# Do you prefer to work for a large company or a small company? Why?



## strantor (May 16, 2013)

Well?


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## bcall2043 (May 18, 2013)

Neither!
*I don’t want to work.*

Benny
The Orphanage Never Closes


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## MikeWi (May 18, 2013)

Large company.  They are large enough to force compliance with laws and regulations, and have policies in place for everything, and they make sure they're followed.  Small companies, and family-owned businesses have both been a big PITA for me.  They pretty much do what they like and to hell with the employees.  Been there, done that.


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## Ray C (May 19, 2013)

I've run the gammut from big companies (100,000+ employees), medium (1,200+), small (200+) and really small (50).  Of course... The best run place is "none of the above" and I happen to be the happiest and most productive in my 2.5 car converted garage/shop.  All joking aside, it all really depends on the company's culture and whether or not your lucky or unfortunate about getting stuck with obtuse and/or stubborn management, spiteful or unfriendly coworkers or dysfunctional departments...  It's mainly luck it seems.  I've had situations that started-out good and gradually degraded and other situations that started-out bad and gradually improved.  The term "entropy" comes to mind...


Ray


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## DMS (May 19, 2013)

I'm a programmer by trade. I am going to say small company, at least if it was the "right" small company. When I worked for a startup, things were pretty egalitarian, the president's door was  always open, and ideas were shared freely. We were kind of like a little family. Now I work for a larger company (it bought up that little startup), and while I still do mostly the same thing, and I like the people I work with, the amount of bureaucracy and isolation from the rest of the company is stifling. 

So yeah, a small company, as long as they treat you right.


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## pineyfolks (May 19, 2013)

Big companies because they waste and scrap so much stuff there's always good pickins in the dumpster :lmao:


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## samthedog (May 19, 2013)

I think the experience is independant of the company size and comes down to the team you work within. I am a manager of a small team within a large company (18000 + employees) and we have a great time at work. I have the view that great managers don't always make great leaders. Many people try to manage others like they would manage a budget or account and to me that does not work at all. I have a few simple rules that I learned along the way from good managers I have had:

1 - The manager generates no income, his sole job is to support those who do
2 - If you are a manager and are not serving those in your team, you are not fit to lead
3 - Team / group meetings are for your people to talk and for you to listen
4 - Give praise openly, rebuke in private
5 - Be firm, friendly and fair - never familiar
6 - Create clear expectations for both yourself and those in your team
7 - Always make time for those in your team
8 - Always give credit to those who deserve it, and learn how the team members like appreciation shown

Of course there is a lot more but these few things seem to help create a good, well balanced and productive environment built on mutual respect. I have been very lucky and had 2 excellent bosses in a row recently. I learned alot from those guys.

Paul.


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## richl (May 19, 2013)

I am a union carpenter, over 25 years experience. My industry is rather diverse, big companies get big work. Big work now means as long as you tow the line you will have a check for 5months to maybe a year or more. Big jobs have big expenses, owners and management want the work to be done as quickly as possible to maximize the profit.
As RayC and samthedog mention it is all up to the management, and the team you are working with whether the experience will be enjoyable, or just another job...
Small companies have smaller klicks where everyone knows everything about you, this can be good or bad...

I have never been stiffed for my wages or my benefits from a large company, I have from smaller companies... Work is work, you go wherever the money is.

In my shop, I can work as fast or as slow as I want, I choose the projects I am going to ,work on and the budget that will be spent. I have full artistic control, and I like working by myself 

peace

rich

I think that is now 20 posts yea! I can finally look at the dl files!
If not, than I have to find another thread to post another frivolous meaningless post ;D


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## JohnG (May 19, 2013)

The Germans have a word that means literally "middle sized company" and a national industrial policy that encourages them.  These are the manufacturers of specialty products that dominate niche markets around the world where quality is recognized and demanded--the guys behind German engineering.  

These days I'd say that describes a company that does $100 million a year, say 300 to 500 employees.  $10 million a year is too small.  $1 billion is too big.

I worked for 2 middle sized companies.  One built automotive assembly lines.  One built doors and windows.  Those were my best jobs.  I had challenging work.  I learned.  I was given responsibility.  I felt appreciated when I did well.  I had resources to work with.  I liked the guys who ran things.  

"Talk is cheap.  Research is expensive".  That is the difficulty I've seen with small companies.  They can't reinvent themselves often enough in today's world.

"Buy stock in a company that can be run by an idiot because one day it will be."  That's the problem with big companies.  One day the accountants take over.  Nice guys; but they make the best idiots, even better than engineers.


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## pdentrem (May 19, 2013)

It is not the size of the company as many have stated, it is the attitude. 

Some owner/management have the belief that whatever profit they can make this year is the way to go, this means - 
cut the cost, 
screw the quality, 
mortgage the assets,
fire their workforce that make the profit,
and leave a striped and exhausted shell behind them.

But what about next year? Nothing left to work with.

Jack Welch who nearly killed GE comes to mind. Made bad decisions on where GE should be in the economy, by leaving the core and profitable industries to get into areas that there is stiff competition. He also approved the selling off of their inhouse propritery technology to the Chinese, for quick cash, and now GE has to compete against them. GE is still not what it was since Mad Jack left with his bonus.

What owners/management have to remember is that a company to be successful has to look to the long run, not just this years bottom line. Where will it be in 5, 10 years from now. If one does not get new customers, new equipment and new thinking that allows improvement of their best and next best product, they are doomed to stagnate and get eaten up by the competition. The place I work is operating in the area the large companies are not interested or price themselves out of. 

There is advantage to be where they ain't, and make what they won't, and if you do not invest in the future there is no fate but failure. Spend a 50 - 100 gees for a new machine and make better and more product and keep up with the competition and even overstep them to maintain ones advantage in the market. 

Think long run and you will be successful. Japan and China think long run, they look 50 yrs out in many cases. 
Pierre

PS You better have started learning Chinese, they will remain the competition for a long long time.


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## DMS (May 19, 2013)

It's a common problem these days, very few people want to run a company, especially in the tech industry. Most want to build a shell quickly (just a few good ideas and window dressing), sell it off to the highest bidder, and cash out. That's what happened to that little startup. The investors wanted a new CEO, who came in to "fatten us up" for market. Made a ton of changes, layed of 2/3 of the employees, alienated all of our customers, and when we ran out of cash, and nobody was lined up to sweep us off our feet, he was the first one out the door looking for greener pastures.


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## samthedog (May 19, 2013)

DMS said:


> It's a common problem these days, very few people want to run a company, especially in the tech industry. Most want to build a shell quickly (just a few good ideas and window dressing), sell it off to the highest bidder, and cash out. That's what happened to that little startup. The investors wanted a new CEO, who came in to "fatten us up" for market. Made a ton of changes, layed of 2/3 of the employees, alienated all of our customers, and when we ran out of cash, and nobody was lined up to sweep us off our feet, he was the first one out the door looking for greener pastures.



This is a huge problem and it's only going to get worse with an "instant gratification generation". I used to give advice on CV construction and careers and I have always said that your CV is your biggest investment. Just like the CEO's who are in it for the short term to make as much as possible then disappear, many people in the job market have the same idea. 

Whenever finding work I try look for companies that have been around for a long time. It's usually the case that I am offered less pay, but the security is there. I then try to work a minimum of 3 years before moving on, even if the conditions are lousy. This ensures that my CV reads like a committed man's history where I did my time in every position. That said, if the writing is on the wall and the boss is a pillock, I won't hesitate to put my feelers out before the company goes under. Staying aware has helped me avoid a few bad situations that others in the same company blundered into.

Paul.


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## pdentrem (May 19, 2013)

"This is a huge problem and it's only going to get worse with an "instant gratification generation"

I call them the Me mes.
Pierre


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## nickmckinney (Apr 11, 2014)

IMHO - the perfect size is between 5 and 25 employees. Any less and work gets hurt significantly when one is out, anymore and its tough to change the company direction fast when needed. Things are changing so fast today you tool up for one thing and by the time you have it ready for production its already been copied by the next guy willing to work for peanuts or the market has shifted.


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## Ray C (Apr 11, 2014)

Small companies... As in really small... As in Single Owner LLC small...

Working harder, earning less money -but can't wait to get out of bed every morning!


Ray


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## JimDawson (Apr 11, 2014)

Just like Ray, I like the small company.  My LLC.  And I do enjoy going to work every morning.  I have worked for larger companies, and I don't like it.  I have been self employed for most of my working life.  One thing is that when working for a large company you have 1 boss, working for my self I have about 50.  I'm trying to retire, but the bosses won't let me.


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## Ray C (Apr 11, 2014)

JimDawson said:


> Just like Ray, I like the small company.  My LLC.  And I do enjoy going to work every morning.  I have worked for larger companies, and I don't like it.  I have been self employed for most of my working life.  One thing is that when working for a large company you have 1 boss, working for my self I have about 50.  I'm trying to retire, but the bosses won't let me.




I've run the gamut starting with a huge corporation followed by another huge corporation followed by a start-up that became successful then purchased by a huge corporation followed by a 40 employee successful business followed by two medium sized companies with about 1500 employees each.  Might as well spill the beans, my last job was a VP of engineering and technical advisor to the CEO and Board of Directors.    I ran all the big guns projects and did competitor analysis, merger/acquisition analysis etc...  Also did consulting for non-competitive companies.  It had it's moments and always learned something new every day.  As I look back, just wish I took the plunge into being a one-man show a loooong time ago.

What light is to the eyes, what love is to the heart; liberty and pride is to the soul...

Ray


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## hvontres (Apr 12, 2014)

My experience is a bit unique, in that I have done the same job for a mid-size private comany and a largish public one. In the overall scheme of things, I would recomend a privately owned company over one that is public. One reason is that thanks to Enron and other idiots, public companies now have to deal with a bunch of extra govenment bs. The other big difference I noticed is that in a public comany the focus is from one quarter to the next and the stock price is everything. Nevermind treating your customers, suppliers or employees well, as long as Wall Street is happy. This seems to lead to a series of short sighted and in some ways asinine decisions. 

In contrast, a private comany can focus on the longer term, usually about one to two years out. I work in a very cyclical industry (Semiconductor Equipment) so there is a lot of variation in the workload, especially for the assemly guys. Under private ownership, we dealt with this by working more overtime when things were busy and taking care of the infrastructure and new product development when things slowed back down. This way, all of the hard earned experience stayed in house and there was very little ramp up time. Our new owners are more into hire-fire and outsourcing to "control costs".

Another recomendation I can make is to try to find a place that still has one of the founding owners working for it. When I started working, the two brothers that started the company were still there. That really helped foster an atmosphre of shared responsigility and dedicatoin to getting a quality product out the door. Once they retired, things started to get a lillte more coprorate, culminating in us getting sold to our current owners.

I hope this gives you some insight.


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## Rbeckett (Apr 12, 2014)

I have worked in corporate jobs, overseas job and local markets.  I find the local jobs the most satisfying but also that they usually pay the least.  I seem to get more personal satisfaction when I am actively participating in building a small business and a nice niche for my self along the way.  I always liked to be the go to guy whenever a problem showed up and needed to be resolved quickly.  I worked for Halliburton in Iraq and Man Tech in Afghanistan and the large corporate overseas operations have too much cronyism and nepotism to suit me, we used to call them ring knockers for their Freemason rings and cronyism.   Plus their rules are so they can fire you on a whim with no questions or recourse.  I was fortunate because I followed the rules so it wasn't something I worried about once I got acclimated and found my stride within the rules.  But is an ever present reminder that they have people standing in line to fill your place.  So small is best for me, others may do well in a large corporate structure that does not allow out of the box solutions or wingin it.

Bob


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## Bill C. (Apr 12, 2014)

strantor said:


> Well?


I worked for a five man shop, several medium and several multinational. Union and non-union as well. In big shop one can be transferred to another section (foreman).  Big shops paid better but have no loyalty to employees.  At least that is my opinion.


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## llarson (Apr 14, 2014)

I like the 8 points brought up by samthedog, and would add my favorite: Working with people, not  against them. No matter the size of the outfit, and I've been at both ends of the spectrum and seen all the attitudes.


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