Working in Corporate America

[cubefarmer]

Anyone here work in the offices of major company? Big -Top 20 size company?

What a TRIP! On some accounts I love it and then other things just blow my mind. It's like a real life Dilbert cartoon.

They will spend money in order not to spend money. Everyone seems afraid to make a decision on anything. The motto seems to be Kick the Can, Kick the Can.

The employee benefits are outstanding though. The best I have ever had. But there seems to be a revolving door - they are laying off and hiring and laying off and hiring all at the same time. Cubes are full and then next day empty and then next day full and next day empty.

Our processes are always changing. Every day. It's impossible to do our jobs perfectly. Is this normal? The make all of these announcements and rules - some of which are impossible to do - but we are responsible for whatever they have just said. Management says "We've told you so it's on you now."

Also it seems like the plan is for each of us to have way more work than we can manage and it's normal to have 100-200 emails in our inbox waiting for action or response. Is this how all big companies work?

[busymom]

The change is constant, probably because it helps the higher-ups to justify their positions. If they would stop making changes just to make changes, they could probably clear out at least half of the management deadwood.

[Phoenix84]

They will spend money in order not to spend money. Everyone seems afraid to make a decision on anything. The motto seems to be Kick the Can, Kick the Can.


Read more: notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=finance&action=display&thread=5081#ixzz1HCqWmfJ2

I always find it amusing when someone asserts that the private sector is always drastically more efficient than government. Big, bloated companies are the exact same way with layer upon layer of bureaucracy, incompetent managers and workers ect.

It's all just human nature.

[buster]

I work for a Fortune 20 myself...and you're right, some things make very little sense.

I came from a smaller organization (1000 people) before the company I'm at now and I'm absolutely amazed how nobody wants to take ownership of things that need to be done. You're absolutely right, the can is constantly kicked down the road. I will however say being in IT doing the work I do, we can't move too fast as the company infrastructure depends on the stability of the systems managed by my team. Everything has to be well planned and tested before we make any major changes.

First post for me...long time lurker on the MSN boards. Now that I finally created an account perhaps I'll stop lurking and start posting

[cubefarmer]

Yeah, they tell us to take ownership of our work, but then we have no authority to make decisions. Then we escalate things to management and they are ...I don't know, just flat out scared to make a decision and then we are told CYA is the name of the game so we are always saving and copying emails where someone tells us to do something so should that decision ever go bad, then we can prove that we didn't make the decsion. But, it's our work we are talking about. It's like my job is to find other people to tell me what to do all day long - and get them to tell me in writing. Are all big companies obsessed with METRICS?

[cytoglycerine]

Mar 21, 2011 6:24:07 GMT -5 cubefarmer said:

Yeah, they tell us to take ownership of our work, but then we have no authority to make decisions. Then we escalate things to management and they are ...I don't know, just flat out scared to make a decision and then we are told CYA is the name of the game so we are always saving and copying emails where someone tells us to do something so should that decision ever go bad, then we can prove that we didn't make the decsion.

Wow this paragraph described to a tee the exact working situation I was in at a small company a little while back. I had all the responsibility of managing a department, but none of the real authority to do so. Several times I was put into the position of having to make a tough (which I usually wasn't really "qualified" to make) because a choice had to be made by an exact time deadline, and those superior to me who really should have been making the decisions were nowhere to be found. Then, hours after the deadline has passed, they appear from wherever they went, see what I chose, and even if it's the same thing my bosses would have chosen, I get chastised for making "that" decision.


I'm convinced you can't win though. It's not like moving up to management makes things any better. I moved up a decent amount in that company during my time there, and things only got worse the higher up I climbed. Now the company has been acquired by a bigger company, and even people who I considered to be "important head honchos" are being sold out.


True loyalty in the workplace is difficult to find these days IMO. It doesn't really matter how big the company is...The company I speak of only had 40 employees when I started there, and about 100 or so when I left 6 years later.




......suddenly not looking forward to going back to work. I had conveniently forgotten about all this kind of garbage! lol

[hsclassic]

Work for $5B company, and it is similar to your experiences just on a smaller scale. Fortunately, being the size we are, we have fewer decision points, but probably still too many given the "turf wars" that still break out from time-to-time. And, yes, overwhelming email chains on a topic when, with 1 simple phone call, would resolve the matter.

Closing in on early retirment, so the political BS doesn't bother me like it used to. But I still CYA because of all of the office politics...

[phil5185]

but then we have no authority to make decisions. Then we escalate things to management and they are ...I don't know, just flat out scared to make a decision and then we are told CYA is the name of the game so we are always saving and copying emails where someone tells us to do something so should that decision ever go bad, then we can prove that we didn't make the decsion.

BTDT, my whole 35-yr engineering career. But I learned a way to climb the ranks - never do CYA's. At meetings, make the decision that the others want to elevate. And then if it fails (some will) stand up, accept the blame and provide a remedy. You'll be surprised at how many peers start coming to you for decisions/answers - and you'll be surprised at how quickly you are noticed by upper management.

And it is way easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission. If your boss is a wuss or a waffler, s/he will usually say 'no' to requests that are 'not in the Manual'. OTOH, if you just do it w/o asking, the forgiveness meeting is short (especially if your transgression was very successful and made your boss look good.)

[Clifford]

It's definitely the same within management. Somehow the wheels turn and the company keeps going. I guess whoever set it up to begin with was a genius, but he/she is long since gone. Now we can only continue with no major changes or the company is lost.

I also remember clearly when my company announced that its benefits were in the top 10% nationally, and that was great, but they only wanted to be in the top quintile...so everyone's benefits took a hit. So much for striving to be the best.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

Phil,
you post is 100% on target.... I've seen everything you note in that post.

[phil5185]

I also remember clearly when my company announced that its benefits were in the top 10% nationally, and that was great, but they only wanted to be in the top quintile...so everyone's benefits took a hit. So much for striving to be the best.

You are not seeing the big picture. Maybe the tempering of benefits IS the way to strive to be best.

[tt00]

You mean like similar to this video like Misery Bear Goes to Work

This is sad but funny and sarcastic in a way .. This is probably a imitation of most people life in the corporate world

I can relate especially with those stack of papers on the desk.

[thyme4change]

BTDT, my whole 35-yr engineering career. But I learned a way to climb the ranks - never do CYA's. At meetings, make the decision that the others want to elevate. And then if it fails (some will) stand up, accept the blame and provide a remedy. You'll be surprised at how many peers start coming to you for decisions/answers - and you'll be surprised at how quickly you are noticed by upper management.

I've had success doing this. My boss loves that I will "make it work" and get something done without calling him. I resolve things before he ever hears about them. Have I had to take blame for things that have gone wrong? Absolutely! And everyone seems to be appreciative that I don't point fingers. When I go through periods where I stop doing this, I can feel the trust and authority and power drain right out my office door. When I step back up and start doing it again - the results come very quickly.

I will say that it did backfire on me when I was at a monster company ($30Billion - not sure where that size falls.) I started touching things and trying to make decisions and the people around me starting freaking out. I worked there 2 years and can't think of a single accomplishment I'm proud of from that time. I'm just not built for those kinds of politics. I stick with my puny little <$1.5 billion companies - I can make a difference here.