1.

The corporate culture is the pivot around which the strategy can be
successfully implemented for achieving growth. Culture here represents the
set of unique beliefs and behaviors that guide the company in its internal
interactions and transactions with the external stakeholders. 

From the facts of the case stated here, it is clear the corporate culture at
Suspenders plc has the following features:

 Collaborative and communicative interactions are absent.

 Rule-based hierarchical functioning is the norm. Dave, the line
manager, introduced Maureen to the team. We do not know whether
there was a supervisor who could have done this.
 The workplace attribute does not allow personal touches, as can be
seen from the absence of items of personal sentiment. This means
employees are considered as mere factors of production rather than
human resources with emotions and feelings.
 Personal integrity is not perceived as important nor is any effort made to
establish or clarify the actions of superiors. Grapevine is rampant
possibly because of the lack of official communication.
 Criticism or evaluation of management policies is not encouraged.
 Adhocism is prevalent as permanent staff have been laid off and casual
workers have been inducted. 
 Whistleblowing mechanism has been undermined completely.

2. 

 The corporate culture at Suspenders plc demoralizes young employees

like Susan and Maureen. They are expected to work according to a
stifling environment where they cannot collaborate with colleagues nor
voice their opinions. This could lead to the stunting of their innovation
abilities and prevent the development of higher managerial skills. If they
continue in the company, they could stunt as professionals and
individuals as their interpersonal skills will not develop enough. If they
leave the company, their experience at Suspenders plc would not have
equipped them to handle jobs with higher responsibilities, especially
people management.

3.
  The culture at the company surely needs to be changed. The policies
should be made employee centric for allowing greater collaboration. The
existing suspicion of employees especially for being critical of
management should be changed and a healthy policy of employee
feedback should be installed. The whistleblowing mechanism should be
strengthened by reinstating it and affording adequate freedom for the
official responsible for enquiring into complaints. Communication at
every level should be through a properly functioning structure. Team
cohesion and friendly interactions should be encouraged.

4.

 Changing the present culture to a more dynamic and cooperative one

allows employees to see themselves as teams that are aligned to the
strategic goal of the company. Such goal congruence is essential to
achieve efficiency in operations and performance. Further, the feedback
mechanism can be the germinator for new ideas to improve processes
or drive product innovation. By accepting comments on management
functioning or credible evidence about wrongdoing can help maintain
high standards of control and governance. This may help in enhancing
the image of the company in the market, for the shareholders and the
company's customers.