I think the poster was saying that he would love to view these classes for their historical value and general interest. But go ahead and be rude, as this is an internet forum.
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Apple's Secretive Internal Training Program Detailed in New Profile
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I think the poster was saying that he would love to view these classes for their historical value and general interest. But go ahead and be rude, as this is an internet forum.
Apple, like all tech companies, hires employees who have worked elsewhere. They bring some good ideas, but can also bring toxic ideas, the way Nortel employees destroyed RIM. Having these classes serves to help these hires by telling them which of their old attitudes are intolerable.
Some of you haven't had a lot of jobs with actual companies, I'm guessing. Every corporation with a lot of employees has mission statements and philosophies that they want to share with their employees. This is especially true at the management level. If you are going to be a decision-maker, your company wants to make sure you understand the philosophies and ideals that got them to that point. It doesn't mean you can't deviate from philosophies, but, as I once read, you can't break the rules until you understand them. As I understand, the VPs at Apple often disagree about the direction of a product, which is fine. But you have to have a general sense of what Apple is and what they want in their products before you can pitch a 7" tablet or a 5" smart phone.
You are being paranoid. Apple is a huge company with its very peculiar and specific set of mind, it's only natural that they want to make their employees familiar with their history and culture.
A regular part-time Pizza-hut has a similar introduction to the brand/company history and that's just normal. It obviously gets amplified at Apple because we're not talking about 16 years old people selling pizza slices.
I used to work at Walt Disney World... and we had a similar thing:
"On your first day of work, you will be attending Disney Traditions, the program that introduces each new generation of cast members to the culture and heritage of the world-famous Disney organization. With a focus on the past, present, and future of Disney, Disney Traditions will help you recognize and appreciate the connections you have to the Disney story, the daily impact you can have on the quality of the Disney Show, and the role you can play in our Company's growth and success."
I imagine most major corporations have something like this.
It's not about not having worked in actual companies. I've worked in quite a number of very large companies, and while they have their own culture and philosophies , apple takes it to a whole new level. Let's say in other companies these values are recommended reading
while at apple it more of a case of conforming . It's what makes the company produce awesome products, but you cannot deny there is an element of brainwashing. Unless you play by the rules at apple, you will not be around for long , I would assume. Though I have not worked at Apple, visiting any retail store will tell you straight away these guys are a little brainwashed
I swear some would do the job without getting paid.----------
Replace the plastic bits with some aluminium , take off a few millimetres and charge 30% more
! Sound to remain the same.
I find the anecdotes interesting (I never realized the Google remote had so many buttons) - but this kind of thing isn't unique to Apple. Every company with more than ~200 employees that I've worked for had some kind of training program like this - even a grocery store I worked at. IBM flies you from wherever you are to their headquarters in NY for training courses that last between 2 and 10 days, depending on position and situation, when you first join.
I think the Apple University was one of the smartest things Jobs did. The company does have a different mindset than many others. When Jobs was alive, he could enforce it. But he wanted to make sure that his ideals that made the company what it is could be clearly communicated after he was gone. I don't see that as "brainwashing" or "indoctrination". I see that simply as maintaining the company's vision. Apple could easily be sidetracked into a geeky tech company or a boutique gizmo manufacturer, rather than a company that creates elegant products to make peoples' lives easier. Apple University is an attempt to maintain a balance between the two. A few decades from now, we'll know how successfully it worked.
Most companies don't have culture like Apple does. If your values are to create a system and extract as much money as possible from it before it dies, a standard MBA program will have already taught you that.
Um, that would be a, "lecture theatre".
(for those of us who are not paid by the number of words we write for newspapers.
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Meanwhile, over at Samsung....
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Exactly. I read so many posts that make it clear most people here have not worked in corporations. They really don't understand how they work. Every big corporation has it's own "university" and specific train. It's not just for new people. It also helps keep all employees fresh and on target.
Thanks for sharing your post. Hopefully people here find it insightful.
I feel badly that you have such difficult with simple things. It must be a difficult life.
I've never had problems with the Apple remote, nor has anyone else I know.
DirecTV remote, though? VERY slow response time.
Um, that would be a, "lecture theatre".
(for those of us who are not paid by the number of words we write for newspapers.
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Meanwhile, over at Samsung....
So you're saying that Apple is just like Samsung?
Magic
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fxt
AKA, corporate culture. While bringing in new hires is one aspect of this, even more importantly, companies succeed less because of their leadership (and even less due to one leader) than by developing and sustaining successful habits. Apple as a company knows what it is about, and makes sure that everyone who works there knows too.
They can learn those things you mentioned at any university. They can only learn what makes Apple "Apple" from Apple. This ensures that the Apple spirit continues even in the decades to come