Friday, November 30, 2007

When your Management Sucks big time!

I really have to get this off my chest so that I can enjoy my weekend without having irritating thoughts at the back of my mind.

This has everything to do with the management of the company that I am working in. The company started very many years ago and under the leadership of one man, the company has come a long way.. from a small group of individuals making up that company to a group of company with no less than 14 subsidiaries. We were all enjoying the good times until a couple of years when our group of companies was merged with another group of company. The man who led us to these great heights had to take a back seat after the merger.

That is when everything started to go downhill. The merged group of company is run by people who don't f**king (pardon me) know which end of our corporate ship is the front and they are practically running this ship to the ground.

It has been more than a year since the merger has concluded and more than half the original set of staff have left. And more are leaving and that includes some of my closest friends. And people are still leaving on an average of at least 2 a month.

It was raining pretty hard yesterday evening and one of my colleagues came over to chat with me just to wait out the traffic jam. She remarked "All those who have left have called her to ask her what she is waiting for...there is a better world outside waiting for her". I asked her "Are you happy to stay here?". Her reply was "I have been here for several years and of late, I have this feeling that the company is just waiting for the staff to resign. They load us with lots of work especially so as it is now the policy not to hire to replace staff who has resigned. I have worked longer hours and weekends handling at least 3 people's workload. When I get sick, not only am I not appreciated or encouraged to carry on, but I get reprimanded for not completing the work on time".

We both noticed that the situation has gotten to a stage where the only way to stay "well rewarded" here is to "tikam" people's back (back stabbing). As long as the staff is excellent at this and "tripods" the boss' balls (our “she” boss is known to have balls of steel), then that staff can virtually get away with anything.

I know my friends have left for very many reasons but the most common grounds for them to leave are:

1) Management has no direction. Each subsidiary has their bottom lines to meet and it does not matter what we sell or into whose territory we encroach .. as long as we make the numbers

2) We are left floundering with no leadership. The company is captained by a CEO who has no business acumen plus his henchwoman who drives the ship with pure accounting figures.

3) Our CEO has no charisma or presence. Most of our existing customers have no idea who he is. Our potential customers are not interested to know who he is. None of the financial analysts have seen or interviewed him. Without presence of the CEO, we as a group of company is virtually invisible on the corporate radar

I could go on and on.... but I think really, unless we practice what most public listed American run companies where the top people get axed when the corporation is floundering... this group of clowns are here to stay until we run aground or they are “pushing up daisies” (dead).

We concluded that there is only one solution left for my colleague and I..... to look for greener pastures and follow our ex-colleagues and friends to graze over the other side… where “ming tien ken how” - tomorrow will be better.

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6 comments:

kljs said...

So, waiting for the opportunity to leave in the future? Or stay with a sinking ship?

http://kennyljs.com/

Joyce Wong said...

I also dont know what to say. They don't even bother with the things I am handling.. Not that I really want them to convince me to say but at least tell me who I am handing my accounts to. They dont care...You think two months is a long time ah???? WTF

Yday I had to go for two meeting with customer that want to give job to us. I had to tell them I leaving coz I don't want to do something half way.. then shock the hell out ppl. I value them (the customer) as fren.

Then today I came back and told my boss that people want to give us job so you want to do or not. Then you must get someone to follow me there. He say too little money dont want to do. The selling cycle too long. I wanted to say "F$%^ You"... That job is not that hard to do..

I work so damm hard to estbalish a relationship where ppl will give me job without going to tender and stuff and you all bloody going to screw it up. The IT world is very small.

Supergirlfriend said...

WOW..if things are really as bad as you've described. I must say you've got quite a perseverance there! If you think it's time to leave, then leave. If you think you can still salvage something out of a broken ship, then try to hang on but not too long. Good luck ok! Cheer up! :p

Unknown said...

kljs : i think i am defintely going to move once i get inroads that will lead me to the greener pasture over yonder :)

joyce : hang in there...if people don't appreciate you.. it is their loss. Take care and all the very best in your new undertaking.

supergirlfriend : thank you for your encouragement. i am just hanging on until i see the light at the end of the tunnel. i will definitely not let it affect my weekend.. thanks to my friends and fellow bloggers like you... i will shove any thots of work out of my mind at the stroke of 5:30pm ;)

Angie Tan said...

Hmmmm...

Merger is always a messy business. There's always going to be attrition from both sides. However, to let a good company slide down to hell sounds very fishy. Perhaps its to prepare the company to be sold to another bigger "water fish"?

Anyway, if the situation is bad, your health is failing, you're unhappy, then, it is time to go. Unfortunately, that means being "disloyal" but has the company shown its loyalty? Trust is a two-way street.

Hope that you can find another new "home" soon to enjoy the green grass.

Unknown said...

hi angie.. i have been harbouring the same thots too but at the rate it's going.. i doubt if any buyer will want to take over the company.. with its depleting funds and lack of sales funnels.

sigh.. u are so very right and thanks so much for the advice ..hugz!! I have already sent out the sos to the headhunters...wish me luck :).

have a great weekend angie