So I have been thinking a lot lately about how many established companies that may even be considered institutions of corporate America are just names on the outside and nothing more. On the inside, they are plagued by incompetence, inefficiency and overall chaos. I really want to understand how these companies make it on the fortune 500, get awards and distinctions and then once you get there you realize the place is an utter disaster even though it may be a company that is a household name (Big Pharma company, large retailer etc.) or have record profits. How did they achieve this when there is so much incompetence on the inside?
This was just a shower thought but I got more curious since I recently accepted an offer at a Fortune 50 company and was scheduled to start today. As the day got closer I didn't receive any first day instructions so I reached out to the manager who said that he was informed that I would be joining the team but didn't have any info on my start date. However, I had mentioned it in my initial email to him only for him to mention that the company is closed for president's day. So, basically my first day is a day the company is not even operating and I was the one who had to inform the manager of my own start date. Why would HR schedule me to start on a date that the company is closed?
I know this is something very trivial but I feel it is not fitting of such a well-known and high ranking company or am I setting my expectations too high ?
Also, reminds me of another top company that sent me an email but forgot to change the default template so instead of it saying “Dear [my Name]” it literally said “Dear first name” which was hilarious to me.
Sorry if this sounds petty, but I just wanted to vent with a group of like minded individuals
TL;DR: top companies are incompetent in carrying out basic functionalities based on personal experience but if an employee messes up something trivial they get crucified for it