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My experience duplicates Bruce's. Big companies are run by almost
anything other than the good of the company; small companies are run for
nothing else. Maybe it's because, in big companies, there is no
ownership (no matter how many co. newsletters talk about it); and there is
no way to stand back and see the big picture because
it's *too* big. (Even if someone in sr mgmt wanted to, which I have no
reason to believe is true.)
Top mgmt in smaller companies actually care if the widgets work
when they go out the door. While there may be exceptions to the "small
co." rule, and wildly varying ideas of what "the good of the company"
*is*, I really haven't seen anything to make me think that there is any
exception to the "big companies" rule: they are run by people who are
utterly
indifferent to the company's success, quality of product or service, or
anything remotely resembling a good greater/other than self.
BTW, "big" here means at least a thousand people, hundreds of
millions
in sales, and multiple physical locations.
Mary
Mary Durlak Erie Documentation Inc.
East Aurora, New York (near Buffalo)
durl -at- buffnet -dot- net
