Why Big Corporations Are Troubled.

Oleg Bach · February 24, 2009

Repeatedly you will hear what made our corporations great, that it was because of "our highly focused team." This focus was the standard mode of approach for all successful companies. They prided themselves on being able to bring all attention to one specific area and relentlessly concentrate all energy and intelligence in that area. This North American method of thinking lacks one thing - omni-presense of mind. The abilty and the talent, plus the will to percieve not just domestic marketing systems but international ones - to look at the whole world and grasp all systems in existance and fully understand them. With the so-called global economy and international trade being what it is today -- our seniour executives and upper middle management are still functioning on a 1950s level of consciousness.

These people may say that they are in touch with the global economy and market place but they are not. They still operate with the same methods and attitudes that were taught to them by their old mentors and fathers. That if you put full concentration into one area and stick it out you will have success - well that is true - but not in todays world - and not at this new time. All companies originally had founders that had domestic omni-presense of mind - and that was all that was needed seeing they were operating chiefly in North America and perhaps had contacts with some European counterparts. What I percieve has happened is that buisness people like to stick to their own tried and true traditions of buisness...and as we see they simply did not see how interconnected and dependent one buisness is on the other...great ambition over took them and off they went to literally expand and conquer the world you might say. Off they went - and they were successful to a great degree but because of being overly focused - and haughty habitualist, to proud and slightly threatened by the thought hiring help that could see the big picture..they stumbled.

The failing rule of thumb adhered to when building a corporation is to staff it with mediocre talent..never hire someone brighter than yourself..which is a mistake. One must always attempt to form relationships with those that are better - in order to grow and expand in a healthy manner. If you staff a company with say four highly focused executives and five thousand compliant human robots you are bound for failure. Over that last 30 years I have seen a trend socially and economically - It used to be that the best and brightest were on top and partook in authorship...now it appears that the best have been run out of town literally - and the gifted and talented ones have been shunned...dummies at the top of the pyramid and all the diamonds are but gravel at the base...a reverse has taken place and must be corrected. Fear and loathing of intelligence is a detriment to the achievement of real success. Time to gently fire those that are inept and bring in some new blood and brains _ The are out there some where - just hope that this precious and needed lost human resourse is not lost for ever and is still retrievable.....No I am not bucking to oust the head of GM ----and take his job...but even this rube could do it better because of my one and only talent - omni-presense of mind.. :lol:

Boy that was a real dumb rant .....If you toss enough crap at the wall some is bound to stick - and if you open up a stream of consciousness and let it flow - hopefully one good idea may bubble to the surface and one good person will use it - If but one takes the one idea and runs with it and it works - then all the rants will have been worth it..

bjre · February 25, 2009

I have work experience in 3 big corporations,

a German company in China, a top 500 compnay,

a US company in China, a top 500 company,

a Canadian company here, large but not in the top 500.

My impression of large company is

1. Human resource department work in a standard way, many people who has strong ability but experience not in their list has no chance to enter these companies.

2. They like to hire fresh graduated students and training them for long time.

Besides, I think maybe strong Union here is a factor that make them impossible to lower the cost when they are at crisis.

Oleg Bach · February 25, 2009

I have work experience in 3 big corporations,
a German company in China, a top 500 compnay,

a US company in China, a top 500 company,

a Canadian company here, large but not in the top 500.

My impression of large company is

1. Human resource department work in a standard way, many people who has strong ability but experience not in their list has no chance to enter these companies.

2. They like to hire fresh graduated students and training them for long time.

Besides, I think maybe strong Union here is a factor that make them impossible to lower the cost when they are at crisis.

Union busting has aways been a Canadian and American tradition - so has the pilfering of pension funds as we see taking place to day under the guise of ecomomic collapse. Rant over! - now back to you. Your point is that they want young blood that has been conditioned by a certain acedemia to fullfill a criterium that includes a kind of corporate submission. These are not the most dynamic people on the block...they will be controlled stickly by income - ethics aside.

Older experienced workers and executives are not wanted by younger management because they understand the system and are percieved as a threat - so that human resourse is tossed aside.

The unions have always been dispised - for instance our Lord Black was driven in a mindless revenge induced by the idea that unions had destroyed his father and forced him into a retirement prematurely...also it is interesting that this original group had great influence over social policy and charity in order to put stress on the lowly worker through his family - in hope of gaining more control over the unruley and sometimes rebelious work force.

The reason I mentioned the focus factor is because of what gentleman said to me when I suggested that I be employed - "This particular company is run by three highly focused individuals - there are no entry positions" - sounds like a closed shop..this company is dependant on the auto industry to a great degree - I came to the conclution that they were so focused that they were not paying attention to the auto industry and the disasterous result of long term trade deals where they unknowingly cut their own throats. That's the point - no one was looking...and power was to tight and top heavey --- perhaps a younger more intune person would have been helpful to these highly focused three.

dpwozney · April 27, 2009

“A corporation is a fiction, by definition, ...”, according to Patrick Healy in a statement found in evidence provided to the Canadian Parliament's Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in 2002.

“A corporation is a ‘fiction’ as it has no separate existence, no physical body and no ‘mind’”, according to Joanne Klineberg in a presentation to the Canadian Aviation Safety Seminar in 2004.