The corporate culture at WL Gore & Associates (Gore) is refreshingly different from that of other firms. Forgoing the more traditional organizational chart, the company describes itself as a “flat-lattice, team-based organization” (W.L. Gore & Associates [Our Culture], 2011, para. 1). Its employees generally have no job titles and are called “associates”; also favoring the term “sponsor” over leaders (Our Culture, 2011). While some businesses in today's business environment are just trying to survive, Gore takes a long-term decision-making approach that has helped it thrive for over 50 years (Our Culture, 2011). As a privately held company, it is also interesting to note that Gore's culture includes making a wide variety of information available to the public on its website. In addition to publishing information about its history, leadership and associates, Gore includes annual growth and revenue data for the world to see. It is quite unusual for a non-public company, especially one of this significant size, to voluntarily make this information available to everyone, including competitors. This sends a consistent message that reinforces and protects the organization's well-earned reputation for integrity among customers, associates and suppliers. Gore associates have the privilege of operating in a very unusual business environment. One of the company's founding principles, still in place today, is "Earn and Have Fun" (W.L. Gore & Associates [About Us], 2011). Team collaboration is the name of the game at Gore. Leaders are rarely assigned to the position; instead they emerge with demonstrated leadership qualities and gaining followers (Our Culture, 2011). Being passionate is a... medium of paper... like someone else is very foreign to me. I definitely feel comfortable knowing who my boss is and the protocol for escalation should I need it. I predict I'll fix these problems at Gore eventually, but it will definitely take some getting used to. Works Cited Reingold, J. (2007). A job that allows you to choose your boss. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/08/magazines/fortune/goretex.fortune/index.htmW.L. Gore & Associates. (2011). A team-based flat-lattice organization. Retrieved from http://www.gore.com/en_xx/aboutus/culture/index.htmlW.L. Gore & Associates. (2011). Compensation. Retrieved from http://www.gore.com/en_xx/careers/whatweoffer/compensation/compensation.htmlW.L. Gore & Associates. (2011). Working in our unique culture. Retrieved from http://www.gore.com/en_xx/careers/whoweare/ourculture/gore-company-culture.html