Writing for Academic Discussion Which do you prefer to work for, a large company or a small company?

Which do you prefer to work for, a large company or a small company? (sociology)

 

 

☆Let’s Think

1.        What are the pros and cons of each type of companies?

2.        What are you looking for in work?  Is it only money?

 

                                                                                                                 

☆Hints for Points

The following ideas about the advantages and disadvantages of a large company and a small company are taken from the website of Lifehacker.

 

The Advantages of a Big Company

1.     You Have More Obvious Structure

When you enter a large company, you're taking part in a machine that's been around for a long time. As such, there is typically an established way of doing things. As soon as you walk in, you will know what your job is, how you fit into your department and over time you'll even learn the obvious pathways for promotions.

 

2.     The Benefits Packages Are Better

Larger companies, in general, are better about providing benefits like health insurance or retirement plans. The smaller a corporation's revenue is, the less likely it can afford to pay for benefits.

 

3.     You Can Switch Job Without Leaving

Large companies need a lot of people working a wide variety of jobs to operate. While your specific role may be specialized, it's possible to change positions and explore a new area without leaving the company.

 

The Problems at a Big Company

1.     Changes Happen Slowly

Shaking things up at a big company can take a lot of time. Even if your company is open to new ideas, getting your department to move to a new model or create a product can take a lot of time.

 

2.     You Won't Know Some Coworkers

No matter how social or friendly you are, if you work in a company with hundreds or even thousands of employees, it will be impossible to know everyone. Inevitably, some aspect of your job will be affected by someone you've never met. It may be the CEO, the head of payroll, or the legal department, but someone will make a decision that determines how you work and it may be difficult or even impossible to speak to that person directly.

 

3.     Your Fulfillment Can Be Determined by Your Surroundings

A related problem is that your success and happiness can be determined by where you are placed within the company. Working with a dysfunctional group can bring down the quality of your work, despite your best efforts. It may even affect your ability to move up in the company.

 

The Advantages of a Small Company

1.     Your Success is Visible

Unless you work near the top, accomplishing something significant at a large company will probably never reach the ears of the CEO. At a small company, however, great work can be seen by everyone. This makes it easier to distinguish yourself with certain skills. Your actions are also more significant.

 

2.     Your Company is More Agile

Being able to work closely with all of your coworkers doesn't just mean they can see you. You also have access to a lot more of the company's moving parts. Being able to speak directly to your upper management and voice concerns or pitch ideas can result in much faster movement. What may take days or weeks of submission and approval processes at a big company may take knocking on your boss's door at a small one.

 

3.     Your Responsibilities May be More Varied

In a smaller company, you may be required to exercise a different skill set without leaving your desk. Especially in a startup environment, you may be called on to fulfill more roles outside a narrowly-defined job description. One day you're working in Photoshop, the next you're diagnosing PC problems, and by Friday you're updating the company website. If you like using a variety of skills without changing jobs, a smaller company may be more suited to you.

 

The Problems at a Small Company

1.     Your Failure is Visible

When you make a mistake. Obviously, a good employee would want to minimize failure regardless of who can see, but it never feels good when the majority of your coworkers all know when you've made a mistake.

The Benefits Package Are Smaller

 

2.     As stated earlier, smaller companies typically don't have as extensive of a benefits package as

There May Be No Legal or HR Departments

Small companies often don't get around to setting up things like legal or human resources departments until they've been established for a while.

 

 

 ☆Sample Answers for Ideas and Expressions

【Main Idea】My morale will be higher if I work for a small company.

【Supporting Details】By working in a small company, I can see the whole operation. I can hear the president making a phone call with a client or talking to managers. Then I can learn how the business is going or what will happen to a particular project. In a big company, I work in a small team. My boss may explain how our job is related to the whole operation of the company, but it is difficult to feel that I am part of it. Sense of belonging is stronger when you work for a small company, and this will be a great incentive for me to work hard.

【Counterargument-treatment】As Alex says, stability of a large company is attractive, but if you choose carefully, there are many good small companies that offer good salary and benefits whose business is sound and long-lasting. I will find such a company and enjoy working as a part of the intimate and smart team.

(170)

 

【Main Idea】While the dynamics of small companies is attractive, I would like to work for a large company not only for stability but also for socialization in the business world.

【Supporting Details】A sole proprietorship is a family business. Even if the president is great, the company culture is built on the president’s personal culture, which is a variant or and an anomaly from the standard. In the worst-case scenario, the company may have some odd rules based on the owner’s personal value. For example, I know many small companies that assign only female workers or foreign workers to bathroom-cleaning. A large established company follows the international business culture, and thus it is freer from such discrimination. Although I don’t dislike cleaning bathrooms, I would rather learn the universal business protocols and ethics by working in a big company.

【Counterargument-treatment】It is true that a small company allows you to gain experience in different areas of the business as Emma says, and it will be satisfying to work seeing the whole picture. However, when it comes to changing jobs or becoming independent, career at a small firm can be disadvantageous, because the business is in such a niche that it would be difficult to find another company or make a spin-off company in the same area. On the other hand, a large company has many affiliates and subsidiaries in various industries, and thus you will experience various areas of business unless you stay in the same department for decades, and it makes it easier to find a new job later.

【Conclusion】All in all, I expect a large company will make me better-rounded than a small company.

(266 words)

 

Write your response in 10 minutes. Show each other your responses. Write down questions or suggestions to each other’s response.

 

 

                                                   DRAFT