Reply to: Do large corporations really work?

[PM-Junkie]

I think it boils down to 'Do large corporations really work?' For who? The shareholders or the end customers/users? There are few companies that please both.

Large corporations exist purely to make money for shareholders (and once you get your head round that fact, everything else slots into place). If in order to do that they have to please their customers then they will. But they will only please their customers as much as they have to, because doing that invariably costs money...and I am sure we can all think of numerous examples of companies who couldn't give two hoots about their customers for that reason.

There is a fascinating academic paper knocking about that hypothesises and discusses that the shareholder model is destined to change, with greater balance against leveraging and employee/customer reliance. I'll dig it out and send the link in case anyone is interested.

[d000hg]

Just to through a spanner in the works, there is no reason why mass-manufactured, flat-pack furniture can't be stronger and more durable than a bespoke crafted piece. With decent production you can create 1000 tables that are exactly the same, and just because you use modern techniques to construct/assemble the flat-pack doesn't make it intrinsically weak.

I don't know if there is such a thing - high-quality mass-manufactured - but it could still be much cheaper... the one thing it can't give is the aesthetic/art quality. But if you only want something with decent build quality, this wouldn't be your main factor as long as it's got a little attractiveness - screws hidden underneath for instance.

[MPwannadecentincome]

Large Corps don't really work because what's "important" is generally reversed from small companies

Large Corp Priority list (in order)

• Individual - Promotion/pay rises
• Department - Budget/politics
• Region (If large enough) - politics
• Product
• Company

And that list is pretty fixed, it's vary rare for something lower in the list to put ahead of something higher for "the good of the company"

Small Company list is virtually reversed

• Product
• Company
• Department
• Individual

And unlike the Corp list this one can be pretty fluid


Only reason large corps exist is because they start out as small companies, do well and get enough market share to maintain their profit margins when everything goes down hill due to the transition from small company to Corporation and the accountants take over

Bank's fiasco though was slightly different though, while the normal Corp priority list went into force, the accountant's either shut up or got fired

Funny who knew, accountants actually do some good

[MPwannadecentincome]

a good local carpenter could put something together at a sensible price.

I wish - tried that at our last house but it was sooooo expensive we just bought flat pack.

[MPwannadecentincome]

I think it boils down to 'Do large corporations really work?' For who? The shareholders or the end customers/users? There are few companies that please both.

I think that is why some companies delist from the stock market and go private again - so that they can focus on the long term.

[expat]

For some purposes perhaps only a big corporation can raise the capital to do the job, but remember; BT started as a state owned business; the investment that got it started, the national phone network, was made by the taxpayer. In that sense they just climbed into the saddle and rode on.

fell off

[Mich the Tester]

It depends on your definition of "work".

Can BT supply and service a national telephone network to an acceptable standard to 90% of their customers? Probably yes.

Can BT do anything about my broadband speed dropping to under 500k for large periods of the day? Probably not.

Sometimes a big corporation is the only way.

For some purposes perhaps only a big corporation can raise the capital to do the job, but remember; BT started as a state owned business; the investment that got it started, the national phone network, was made by the taxpayer. In that sense they just climbed into the saddle and rode on.

[MPwannadecentincome]

How to tell the difference between a cheapo flat pack table and a solid piece of handcrafted wood.

Normally a difference between £100 and £600+!

And there is room in the market for both companies to survive and prosper - provided the cheapo flat pack table is not advertised to last 20 years.

[Moscow Mule]

No I do not think that they do.
It does not seem to matter what area the corporation is in. defence, local government, Banking. Organisations get to a certain size - say 250 - 1,000 people and then seem to loose their ability to function. I think that it is something to do with not knowing the people that you are dealing with personally and an element of protectionism creeping in to daily work life.

This is from personal experience anyway.

It depends on your definition of "work".

Can BT supply and service a national telephone network to an acceptable standard to 90% of their customers? Probably yes.

Can BT do anything about my broadband speed dropping to under 500k for large periods of the day? Probably not.

Sometimes a big corporation is the only way.

[s2budd]

Reload this Page Do large corporations really work?

No I do not think that they do.
It does not seem to matter what area the corporation is in. defence, local government, Banking. Organisations get to a certain size - say 250 - 1,000 people and then seem to loose their ability to function. I think that it is something to do with not knowing the people that you are dealing with personally and an element of protectionism creeping in to daily work life.

This is from personal experience anyway.

[Moscow Mule]

OK, you can slander my use of buying budget when it suits and defend your use. It will be out my system in 12 hours but in your house for 12 years.

Or less!

I missed yesterday's discussion, but on a point of fact, a hamburger will generally have a longer intestinal transit time than a similar portion of chicken or fish due to it's fat content.

Only if it's been completely murdered in it's cooking (ie not fully cooked from frozen/not properly chilled before cooking) will you get any nasties from it.

This is more likely to happen at a "local" takeaway rather than McDs or BK due to the "Just in Time" cooking processes used in the bigger outlets.

[Mich the Tester]

Sodexo got shoved out of my last clientCo but really I never got anything from them apart from the soup. I mentioned on the last sodexo thread that I noticed one of their staff standing behind the counter with the finger up the nose to the knuckle trying to drag a green one out.

I used to like pea soup before that story. Thank you.

[minestrone]

Sodexo got shoved out of my last clientCo but really I never got anything from them apart from the soup. I mentioned on the last sodexo thread that I noticed one of their staff standing behind the counter with the finger up the nose to the knuckle trying to drag a green one out.

[Mich the Tester]

Does you client not dictate to the sub contract canteen operator what options they should proved? That is how it has worked at every place (with a canteen) that I have worked. Sodexo don't make money by selling meals profitably, they make money by providing staff to run someone elses canteen.
tim

I don't know, but perhaps you've hit the nail on the head. They don't care about giving people good food at a fair price, but just meeting the SLA with minimal effort and investment.

[tim123]

I’ve ranted about Sodexo before, but now they’ve gone and done something that I find demonstrative of the endemic corporate stupidity that's killing our banks, car manufacturers and in fact our whole economy.

But these simple principles don’t seem to apply at Sodexo and other large corporations. This year, Sodexo slapped a 30% price rise on the square meal option in the canteen. Unsurprisingly, people stopped buying the meals (except for rich barstewards like me). The junior assistant trainee manager told me sales went from 150 units per day to 10 per day, and that doesn’t cover costs. So what have they done? They’ve stopped selling square meals altogether. 0 units per day. I suggested to the Young chappy that the collapse in sales was not due to the economic crisis, seeing as most of the people who eat in the canteen are pretty well paid, but due to the huge price increase, whose justification was questionable in an environment where neither raw materials or labour are becoming more expensive. He was stumped by this and said ‘well, I’m just doing as I’m told’.

Are large corporations actually capable of doing the basics of entrepreneurship?

Does you client not dictate to the sub contract canteen operator what options they should proved? That is how it has worked at every place (with a canteen) that I have worked. Sodexo don't make money by selling meals profitably, they make money by providing staff to run someone elses canteen.

tim