Is bigger better?
I was reading an article online recently that advocated to its readers not to work in large companies. Apparently, it claimed that humans by nature are not meant to work in groups that are too enormous in size. This brought a very pertinent issue to my mind: the dilemma on whether it’s better to work at a small or a big organisation. Frankly, there are both benefits and detriments of working in either of these settings.
For the case of a small firm, the work style is typically a little more informal. As a staff, it is much easier to approach your boss to address any issues that concern you. Often, you may even be able to just walk right up to the CEO or General Manager’s room and talk to them right away. In a sense, this is good as it encourages greater transparency and better understanding between management and staff. Furthermore, decision making is more straightforward, and it may not even be necessary to call a meeting in order to decide certain matters which can be discussed and sorted out right there and then.
Due to the limited human resources, you may be required to do much more than what is stated in your formal employment letter. If you’re an individual who’s is looking for ways to expand your skill set, then this is a perfect environment for you to thrive in. This is because you will have the opportunity to get involved in various other tasks outside your normal job scope, something you probably would not be able to do in a large corporation.
As far as rules are concerned, there are very few standard policies imposed across the board on all staff. In all likelihood, any regulations that are implemented would have been created on an ad-hoc basis. In this sense, you could say that things are more negotiable, and you would probably be able to have a say on the way procedures are formulated and perhaps even influence the outcome.
One major disadvantage of being in a small company is that you will probably get a less attractive compensation package. Larger firms will have the budget to offer you a much more lucrative salary, on top of other benefits such as healthcare plans, insurance coverage, paid holidays, overtime rates and much more. Smaller enterprises may not be able to offer you such luxuries so you will need to be prepared to settle for less. In most cases, the company will probably make it up to you in other ways – for instance, granting wider exposure or authority than you might had you been in a bigger organisation instead.
For large companies, the general philosophy is that “one size fits all”. Anyone joining such a firm is expected to conform to the standard operating procedures of the organisation which are consistently applied to all staff. In a sense, things are more predictable and this lends a certain feeling of stability to your work environment. However, anything you wish to voice out to top management will probably need to go through many layers of middle management and also through the Human Resources (HR) department. This will probably be quite time consuming, as it requires a lot of third party intervention.
You work will probably be more structured in a big company, and your job scope would be much narrower as compared to the fluid operations of a small organisation. Looking on the bright side, that would mean your duties at work are very well defined. However, as time goes by, you may find the limited scope stifling, especially if you are a person who needs constant new challenges in order to stay motivated at work.
Your overall compensation package will be much more comprehensive – it will most likely cover a lot of other living expenses that go beyond your work needs such as dental or optical claims. Generous allowances may be given to you each month for expenses on items such as car maintenance or mobile phone bills. This would definitely take a whole lot of financial burden off from you, enabling you to enjoy work more and stay motivated for a longer time. Furthermore, training opportunities and various facilities or resources needed to help you do your job better are more easily within your reach due to the better financial standing of a large organisation.
A significant problem that presents itself in a big company is the large amounts of bureaucracy that an individual frequently needs to deal with. Due to massive amounts of internal policies, arriving at a decision may involve many people and require long waiting periods. This may jeopardize the efficiency of your work, and when it does, may dampen your enthusiasm on the job. Generally, most work procedures will be very impersonal in nature, and your input will have little impact on the outcome most of the time. Unless you are in an influential position within the organisation’s management team, of course.
In my own career, I have worked in both the environments of a multi-national corporation (MNC) and also that of small firms. Personally, I feel both have enriched my career experiences in different ways, so it’s hard to say that one is better than the other. I believe job satisfaction in either setting is possible, but which would suit you best really depends on your personal preferences. Whatever the case may be, you should be careful not to generalise too much when deciding between the two. Ultimately, your decision should be based on the overall quality of the work experience that an organisation can offer you, and not just the size of the company alone.
For the case of a small firm, the work style is typically a little more informal. As a staff, it is much easier to approach your boss to address any issues that concern you. Often, you may even be able to just walk right up to the CEO or General Manager’s room and talk to them right away. In a sense, this is good as it encourages greater transparency and better understanding between management and staff. Furthermore, decision making is more straightforward, and it may not even be necessary to call a meeting in order to decide certain matters which can be discussed and sorted out right there and then.
Due to the limited human resources, you may be required to do much more than what is stated in your formal employment letter. If you’re an individual who’s is looking for ways to expand your skill set, then this is a perfect environment for you to thrive in. This is because you will have the opportunity to get involved in various other tasks outside your normal job scope, something you probably would not be able to do in a large corporation.
As far as rules are concerned, there are very few standard policies imposed across the board on all staff. In all likelihood, any regulations that are implemented would have been created on an ad-hoc basis. In this sense, you could say that things are more negotiable, and you would probably be able to have a say on the way procedures are formulated and perhaps even influence the outcome.
One major disadvantage of being in a small company is that you will probably get a less attractive compensation package. Larger firms will have the budget to offer you a much more lucrative salary, on top of other benefits such as healthcare plans, insurance coverage, paid holidays, overtime rates and much more. Smaller enterprises may not be able to offer you such luxuries so you will need to be prepared to settle for less. In most cases, the company will probably make it up to you in other ways – for instance, granting wider exposure or authority than you might had you been in a bigger organisation instead.
For large companies, the general philosophy is that “one size fits all”. Anyone joining such a firm is expected to conform to the standard operating procedures of the organisation which are consistently applied to all staff. In a sense, things are more predictable and this lends a certain feeling of stability to your work environment. However, anything you wish to voice out to top management will probably need to go through many layers of middle management and also through the Human Resources (HR) department. This will probably be quite time consuming, as it requires a lot of third party intervention.
You work will probably be more structured in a big company, and your job scope would be much narrower as compared to the fluid operations of a small organisation. Looking on the bright side, that would mean your duties at work are very well defined. However, as time goes by, you may find the limited scope stifling, especially if you are a person who needs constant new challenges in order to stay motivated at work.
Your overall compensation package will be much more comprehensive – it will most likely cover a lot of other living expenses that go beyond your work needs such as dental or optical claims. Generous allowances may be given to you each month for expenses on items such as car maintenance or mobile phone bills. This would definitely take a whole lot of financial burden off from you, enabling you to enjoy work more and stay motivated for a longer time. Furthermore, training opportunities and various facilities or resources needed to help you do your job better are more easily within your reach due to the better financial standing of a large organisation.
A significant problem that presents itself in a big company is the large amounts of bureaucracy that an individual frequently needs to deal with. Due to massive amounts of internal policies, arriving at a decision may involve many people and require long waiting periods. This may jeopardize the efficiency of your work, and when it does, may dampen your enthusiasm on the job. Generally, most work procedures will be very impersonal in nature, and your input will have little impact on the outcome most of the time. Unless you are in an influential position within the organisation’s management team, of course.
In my own career, I have worked in both the environments of a multi-national corporation (MNC) and also that of small firms. Personally, I feel both have enriched my career experiences in different ways, so it’s hard to say that one is better than the other. I believe job satisfaction in either setting is possible, but which would suit you best really depends on your personal preferences. Whatever the case may be, you should be careful not to generalise too much when deciding between the two. Ultimately, your decision should be based on the overall quality of the work experience that an organisation can offer you, and not just the size of the company alone.
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