|
Oodles of Wootles posted:Can someone that works for a major company talk about bureaucracy? I have to deal with a major company all the time and the amount of steps we have to go through to get the smallest thing done is mindboggling. I usually have to go through 2-3 weeks of "we are escalating to the next level" just to get a drat email sent or a job scheduled. I work for one of the most famous companies in the world and the bureaucracy goes so deep that it's literally impossible to get anything done. Someone 7 levels removed from actual processing listens to pitches and decides what vendors to use or what programs to implement, and down the implementation ladder everything gets incredibly hosed up and convoluted and neither the spirit nor intent of the enterprise is maintained. The only thing that keeps the system going is the fact that lower level employees pull their hair out to make it work. Tech problems take days to resolve because there are 800 different tech support aliases and none of them seem to do anything, and the systems are down more often than not. I work in SQL and the person I work for and who was in charge of building the SQL database we use (which contains data on 180 million businesses, mind you) did not even know how to write a stored procedure when they were put in charge of the project. All of my recommendations for the project were passed up until 8 months later when my boss decided they were his idea all along, at which point they were finally implemented and resulted in a massive improvement in processing. That said, I get a fat bonus package and am making a pretty sweet salary, which puts me in a bit of a self-loathing scenario. I would love to go back to volunteering or doing something more worthwhile, but this job ensures I get to keep driving my beamer and get to keep my sweet apartment. I have officially sold out. The only saving grace besides the salary is that I really do get a ton of commendations for the work I do. Companies, large or small, are full of idiots, and if you're intelligent you're going to do reasonably well, even if you're lazy like me and read SA all day.
|
#
¿
Apr 21, 2010 15:05
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 3, 2024 08:20 |
|
|
I also forgot to mention that the company I work for is so big that it encourages competition between its own employees. At any given point in time there will be several vendors and internal groups vying for the same responsibilities, and they're given to the group that's hot at the moment, who will then outsource several parts of it to another group or vendor that's in their inner circle. In theory this is supposed to encourage productivity to go up, but in practice it's just as poisonous to the company as you'd expect. Company initiatives are less about making the process better and more about making a bigger splash and a better sales pitch, which ensures that we're constantly chasing project after project with a stupid rear end tagline and very little benefit to our clients. Despite being a massive corporate powerhouse several aspects of the work we do are 20 years behind the industry standard because tackling actual problems isn't glamourous. I've seen mom and pop companies who are using packaged products do a better job at industry critical operations than we do. SheepNameKiller fucked around with this message at 15:21 on Apr 21, 2010 |
|
#
¿
Apr 21, 2010 15:19
|
|
|
GWBBQ posted:Although I have many of the same complaints as you guys, I'm a professional staff member at a major public university and I don't understand part of this. What the gently caress is a bonus? I do not work in IT anymore precisely for that reason, I do database marketing and list brokerage with a focus in SQL. I receive bonuses based on customer service surveys that clients fill out letting my boss know if they're happy. As much as I hate working in marketing and business in general, it's a ton better than when I had a job in IT. The only decent way to be employed in IT is to go into business for yourself or land a consulting gig. I know someone who makes well over six figures doing IT consulting work for a bunch of companies, which is a sweet gig if you don't mind the travel.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 21, 2010 15:24
|
|
|
Wagoneer posted:Traditionally, soup comes first in a meal while nuts represents the desert (the last part). I had to look this up a few weeks ago. Traditional in retard town maybe. Whoever thought of that phrase should be shot.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 21, 2010 16:22
|
|
|
Wagoneer posted:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soup_to_nuts I read the wikipedia article and it seems like it was a legitimately popular phrase 80 years ago, it still doesn't explain why the hell it's being used in 2010 in IT firms. Nuts aren't exactly the prototypical American dessert anymore.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 21, 2010 16:30
|
|