Why would you label yourself a troll? A troll is someone who has nothing useful to contribute. Like the douche who comes on here and has a diaper tantrum every time 15 Guy posts a golf update. He will typically reply "Who cares?" within 1 hour's time, thereby illustrating that he cares...and dwells on it. In fact, he'll probably latch on to my post like an angry toddler within one day's time, and make threats about "axes about to fall" and how "sad" our lives are. I guess if you call feeding your family and enjoying a balanced life while managing to stick it to Merck "sad", then bring on more "sadness". LOL.
Meanwhile, your post about IBM is quite insightful. Unfortunately, a noticeable portion of corporate America has latched onto Jack Welch's so called "brilliance" of how to manage a work force. Looks like that strategy is not faring too well for those companies that have tried it. If there is a small ray of hope, it is Microsoft's announcement earlier this week that they are abandoning their despised stack-ranking system. This forced bucket system has been eating their company like a cancer from within, and their leadership is finally acknowledging it. This yearly forced ranking has disenfranchised and demoralized their employees, and hence eliminated any risk-taking or innovation. They've been left in the dust by Google, Samsung, Apple, etc. Perhaps other influential companies will follow Microsoft's change of heart. As for Merck, it is highly unlikely. Their coffin has been sealed. Cannot speak as to IBM reconsidering their path. You'll probably have a better sense of that. Thanks.
You're quite welcome. IBM's future isn't so secure these days. I wish that wasn't the case, but it is a fact that IBM is spiraling downward. Believe it of not, I have a 62 year affiliation with IBM. I was 2 when my father joined IBM in 1951. I grew up in an IBM household, and the quality of life we enjoyed as a result of my father being hired by IBM was excellent. Out of four siblings, I was the youngest, I was the only one that got to go to college. After I graduated college, I joined IBM. I retired after 32 years with them, and yes, I was thrown out on my ass. After 30 years of service, IBM employees are immediately pensionable, so I'm collecting my pension, have a 401k and Social Security. My wife still works as she's six years younger than I, so from a personal finances standpoint we're fine. It's VERY hard for me to NOT be grateful to IBM for the quality of life I have enjoyed all these years. All three of my kids went to college, and we owned two homes in "upscale" neighborhoods. We drove nice cars. Yet I'm super pissed off at IBM. I worked for the Old IBM, "The Good IBM". I worked my ass off for them and got rewarded for that. But I worked for them thru the transition to the New IBM, or "The Bad IBM". In the 1990's, IBM execs ruined what was arguably the most respected and finest company to work for on the planet. And I can introduce you to thousands of former and current IBM'ers that hate everything IBM did and has become. You don't have to believe me though, after all, this is the internet. So if you know an IBM'er or former IBM'er ask them about it. Stand back a bit though, so that you won't get kicked in the balls.
IBM used to rank it's employees, but abandoned it in the 1990's after a few years due to the incredible uproar from the employees and the tremendously negative hit to company wide morale. As you might expect, ranking their direct reports was completely mangled by the department mangers charged with implementing the ranking system. It was purely political, in that those employees that were good friends with the boss usually were highly ranked while those that refused to "suck up/kiss ass" were at the bottom. Of course, if you were at the bottom, you'd be ultimately be shown the door. (With a lot less severance money too)
Yeah, Neutron Jack's misguided thinking had a lot of influence inside "Beemer-ville" as we called it back in the day. Did you know a lot of Beemer's drove a Beemer? That was supposed to be some kind of status symbol or something. One of 'em even had a set of vanity license plates on his Beemer that said "IBM MGR". I'm sure you can imagine what everyone though of him.... But I'm digressing.
The parallels that I've been reading here compared to what I've read on IBM boards are astounding. Reduced severance packages, benefit take backs like reduced retirement and healthcare insurance have been rampant in IBM since 1999. Speaking of 1999, that's the year when IBM pulled off "The Great Pension Heist". Everybody covered by a defined benefit pension was converted to a cash balance pension plan. That sounds kind of innocuous, doesn't it? But if it happened to YOU, and you saw how you'd have to work ten more years than you otherwise thought you would have in order to collect the SAME MONTHLY AMOUNT had you kept the defined benefit pension, you'd be pissed off too. Not to bore you with too much IBM drivel, after all this is the Merck board and I am a Troll, but here's a goody for you; IBM doesn't give it's employee's salary increases anymore. Well, truth be known, yes they do. BUT!! Only a very few employees will get one, and if they're lucky, they'll get maybe one or two percent. A very good friend of mine who will retire after 40 years with IBM next June told me he has NOT had a raise in six (6) years. The people in his department think the average amount of time those in the department waited for a raise is roughly four years. Of course IBM exec's are getting eleven (11) percent raises on top of their multi-million dollar salaries.
As for your good friend that jumps on here an hour after the 15 guy posts and pitches a hissy fit, well, there are many parallels to IBM there too. There were thousands of assholes that worked for IBM over the years! Take care my Merck friends!! Good luck and God Bless.
