Unit 4 - 1.1 Describe and compare the cultures of different Creative Media workplaces

With the Create Media industry containing such a variety of companies and areas of expertise, there are bound to be differences between workplaces, environments and interaction.

For example, a high-end photography studio working with prestigious clients will have a different work ethic and atmosphere to a small web design agency working for small local businesses... in theory. When I used to work for a small web design agency, the atmosphere was quite lively; we always had music playing in the office, and "banter" occurred regularly. Some offices tend to have a much more "serious" vibe to them, depending on the work they are approaching.

Taking my previous role as an example again, there wasn't a dress code in place at all, and so everybody (Field sales people aside) tended to dress casually. My current role however requires smarter dress due to the type of clientele we interact with, which also contributes to the "professional" atmosphere of the office and approach to work.

Some workplaces also tend to have strict regulations and practices in place when it comes to things like taking annual leave. Often you will have to give notice, such as with my current role a notice of at least a week prior to your planned time off needs to be given, whereas with my previous role there was a lot more leniency and discretion was used with regard to notice.

The general trend seems to be that smaller companies, particularly those that focus mainly on creative activities, have a much more relaxed approach to conducting work, as long as it is still done in a professional manner and results are still produced. Again, this tends to change depending on a variety of things such the type of clients you are dealing with and the company "image".