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ICA Interview Questions Guide

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Borja Quintana Fernández
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7 views3 pages

ICA Interview Questions Guide

Uploaded by

Borja Quintana Fernández
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Interview Guide

Most of these questions should be regarded as starting points. Where appropriate,


always follow up by exploring why. Understanding the ‘why’ holds the keys to
information culture.

1. Please tell me about your role and your responsibilities

Always begin by asking people to explain their position in the organization. This
will give you the context you need to follow up and explore specific areas where
necessary.

2. How long have you worked in that position/for the organization?

This information will help you know the level of organizational knowledge the
interviewee brings to the conversation. If someone has worked in a place for a long
time they can be very useful in providing historical context, if they are new it’s a
good opportunity to learn how a relative outsider experiences the organization.

3. If you were to leave your current role/the organization, what would you
have to do to ensure the person who takes over from you would have all
the information they needed to do their job at their fingertips?

Responses to this question should give you insight into their everyday personal
information management practices, and into their awareness of what they should
be doing, but aren’t.

4. Thinking about information, and finding out how things have been done
and why decisions have been made, is there any particular advice you
would give to your successor?

Responses might indicate whether there’s a reliance on individuals as sources of


knowledge, or whether internal information systems are regarded as reliable and
trustworthy.

5. Are you aware of the policies/guidelines you are supposed to follow with
regard to information, and if so, are they realistic?

6. Are there any particular challenges that you face in working with
information?

1
7. Are there any systems or processes relating to information that are
particularly effective, or work well?

8. Are there any particular features of the ICT infrastructure that you would
like to comment on?

9. Do you (or your team) have any personal information systems or


procedures that you’ve developed to help you work more effectively?

[Workarounds might be mentioned in answers to other questions, but in case


they’re not this question asks about them specifically. It’s very important to
encourage people to talk about their unofficial ways of working, as these tell us a
lot about information culture. An example of a workaround is keeping own paper
working files. ]

10. Are there any particular document types (could be anything, ranging from
standardized forms used for reporting to emails) that you think are
characteristic of this workplace?

[Another way of asking about genres might be through talking about language
usages, or special terms that are recurrently used in the organization in some
specific sense that is only known to insiders. Possible questions may be: “What do
you mean by …?”; “Do you have some special way of calling …?”; “I heard you saying
‘…’. Can you explain that to me?”]

11. Are there any particular meetings that regularly take place that influence
information flow or information practices?

[These two questions are both specifically asking about genres. Both document
types and meetings may have been mentioned in earlier responses, but if not, these
two questions target them specifically. Once identified, you can make direct
reference to these genres in subsequent interviews. For example, ‘tell me more
about the blue cards. Do you use them?’ or ‘Can you access the minutes of the
monthly managers meetings?’ With reference to meetings, possible sub-questions
may be: “Do you like the way in which [a specific type of meetings] is organized?”;
“Do you find these meetings useful?”; “If so, to whom (managers, employees, …)?” ]

12. a. Can you tell me which of these terms (or any others) represent your
workplace (department/office) best?

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Trust Competitiveness
Transparency Relaxed
Openness Pride
Indifference Professionalism
Sloppiness Solidarity
Accuracy Secrecy,
Customer-orientation, Team spirit
Respond positively to criticism

b. Thinking about the whole organization, would you apply the same
terms?

13. How would you describe the organizational culture here?

Common questions

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Identifying commonly held values across departments provides insight into overall cultural coherence, indicating the strength of a shared organizational identity and facilitating cohesive strategy implementation across disparate organizational units .

Asking about the duration of tenure helps determine the level of organizational knowledge an interviewee possesses. A longer tenure often means more historical context and understanding of organizational evolution, allowing the interviewee to provide deeper insights. Conversely, newcomers can offer fresh perspectives on the organization's current state and integration processes .

This question reveals whether there’s a reliance on informal knowledge sharing or if there are robust, trustworthy internal information systems. If the advice depends heavily on personal experiences and insights, it may indicate a weak or under-utilized formal information system .

Inquiring about the effectiveness of ICT infrastructure helps identify technological strengths and weaknesses within the organization, allowing for targeted improvements that can enhance productivity and employee satisfaction .

The presence of 'workarounds' suggests that existing information systems and procedures may not fully meet the needs of employees. They indicate gaps or inefficiencies in formal systems that drive individuals to develop unofficial methods to perform their duties effectively .

Using terms such as 'trust' or 'secrecy' provides a direct insight into the dominant values, priorities, and interpersonal dynamics of the workplace, helping to clearly define its organizational culture and the corresponding impact on employee behavior and interaction .

Characterizing an organization as 'relaxed' or 'competitive' helps decipher its operational ethos by indicating the nature of workplace dynamics, employee motivation, and approaches to handling challenges, which in turn affect overall organizational performance .

Regularly scheduled and well-organized meetings can streamline information flow and enhance communication practices by ensuring consistent, timely information exchange across organizational levels. This facilitates informed decision-making and reinforces accountability .

The reliance on specific document types or terminologies reflects the unique communication practices and operational methodologies of an organization, highlighting its distinctive culture and potentially uncovering implicit norms and expectations .

Exploring an interviewee's awareness of information policies and their practicality can uncover discrepancies between policy design and real-world application, highlighting potential areas of improvement or compliance issues in information management .

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