Foreign-funded enterprises and state-owned enterprises

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I have five years of experience working in large state-owned enterprises, one year of experience in a small foreign company, and half a year of experience in a large foreign company. The small foreign company was acquired by a larger one; recently I’ve been extremely busy with the integration processes, and now I finally have some time to sit back and reflect on what I’ve gained and lost over these years. While working in a state-owned enterprise, I was involved in everything from the initial design stage, including process engineering, instrumentation, electrical systems, equipment selection, cost estimation, technical solutions, business negotiations, to on-site construction management. This experience allowed me to greatly improve my skills. Since state-owned enterprises are not subject to as many technical restrictions, they do not confine one to a narrow range of tasks. Whether it’s in the workshop, design department, sales team, or engineering section, as long as you are willing to learn and sincere about it, you will generally receive support from your colleagues. Moreover, in state-owned enterprises, relationships play an important role; if you help older colleagues with tasks that fall outside your own responsibilities, they will be happy to teach you. Although the relationships in such companies can be complex, it seems that the frontline employees, especially the older engineers, are usually kind-hearted. They may not share all their knowledge, but they will certainly give you as much information as they can. For newcomers, state-owned enterprises represent an excellent platform for personal growth – the key is to maintain the right attitude and know what you want. After joining a foreign company, since I was in the sales department and it was not a very large company, its organizational structure was relatively simple – each department had only a few people, and the department managers reported directly to foreigners. The products were average, but as sales of them in China were still in their infancy, I was able to make full use of my technical skills. Usually, I didn’t have to worry too much about procedural matters; I could focus solely on providing technical support. Although I was proficient in these technologies, it still took a lot of effort to understand the details of the products, as no one in China knew much about them. For many details, I had to turn to foreign colleagues for help. Due to my limited English skills, I faced some communication difficulties, but I gradually realized that it wasn’t necessary to worry about what the foreigners thought, as I was the one who understood the Chinese market best, so I could handle things based on my own experience. Looking back on this little over a year, most of my time was spent on researching product details, making selections and preparing quotes. As for the culture and processes of foreign companies, others took care of those aspects for me; I basically had no time nor the desire to learn about them. Since our products fell into the category of non-mainstream products, I gradually found myself falling behind the mainstream in this industry. Due to the change in my role, I stopped keeping in touch with many of my former colleagues, lost out on opportunities to engage in discussions and competition related to mainstream technologies, and had fewer chances to interact with clients such as design firms. As a result, I had no way of staying informed about the latest technological developments in this industry, and ultimately relied on my experience from working in state-owned enterprises. After realizing this issue, I tried to change jobs several times, but without success. To be honest, I’m not sure what role would suit me; my personality isn’t suitable for sales, especially since I can’t stand having to grovel in front of my junior colleagues. (Actually, I’m not yet desperate – when I run out of money, I guess I’ll be willing to do anything.) Working in a technical role still means doing unimportant work. I finally realized that there’s no future in being a technician in a foreign company’s sales department, and that salary increases are minimal over the course of a year. Moreover, in this type of job, if one doesn’t develop core competencies, it’s easy to end up failing. It was at that time that this small foreign company became tired of being under the control of a larger foreign company. Hearing this news, I don’t really think it’s a good thing. In fact, the reason I left my state-owned company was because I didn’t like complicated interpersonal relationships. Although this small foreign company is also a multinational with tens of thousands of employees, its management is relatively relaxed; I have flexible working hours and generally don’t have a strict concept of working hours. Aside from the challenges related to the products, I actually like the work environment quite a lot. But things are different after the acquisition; large foreign companies have very strict rules and regulations. There are many meetings and training sessions every day, and it seems that the relationships among colleagues have also changed. Many people with simpler ways of thinking have left, and those who remain feel a sense of crisis. What surprised me even more was that the foreigners in these large foreign companies actually have thinking patterns that are quite similar to those in state-owned enterprises – with bureaucratic structures, complicated procedures, excessive staff, and complex nepotistic relationships. Well, now I finally understand that culture and ideologies aren’t important at all; people share common traits. Now I’m overwhelmed by all kinds of procedures and meetings; I almost have to work until midnight every day, and I can’t be late for work either, because the top boss who was brought in from elsewhere is right next to me. I’m not as proactive at work as before either. The products remain the same, but the processes have become much more complicated. For even a quote on a order worth just a few thousand, one has to fill out numerous forms, go through many procedures, and wait for approval from many people. Thinking about it now, those who created these processes did so by considering only their own responsibilities and following the principle of avoiding any problems for themselves; they never considered the feelings of those who have to carry out these tasks, nor the impact this has on the company’s operations. Many people do jobs that may seem nice on the surface but are actually costly and of little value to the company, just to catch the boss’s attention, and these bosses actually fall for it. If that’s the reality, it’s better to stay in a state-owned enterprise. At least there is cultural alignment. Looking back now, there’s no chance left to switch to a state-owned enterprise. Large foreign companies are more or less the same, while smaller foreign companies usually don’t offer much better benefits. As for private enterprises, I haven’t considered them yet. Sometimes I think I won’t go back to my hometown to work making pancakes; one of my high school classmates is now the head of the local urban management team, and with his support, maybe I could find another opportunity.