For better customer relationships, concentrate first on employees - SmartPlanet
This is something that Northrop Grumman does NOT believe in.
The customers come first, shareholders (remember "shareholder value"?) come next, management are next, with the employees in a very distant last place (employees are replaceable, expendable, cogs in a big machine).
Showing posts with label good place to work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label good place to work. Show all posts
Friday, July 23, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Ten Signs of a Fear-Based Workplace - Yahoo! Finance
Ten Signs of a Fear-Based Workplace - Yahoo! Finance
Is Northrop Grumman a "Fear-Based Workplace"?
Look at the link for the article for more on the following ten signs:
1. Appearances are everything.
2. Everyone one is talking about who's rising and who's falling.
3. Distrust reigns.
4. Numbers rule.
5. And rules number in the thousands.
6. Management considers lateral communication suspect.
7. Information is hoarded.
8. Brown-nosers rule.
9. The Office evokes sad chuckles, rather than laughs.
10. Management leads by fear.
What do you think?
Is Northrop Grumman a "Fear-Based Workplace"?
Look at the link for the article for more on the following ten signs:
1. Appearances are everything.
2. Everyone one is talking about who's rising and who's falling.
3. Distrust reigns.
4. Numbers rule.
5. And rules number in the thousands.
6. Management considers lateral communication suspect.
7. Information is hoarded.
8. Brown-nosers rule.
9. The Office evokes sad chuckles, rather than laughs.
10. Management leads by fear.
What do you think?
Monday, February 08, 2010
Super Bowl Commercials
Some Super Bowl commercials stood out for me.
NO, you do NOT need to WATCH the Super Bowl on TV to see the commercials. Wait until the game is over and then watch the AD BLITZ channel on YouTube.
1. Doritos commercial where the A**HOLE sees the anti-bark collar on a dog at the park and tries to get it to "speak" (and shock itself) for a Doritos.
The dog wants the Doritos, and removes the anti-bark shock collar and places it on the neck of the A**HOLE who the dog then shocks and immobilizes onto the ground, freeing up the bag of Doritos.
Good job, dog - you won against those who would torment you!
I only wish the same for Northrop Grumman employees.
2. Snickers commercial. Guys are playing football in the mud. The QB rags on one guy who is playing like (and looks like Betty White) for his poor play. His girl friend gives him a Snickers bar and he turns into his regular self.
The QB, on the other hand, plays (and looks like Abe Vigoda) in the next play. The tagline of the commercial - when you are hungry, you are not yourself.
We do what we need to do, no matter how ugly it looks. Northrop Grumman employees can surely identify with that.
3. Dodge Ram Charger. A list of stuff that men have to put up with (get to work at 8:00AM, attend boring two hour meetings, keep mouth shut instead of telling the truth, leaving the toilet seat down, etc.) to get along in life, and it ends with "I get to drive the car that I want", which is the Dodge Ram Charger, Man's Last Stand.
Some men are LUCKY to be rewarded for what they put up with. Not every Northrop Grumman employee will be rewarded for what they put up with at Northrop Grumman.
4. Bridgestone tire commercial. Dark and rainy night on the open highway, a car is stopped by a well-armed group of men who demand his Bridgestone tires.
The driver of the car pushes his very hot wife dressed in black leather out of the car, backs up and turns his car around, making his escape.
"I said your LIFE, not your WIFE!"
Some married men know what's really important!
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
NO, you do NOT need to WATCH the Super Bowl on TV to see the commercials. Wait until the game is over and then watch the AD BLITZ channel on YouTube.
1. Doritos commercial where the A**HOLE sees the anti-bark collar on a dog at the park and tries to get it to "speak" (and shock itself) for a Doritos.
The dog wants the Doritos, and removes the anti-bark shock collar and places it on the neck of the A**HOLE who the dog then shocks and immobilizes onto the ground, freeing up the bag of Doritos.
Good job, dog - you won against those who would torment you!
I only wish the same for Northrop Grumman employees.
2. Snickers commercial. Guys are playing football in the mud. The QB rags on one guy who is playing like (and looks like Betty White) for his poor play. His girl friend gives him a Snickers bar and he turns into his regular self.
The QB, on the other hand, plays (and looks like Abe Vigoda) in the next play. The tagline of the commercial - when you are hungry, you are not yourself.
We do what we need to do, no matter how ugly it looks. Northrop Grumman employees can surely identify with that.
3. Dodge Ram Charger. A list of stuff that men have to put up with (get to work at 8:00AM, attend boring two hour meetings, keep mouth shut instead of telling the truth, leaving the toilet seat down, etc.) to get along in life, and it ends with "I get to drive the car that I want", which is the Dodge Ram Charger, Man's Last Stand.
Some men are LUCKY to be rewarded for what they put up with. Not every Northrop Grumman employee will be rewarded for what they put up with at Northrop Grumman.
4. Bridgestone tire commercial. Dark and rainy night on the open highway, a car is stopped by a well-armed group of men who demand his Bridgestone tires.
The driver of the car pushes his very hot wife dressed in black leather out of the car, backs up and turns his car around, making his escape.
"I said your LIFE, not your WIFE!"
Some married men know what's really important!
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Am I the ONLY One? Don't Think So . . .
I came across a couple of web sites that may or may not be of interest to Northrop Grumman employees. What's really interesting is that the comments cover all parts of Northrop Grumman, and not just one sector.
Northrop Grumman management will find nothing interesting because THEY DON'T CARE what the employees think and feel as long as they get what they want from the employees.
The first web site is Jobvent.com. By the name, you would expect to hear from employees who are "venting" about their jobs. Take a look at
Working at Northrop Grumman — Reviews by Employees
Here's a sample: "Northrop is a company moving backwards. Despite some of their technical achievements they treatment of their people is horrific. They burn their people out, and are becoming more and more inflexible..."
The second web site is Indeed.com. They ask the question, "What is the company culture at Northrop Grumman?"
On this forum, we hear both the good and the bad. Some employees are OK with the company culture, others are not OK.
Here are samples:
"My team has a lot of fun during the day, but we also get work done. We plan lunches and things, and no one views it as a lack of things to do. My boss is great, very professional, but also jokes around with us."
"It's a great place to work if you're single, don't have a family, and don't care if you have a life. If you value family, health, personal time, and/or community involvement I would suggest looking elsewhere."
See What's the company culture at Northrop Grumman?
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
Northrop Grumman management will find nothing interesting because THEY DON'T CARE what the employees think and feel as long as they get what they want from the employees.
The first web site is Jobvent.com. By the name, you would expect to hear from employees who are "venting" about their jobs. Take a look at
Working at Northrop Grumman — Reviews by Employees
Here's a sample: "Northrop is a company moving backwards. Despite some of their technical achievements they treatment of their people is horrific. They burn their people out, and are becoming more and more inflexible..."
The second web site is Indeed.com. They ask the question, "What is the company culture at Northrop Grumman?"
On this forum, we hear both the good and the bad. Some employees are OK with the company culture, others are not OK.
Here are samples:
"My team has a lot of fun during the day, but we also get work done. We plan lunches and things, and no one views it as a lack of things to do. My boss is great, very professional, but also jokes around with us."
"It's a great place to work if you're single, don't have a family, and don't care if you have a life. If you value family, health, personal time, and/or community involvement I would suggest looking elsewhere."
See What's the company culture at Northrop Grumman?
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Northrop is a Good Place to Work??
On the whole, I enjoyed my employment at Northrop Aircraft Company (joined the company Novembe 12, 1975) which later evolved into what we call Northrop Grumman Corporation. I have met a lot of good people, and done a lot of good things.
The legacy pension is good, and the health plan for retirees is excellent. To see how I using the health plan, look to the links at the upper right corner of this page under "MICHAEL'S HEALTH UPDATES".
My family and I have done well by Northrop Grumman. The house is paid for. With some budgeting and frugality, we were able to put the youngest daughter through private school, and then through MIT. She graduated June 2009 with degrees in Course 11 and Course 14, Urban Planning and Studies, and Economics respectively with NO loans or scholarships (no "financial need" shown). She did turn down scholarships from Harvey Mudd school of engineering, UC Regents Scholarship from UCLA and UC Berkeley, Olin School of Engineering. Caltech and Princeton did not offer any financial aid.
My wife and I gave our daughter our blessings and approval to whatever makes her happy, as she has made the most of all of the opportunities that we were able to offer to her.
Thank You, Northrop Grumman, for the job (certainly not a career) and pay that enabled this to happen!
NOW THIS IS THE GOOD PART
"Northrop is a Good Place to Work" was most true when Jack Northrop was walking amongst the emeployees. He created the Northrop Recreation Club (NRC) for the benefit and recreation of the employees. The NRC sponsored the Toastmasters club in January 1953 which I joined in 1978 and of which I am still a member.
Now it is more about "Shareholder Value" and all the other buzz words we hear as motivation for the worker drones.The typical employee is considered nothing more than an employee ID with a associated skill set, totally interchangeable and replaceable in the interests of efficiency and productivity.
Published company documents on "Quality Policy" show that Integrated Systems employees are dedicated to:
* Relentless pursuit of internal and external customer satisfaction
* Integrating total quality into every aspect of our operations to satisfy all stakeholder requirements
* Continuous improvement in our people, processes, technology and products
Similarly there are buzz words on "Environmental Policy" and "Safety and Health Policy".
UNFORTUNATELY, "Northrop Grumman is a good place to work" is NOWHERE to be found.
Management is done through intimidation and humiliation, with fear and shame thrown in. Many of our employees are fearful of their livelihood being taken away from them. The manager is the boss who demands respect from the employees, but gives very little respect, if any, to the employees.
The manager has to be bold and tough, a take-charge person. Let the employee be the humble one. After all, the manger has the title, and all that the employee have are the technical degrees, and years of prior experience. The manager has the certificate to "manage processes".
Despite not knowing as much the the employee might know, the manager will decide the "desired results" BEFORE the work is done, not necessarily right way or wrong way, but done the Northrop Grumman way. After all, through the skillful manipulation of assuptions and inputs, the employee comes up with the necessary "Garbage In" to get the desired "Garbage Out."
The manager will in addition to the desired outcome, decide what methodology to use, along with the budget and schedule.
Sometimes an experienced employee with 20 - 30 years of relevant experience will see the flaws in the approach and methodology, and that it would be near impossible to meet the budget and schedule. If the employee DARES to voice his opinion and not agree completely with the manager, the employee is not a "team player". In extreme cases, the employee will receive a "First Warning" and "Performance Improvement Program" as part of his rehabilitation.
The employee experiences fear and shame of possibly losing his livelihood.
The employee suffers intimidation and humiliation of giving in to the manager's directions and doing what the employee knows to not be right.
This is why new employees fresh out of school are SO VALUABLE - they don't know any better and will always agree with the manager.
What would it be like IF THE EMPLOYEES ARE RESPECTED UP FRONT, and MOTIVATED TO MAINTAIN and NOT LOSE THIS RESPECT?
Too much to imagine.
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
The legacy pension is good, and the health plan for retirees is excellent. To see how I using the health plan, look to the links at the upper right corner of this page under "MICHAEL'S HEALTH UPDATES".
My family and I have done well by Northrop Grumman. The house is paid for. With some budgeting and frugality, we were able to put the youngest daughter through private school, and then through MIT. She graduated June 2009 with degrees in Course 11 and Course 14, Urban Planning and Studies, and Economics respectively with NO loans or scholarships (no "financial need" shown). She did turn down scholarships from Harvey Mudd school of engineering, UC Regents Scholarship from UCLA and UC Berkeley, Olin School of Engineering. Caltech and Princeton did not offer any financial aid.
My wife and I gave our daughter our blessings and approval to whatever makes her happy, as she has made the most of all of the opportunities that we were able to offer to her.
Thank You, Northrop Grumman, for the job (certainly not a career) and pay that enabled this to happen!
NOW THIS IS THE GOOD PART
"Northrop is a Good Place to Work" was most true when Jack Northrop was walking amongst the emeployees. He created the Northrop Recreation Club (NRC) for the benefit and recreation of the employees. The NRC sponsored the Toastmasters club in January 1953 which I joined in 1978 and of which I am still a member.
Now it is more about "Shareholder Value" and all the other buzz words we hear as motivation for the worker drones.The typical employee is considered nothing more than an employee ID with a associated skill set, totally interchangeable and replaceable in the interests of efficiency and productivity.
Published company documents on "Quality Policy" show that Integrated Systems employees are dedicated to:
* Relentless pursuit of internal and external customer satisfaction
* Integrating total quality into every aspect of our operations to satisfy all stakeholder requirements
* Continuous improvement in our people, processes, technology and products
Similarly there are buzz words on "Environmental Policy" and "Safety and Health Policy".
UNFORTUNATELY, "Northrop Grumman is a good place to work" is NOWHERE to be found.
Management is done through intimidation and humiliation, with fear and shame thrown in. Many of our employees are fearful of their livelihood being taken away from them. The manager is the boss who demands respect from the employees, but gives very little respect, if any, to the employees.
The manager has to be bold and tough, a take-charge person. Let the employee be the humble one. After all, the manger has the title, and all that the employee have are the technical degrees, and years of prior experience. The manager has the certificate to "manage processes".
Despite not knowing as much the the employee might know, the manager will decide the "desired results" BEFORE the work is done, not necessarily right way or wrong way, but done the Northrop Grumman way. After all, through the skillful manipulation of assuptions and inputs, the employee comes up with the necessary "Garbage In" to get the desired "Garbage Out."
The manager will in addition to the desired outcome, decide what methodology to use, along with the budget and schedule.
Sometimes an experienced employee with 20 - 30 years of relevant experience will see the flaws in the approach and methodology, and that it would be near impossible to meet the budget and schedule. If the employee DARES to voice his opinion and not agree completely with the manager, the employee is not a "team player". In extreme cases, the employee will receive a "First Warning" and "Performance Improvement Program" as part of his rehabilitation.
The employee experiences fear and shame of possibly losing his livelihood.
The employee suffers intimidation and humiliation of giving in to the manager's directions and doing what the employee knows to not be right.
This is why new employees fresh out of school are SO VALUABLE - they don't know any better and will always agree with the manager.
What would it be like IF THE EMPLOYEES ARE RESPECTED UP FRONT, and MOTIVATED TO MAINTAIN and NOT LOSE THIS RESPECT?
Too much to imagine.
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
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