I was a co-op management trainee at GE in the late 1980s. The culture was fear and intimidation. We marched in hallways chanting "Nobody is Irreplaceable". You've heard of open door policies? There were three locked doors and two admins between the hallway and the general manager's office. My direct manager locked herself in an office and cried all afternoon at least once every week. They required managers to rate at least 10% of employees "unsatisfactory" every year. It didn't matter if you had a team of superstars. You had to fire or force out 10% every year. Managers hired idiots on purpose so they would have someone to sacrifice at the end of the year and keep the staff they really wanted.
I worked for a French Canadian small company that had the bureaucracy and politics of a large company. There was so much bickering and dick measuring that nothing could be completed.
I worked as a contractor in a Rockwell Collins facility. It was heavenly. You could eat lunch in the cafeteria with (or at least near) the President if you wanted. Everybody helped everybody. They promoted from within. The best way to get promoted was to get your boss promoted. There was minimum bureaucracy. They just paid the company card balance every months no questions asked. I once asked what would stop me from buying a car on the company card. The answer: "We know where you live". There was a supply/inventory room. You asked for a part or a computer or lab equipment, and it. was scanned along with your badge as they handed it to you no questions asked. The union, the IBEW, never had a strike in the history of the company, and the union had at least one seat on the board of directors. I never met more friendly people.
My own company had simple policies:
- Employees were expected to work 2000 hours every year. It doesn't matter which hours or where they're worked. I had night owls who worked at night. I had an employee who worked his hours every year by October and took the last three months of the year off.
- If I was present, I paid for everything. If we went to lunch, it was on me. If we saw a movie in the middle of release day because we all loved movies, I paid.
