46. Each employee is regarded as an individual with freedom and independence.
Yes
No
47. A typical career in the organization involves moving up within one department, without moving outside it.
Yes
No
48. When planning their career, an employee expects to work in the organization until retirement or longer.
Yes
No
49. When planning a career, moving from one department to another, or from one organization to another, is encouraged.
Yes
No
50. There is no career planning or employee training in the organization. The organization’s role is simply to provide opportunities for development.
Yes
No
51. The organization regulates not only working hours but also employees’ lives: medical insurance benefits, regular paid leave, employee discounts, pension coverage, and similar benefits are widely provided.
Yes
No
52. The organization has a long (decades-long) history of successful development.
Yes
No
53. The organization produces a limited range of products or services.
Yes
No
54. A key criterion of the organization’s effectiveness is maximum standardization and formal regulation of activities.
Yes
No
55. The organization ignores any changes in the external environment. The typical response to change is to reinforce traditional ways of working.
Yes
No
56. If production costs increase, the organization raises prices.
Yes
No
57. When sales volumes decline, the organization responds by selling more intensively.
Yes
No
58. If work is not completed on time, employees work overtime.
Yes
No
59. In response to rapid change (e.g., new technologies or shifts in customer preferences), the organization creates multiple cross-functional (interdepartmental) committees to integrate the structure into a unified whole.
Yes
No
60. The organization often introduces innovations and continually updates its product range.
Yes
No
61. Problems are solved under strict adherence to rules and formal procedures.
Yes
No
62. Formal rules and procedures play a negligible role.
Yes
No
63. An effective problem-solving method is one that simplifies the original task as much as possible and breaks it down into simple tasks.
Yes
No
64. The effectiveness of a problem-solving method is determined by the result achieved.
Yes
No
65. Learning is viewed as a process of acquiring new knowledge and skills.
Yes
No
66. Training is a process of gaining new experience.
Yes
No
67. Learning is seen as a process of gaining the abilities and skills to solve problems more effectively.
Yes
No
68. Training is a process of transferring the required knowledge and skills from those who have them to those who do not yet have them.
Yes
No
69. The learning process involves participation in research and project teams (case studies, business simulations, and teamworking skills training).
Yes
No
70. A typical employee in the organization is a creative person, a professional in their field, with a sense of personal responsibility, and constantly seeking new ideas.
Yes
No
71. People are viewed as organizational resources (the term "human resources" is widely used).
Yes
No
72. People are seen as independent individuals who temporarily lend their talent to the organization.
Yes
No
73. Formal workforce planning methods are widely used (e.g., performance appraisal systems, staffing level calculations, training needs assessments, training courses).
Yes
No
74. Senior management generally does not follow the rules and procedures they themselves have established.
Yes
No
75. The organizational structure is the key document that defines reporting relationships (who reports to whom).
Yes
No
76. Status symbols (e.g., a private office, a company car) are highly valued.
Yes
No
77. The main task of the organization’s management is the continuous and successful solving of problems.
Yes
No
78. There are few interpersonal conflicts, and leadership issues in the team are not a concern.
Yes
No
79. The organization makes substantial investments in research and development, including experiments and testing.
Yes
No
80. Management takes into account the interests of all employees in the organization.
Yes
No
81. For each problem, a dedicated team is usually assembled to address it.
Yes
No
82. There are frequent discussions and debates in the organization.
Yes
No
83. The talent and professional expertise of individual people are crucial to the organization.
Yes
No
84. There is little to no formalization or compliance with rules.
Yes
No
85. Pay is based on the team’s performance results.
Yes
No
86. The head of the organization and their close associates frequently travel on business because they prefer face-to-face conversations over letters or phone calls.
Yes
No