Jan 23, 2002 03:48 AM
26186 Views
(Updated Jan 23, 2002 04:24 AM)
Many may have heard of the corporate stories of Wipro ,Azim Premji, but let me give you the inside story of Wipro ,as how I percieve and not bore you with stats ,share market and figures of company's achievement.This was the first company I joined after I passed out from my graduation as a campus recruit and that is the best thing that could have ever happened to my career.
As a fresh novice out of the college ,it indeed takes a lot to be moulded as a professional software engineer.I am not boasting of myself,but when I look myself 2 years ago and the quality of job I delivered initally, I just cant help but wonder how ignorant or the wide gap that exists between the theoritical knowledge in college to the actual scenario in industry. This is where my experience with Wipro initally helped me into getting into that rigour of changing my attitude and style of work and bring in that methodical approach in delievering the goods.Wipro is into almost all segments of IT ,and you name any top comapny in the world they are in the client list of Wipro one time or the other.This is one of the big advantages that even though you are associated with one company you get to work with all top clients across the globe and enrich your experience. I have worked with Hewlett Packard, Boeing , Intel and you never feel as though you are in one company for such a long time.
Coming for the work atmosphere ,it just cant get casual than here .I still feel I am in college . (Hope my HR/manager is not reading this). Friendly jovial work enironment,wonderful collegues ,fantastic infrastructure all makes it even more enjoyable to work here .Imagine a manager sitting on your head bossing around ,thats the last thing I can ever bear and think of in this company.The work timing is so flexible that nobody bothers you ,ofcourse unless you have completed your job. But the experience varies depending on which project or group you are in. In a comapny with a strength of nearly 10,000+ and so many locations ,the opinions and experience can be quite diverse and some of my fellow collegues may not agree with me .Anyway,different strokes for different folks. There are some projects wherein if you are stuck you can be stuck for life. Eventhough again it is left to the individual who can always volunteer to move out to differnt project if one is not intersted in it. This open culture is one positive aspect in ths organisation ,you can always walk into your managers room without any hesitation and can always chalk out your career plans .Another drawback of working for any particluar MNC is you will be engaged with a particular client the whole time and will miss out on the varied experience of working for different clients
Wipro is known for its world class top management. Check the credentials of any manager heading any senior position in any software company in Inida he is sure to have some association with Wipro in his past career.There are so many companies that have spinned of from the parent comapny ,(the most famous being Mindtree consulting, Alopa networks etc ) but the giant is least intimidated by it and has stood out as a colossus.It has always remained the breeding ground for quality professionals.If u check out the database of Wipro for ppl having 5-10 years of experience,you can find hundreds of them ,which is a big asset which no company can boast of in this relatively young upcoming software market.
The biggest drawback (in the past) has always been the attrition rate. Wondering why ,when I am praising the company to the skies? The attrition has always been in the middle or entry level management ,mainly because of paypacket.There is no doubt that the pay/perks are less compared to MNC's and it was too hard to resist the offer .Then asking why the heck did I chose to stay back? Let me tell you I was tempted with hunderds of offers with rosy figures when the market was at its peak a year back. But one should have analysed the fact that the situation was not realistic and it had to settle down to some level of sanity,and how true I was when I look at the market now.The quality of work which most MNC's dump for offshore work is rather not worthy(with exceptions) to enhance your resume and after some period the marketability of your skillset may pose a big question mark . SO I think for the sake of your career in the beginning atleast, it is necessary to concentrate on quality of your work .But again I beleive, you have to be at right palce and right time to have a good projects.Oh god this is looking more like a career counselling,so let me cut short.AS for other drawbacks,moving up the hierarchy may really be a big challenege and difficult and one genuine reason why some good people may have left the company in pursuing for more greener pastures.I believe there is a level of saturation for your role after a certain level.
AS for the present situation in times of recession ,no doubt there are many pink slips issued ,but comapred to the percentage of those who are laid off in other big MNC's ,it is quite negligible here.Indian companies with strong buisness models like Infy and Wipro infact has fared pretty decently in these hard times.Infosys is another worthy company which I feel has almost identical (but a bit hyped up ) buisness model and work culture compared to Wipro and there is very little to differentiate between the two. These are the two comapnies that India can truley be proud of for its global outlook and setting high standards through their constant innovativeness.Even the founders of these companies like NArayn Murthy and Premji have set different ethical values for other business tycoons to ponder upon.
