Working for a Japanese Giant

Anonymous

They are the world's largest corporation in terms of revenue. They boast over 200 offices in 87 countries and employ approximately 14,000 people. They had a gross trading profit of over 6 billion dollars in 1995. Their offices around the world offer expert consulting in the fields of information, financing, investment and organization. Twenty-something other divisions produce a multitude of products in diverse industries: hi-fi televisions, automobiles, metals, fuels, high-performance plastics, textiles, and heavy machinery parts for the aerospace industry.

One particular division was looking for an intern to research their quite traditional industry, find out what was cutting-edge in technology, and propose venues of entering into long-term, high-profit relationships. I found out later that it really was not an internship in the true sense of the term because I was given close to no guidance. They confided that guidance might hamper my creativity, and creativity was what they needed to garner fresh ideas. On the other hand, neither was it an "internship" that so many of my friends experienced, where they basically served as temps and did not learn anything new. There was no full-time researcher in that division; I was not assisting anyone or filling in for anyone. I was simply given a project and asked to complete it in the duration of two months. While the brokers had their business, I had mine, and never the twain did they meet. (Of course, if one were interested in becoming a trader, the exposure to the hustling environment would have been invaluable even without the experience of cold-calling and negotiating with million dollar rich clients.)

So, how was it working for a big company? The good part was that my job as a researcher merited an ISDN connection. The bad part was having to wait three days to get permission to have it installed on a 386-DX33. (Dilbert would understand that one!)

So, how was it working for a big Japanese company? There are definite lines of responsibility drawn in their unwritten protocols. The manager once asked me to send the secretary down to the cafeteria after she returned from lunch to buy three coffees and a coke for a client meeting. Apparently, my rank and position didn't befit my serving coffee to visiting clients, even when the secretary wasn't available. Pecking order also determined lunch time duration and capacity. The more money you make, the less time you spend away from your desk, the less tasty your lunch, the less you eat, the thinner you become, etc.

The good part was working in an elegant building--replete with corporate cafeteria--at the heart of Madison Avenue. The bad part was working in a division where the managers, traders, and me all sat at desks arranged like pews in a church. (The higher your rank, the more views of backsides you are entitled to, it seems.) Hence, with Mr. Broker One, Mr. Broker Two, Mr. Division Manager, and Mr. Sales Manager watching my every move, I surfed the web, stormed the New York Public Library, dug through industry journals and magazines, and dashed off half-a-dozen proposals on how the division should best invest their money.

That for $5.50 an hour and a line of black ink on my resume.