i think the problem / missing context / explanation is that they currently have a very strong, shared culture. in many ways that is a good thing, and something

i think the problem / missing context / explanation is that they currently have a very strong, shared culture. in many ways that is a good thing, and something that this document is trying (perhaps unconsciously) to preserve. all your (completely valid) issues examples are cases where someone drifts outside the assumed common culture (and i agree that is also when you most want a handbook). apart from "emergent issues", this also runs the risk of being exclusionary. if you don't feel like "one of the gang" then a handbook like this is going to make you less likely to join the company. from a small-scale, short-term viewpoint that might seem like a good thing. but in the longer term i am not sure it is so healthy. [from personal experience, as someone who was raised in one culture, lives in another, and typically works with people from a third, i find things like holiday "quotas" extremely useful information in guiding how i should behave and / or whether i should be working there...] hmmm. and if they really did try to understand and write down some description of their culture, and failed, it suggests that they're not so great at getting a handle on who they are, or what they are doing, or at negotiating between themselves to find common ground. which all seem like important skills.