Pros of Working for a Small Company
Small companies are agile and able to respond to customer needs quickly. The chain of command enabling an employee to meet customer requests is short. With less bureaucracy in place, decision making is swift and efficient. The opportunity to have a direct impact on both customers and business satisfaction improves with a small company. Therefore, an employee has a greater chance to sense achievement, fulfillment, and job satisfaction.
The ability to wear multiple hats by working a variety of positions increases proportionately as the size of a company decreases. There is the potential for faster advancement and greater rewards in smaller companies. A stellar employee can quickly become a big fish in a small pond.
Cons of Working for a Small Company
Small companies reflect the personality of the owner and his select management team to a much greater degree than a large corporation. An individual who isn’t perceived by this group as a key employee may find advancement difficult or nonexistent. In the microcosm that is the world of small business, the negative identification is difficult to overcome. Without a tight structure in place, a small business can appear to be run arbitrarily. Decisions may be made without regard to the larger impact on the business from both an operational and financial perspective. Job opportunities are minimal and few safeguards are in place to protect against favoritism.
Pros of Working for a Large Corporation
Large corporations, however, are able to provide greater resources to employees. They have the corporate staying power to spend on staff development, training, and the latest technologies. They are compliant to and follow established technical best practices and processes. Because of size, the large company has a bigger base of job openings and greater opportunities for advancement. While larger corporations offer the ability to stay in one field and to become well grounded in that discipline, they also allow for a safer way to try other positions without the risk inherent in changing companies.
Cons of Working for a Large Corporation
By necessity, large corporations are bureaucratic. Policies and procedures are firmly in place to ensure the corporation remains compliant to federal, state, and local laws. The tiered approval structure, i.e. the higher up one is within the corporation the greater the decision making authority, is in place to make sure corporate risks are adequately addressed. This tends to slow the decision making process, rendering it cumbersome and tedious.
By nature a bureaucracy causes businesses to be slow to respond to changing markets and customer demands. They are highly structured environments that can seem stifling to some individuals. Jobs are compartmentalized. Corporations reorganize with a regularity that leaves the workforce in a constant state of flux. As a corporation seeks better market share and larger profits, it can appear to be more concerned with the bottom line and standing on Wall Street than with employee welfare.
Size does matter. Each type of company has its own personality quirks, strengths, and weaknesses. Understanding and assessing the pros and cons prior to accepting a position will help diminish frustration and lead to a satisfactory job search. Knowing what to expect from each size business along with a good dose of self-knowledge will go a long way toward contributing to job satisfaction.
Katherine Melvin - Katherine has focused on writing and the creative arts since childhood. She writes poems, essays, articles, poems for children, and short ...
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