Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the challenges and inefficiencies within a state-owned enterprise in Northeast China, highlighting the outdated organizational structure and the impact on employee morale and productivity. Group 1: Organizational Structure - The company is a self-proclaimed technology-driven manufacturing enterprise with thousands of employees divided into approximately 10 production workshops, each functioning as a departmental unit [3] - Each workshop has a workshop director who is a departmental-level cadre, supported by two deputy directors responsible for production and technology, who are at the division level [4] - The organizational hierarchy includes various departments such as technology, production, quality, confidentiality, and comprehensive management, each with its own responsibilities and management layers [5][8] Group 2: Employee Roles and Responsibilities - Technical staff spend only one-third of their time on actual technical work due to the presence of multiple administrative and compliance roles [9][19] - Departments like the Technical Management Department focus on non-direct technical tasks, such as checking technical documents and collecting production optimization suggestions [10][11] - The Quality Department requires technical staff to write reports and analyze quality issues, which adds to their workload [17][19] Group 3: Career Progression and Employee Morale - The company primarily hires fresh graduates, with limited opportunities for lateral hiring, leading to a culture where many technical staff feel demotivated and seek other career paths [21][22][23] - There are competitive opportunities for promotion to department head positions, but only within the production and technology departments, which are crucial for the company's operations [24] - Employees who cannot advance to department head positions or become technical experts often settle for lower salaries and a work-life balance that resembles early retirement [30] Group 4: Recruitment and Retention Challenges - The company faces increasing difficulty in retaining and attracting university graduates, as fewer students are choosing relevant majors and many prefer to move to coastal cities or major urban centers [33] - The lack of new talent leads to increased workloads for existing employees, further contributing to turnover [33] - Local economic conditions, such as declining real estate values, have also impacted employee stability and satisfaction, as many employees are financially constrained by their housing investments [33][34]