CORPORATE CULTURE
1 – Do frequent turf wars break out between line and staff management?
2 – Does management have a history of rewarding teams/ individuals for superior performance?
3 – Do the firm’s members and organizations communicate openly with each other?
4 – Are projects made visible to management and to the whole organization?
5 – Does management use multi-disciplinary teams to solve complex problems?
6 – Is the firm’s culture one of blame, silence (of dissenters), fear of reprisal?
7 –Do firm’s executives meet with customers?
8 – Must project team members obtain permission to interview with outsiders?
9 – Does management readily accept bad news?
10 – Does the project team understand management’s vision for this project?
11 – Are key people left “out of the loop” (kept in the dark)?
12 – Does the team understand the customer’s problem?
13 – Does management candidly share appropriate information?
14 – Does PM/ team have freedom to point out tactics and strategies that may be failing? Is leadership willing to suffer failure?
      *Can anyone openly admit failure/ mistakes without fear of retaliation?
      *Can anyone say what the project is not going to do? (Yes = good)
15– Has company also offered employees incentives to work quickly? (Yes = blue)
16- Company routinely blamed workers (stupid, lazy, careless, ill-will) for their accidents (Yes = blue)
17- Quashed violations/ complaints that threatened people’s safety?
18– Firm receives advance notice (heads up) about upcoming inspections
19- Bribes paid out to cover-up violations?
20- Whitewash dangerous code/ regulatory violations/ violations of law?
21– Is the project overly focused on financial performance/ job titles or tenure? (Yes = bad)
22– Is the senior management/ project manager/ team receptive to new ideas? Do they exhibit a “not invented here” (not a good idea; I didn’t think of it) bias? (No = bad)
23– Is project manager/ team pressured to do wrong? (Yes = red)
24– Does denial of wrongdoing occur at any level (Yes = red: e.g. “hear no evil, see no evil)
25– Can workers refuse to work excessive overtime/ under known dangerous/ fraudulent conditions, without retaliation?
26– Can anyone on team tell PM/ SM when they think s/he is wrong?
27– Are possible solutions conflicting with “tradition (past practices)”?
28– Are successful “pass rates” intentionally set too low to ensure success? (Yes = red)
29– Gets tipped off before inspections occur? (Yes = blue)
30– Cuts corners/ avoids investing in safety measures to save money? (Yes = red)
31– Anyone can report concerns about bizarre behavior of anyone on the team?
32– Are testing protocols being: Performed at an unapproved laboratory/ using unapproved equipment/ ignored/ delayed/ not performed/ skipped/ short-cutted/ rushed/ tested above & beyond specified range/ any cultural acceptance of a normalization of deviance? Comfortable with indiscretions? (Yes = bad).
33– Are required “legal hold” documents being intentionally destroyed/ deleted? (Yes = bad)
34– Do people take “responsibility” of the areas they are responsible for? (No = bad)
35– Do requirements exist to use locally hired equipment and labor? (No = blue)
36 – Disregards rules, test results, safeguards, evidence (even hides it), laws and norms? (Yes = red)
37 – Excessively tests the limits of rules/ operates in “gray areas” and via loopholes? (Yes = red)
38 – Does SM/PM/team/contractors/managers accept “if something’s not documented, it was not done” as an unbreakable rule? (no = bad)
39 – Is the project’s environment such that everyone/ anyone is comfortable escalating issues to more senior members of the organization? (Yes = good)
40 – Do people get publicly “dressed down” for mistakes and disagreements? (Yes = bad)
41 – Do things that “break” get fixed in a timely manner? (No = bad) Have fixes created new problems? (Yes = Red)
42 – Conceals the truth (lie, hides/ gloss over/ shreds documents/ confounds personal and scientific/ technical information) and other urgent information.
43 – Distorts/ downplays/ suppresses unfavorable test results? (Yes = bad)
44 – “Sells their services” (kickbacks) to the highest bidder (corruptly).
45 – Does PM/ SM focus on speed/ production targets and the expense of safety? (Yes = bad)
46 – “Superficially” initiates (pays lip service to) corrective actions?
47 – Permits/ enables drug and alcohol consumption during work hours? (Yes = bad)
48 – Hidebound by “tradition”. “This is the way we’ve always done it”. Continuing to invest in old technology that they know will have to be replaced? (Yes = bad)
49 – Does one person give the orders and demand that they are “blindly” carried out? (Yes = bad)
50 – Has Quality Assurance people gotten “too” / comfortable with contractor personnel/ groups they have oversight responsibility for? (Yes = bad)
51 – Does nepotism exist where “preferred” family, classmates and friends are hired at the expense of more qualified personnel? (Yes = bad)
52 – Is SM/ PM overly cautious (possibly overusing the term ‘better to be safe than sorry’)? (Yes = blue)
53 – Any reports of direct or indirect threats used to:
      *Squelch dissent/ punish anyone who reports problems? Dismissed by chain of command.
      *Improperly rush production?
      *Falsify data/ test results/ records/ labels/ completed work?
      *Suppress/ slow reporting irregularities?
54 – Any attempts by a person or persons (somehow organized) to intimidate PM/ staff to approve additional overtime? (Yes = bad)
55 – Does a person or persons allege that more people are needed to perform the work? (Yes = blue)
56 – Does a person or persons allege that if rules were properly followed, additional delays would occur?
57 – Does excessive overtime result in additional team errors? (Yes = bad)
58 – Does PM attempt to meet with clients (at any/ all levels) outside of their work environment? (Yes = good)
59 – Does SM/ PM use harsh/ violent/ condescending language with the staff? (Yes = bad)
60 – Staff is expected to respond 24/7 to calls, texts and emails. (Yes = blue)
61 – Everyone gets bogged down in the details and missing the big picture? (Yes = blue)
62 – Are contractors, team personnel and suppliers encouraged to highlight concerns and issues as they arise? E.g., safety? (Yes = good)
63 – Does team learn on the fly and apply what they learn? (Yes = good)
64 – Does SM/ PM sacrifice quality in order to achieve schedule targets? (Yes = bad)
65 – Does PM/ team exhibit a “can do” mentality to positively address challenges/ issues? (Yes = good)
66 – Is SM/ PM overly focused on short-term, numbers-driven answers/ micro-specific problems to the detriment of more longer-term solutions?
67 – Is firm/ SM/ PM/ team/ contractor slow to disclose/ report wrongdoing? (Yes = bad)
68 – Does SM/ PM communicate information early and often?
69 – Are/ were complaints/ problems/ danger warnings and risks ignored until investigations/ inspections/ audits raise concerns? (Yes = bad).
70 – Has/ does management claim they have no problems, because none have been reported? (Yes = blue)
71 – Does/ is leadership/ contractors/ the firm’s employees at any level refuse/ fail to comply with reporting requirements/ feel entitled to do as they wish (e.g. incur overtime without previous authorization from their supervisors? (Yes = bad)
72 – Are people at any level confronted for failure to take the work seriously? (No = bad)
73 – Are people using the statement “making the numbers” as a cover for cutting corners? (Yes = bad)
74 – Does PM/ team/ contractors refuse to comply or stall/ foot-drag/ been found to disregard corrective action directions when given instruction? (Yes = bad)
75 – Are kickbacks of any kind being used anywhere on the project” (Yes = bad)
76 – Are poor performing personnel/ staff transferred to new jobs instead of being held accountable? (Yes = bad)
77 – Does SM/ PM value transparency and reflect it in their actions? (Yes = good)
78 – Does firm place a large number of “political allies” with no relevant experience on the project? (Yes = bad)
79 – Do complaints to higher ups fall on deaf ears? (Yes = bad)
80 – Does serious penalties exist for misconduct? (No = bad)
81 – Does house team and local management rejects outside help? (Yes = bad)
82- Are secretive (possible illegal) deals being made, regarding this project? (Yes = blue)
83 – Does SM/ PM encourage risk-taking/ constraint challenging and curiosity? (Yes = good)
84 – Does PM hold her