[jitl]

Even in the Bay Area, the Samsung culture is extremely top-down and overwork focused. I’ve heard too many stories of whole departments needing to throw everything out and build something totally different at the very end of year-long projects because on an executive’s whims. On the other hand their cafeteria food is supposedly very good (especially if you like Korean and Japanese).

[achow]

> ..whole departments needing to throw everything out and build something totally different..

The big reason for that is any overseas research center like SRA (Samsung Research America) works on future, whereas Korea works on current. When working on future features or tech, it is all about bets and experimentation. And these are wont to fail or be wrong quite frequently.

[jason-phillips]

> the Samsung culture is extremely top-down and overwork focused

Allow me to add some context. The Samsung culture could be described as militaristic, with accompanying rank and ceremony, therefore I can see how you identified the top-down chain-of-command relationships.

[edited]

[wincy]

I genuinely have no idea what this appeal to ancient cultural authority is meant to convey, especially since virtually everyone was destitute and had no human rights for the overwhelming majority of human history.

That a preindustrial society existed for 5,000 years with very little change has no bearing at all on how a multinational business ought to be run in a modern society. In fact, I would argue that technological advances became possible precisely because we blew apart many of these entrenched power structures.

[jason-phillips]

As someone who grew up overseas, I can tell you that most of the world does not feel as you do. Cultural differences and identities go far in explaining the reason why things are the way they are. And the rest of the world doesn't shy away from it.

I am sure that what you wrote is true from your perspective and have therefor edited my comment so as to not produce discomfort.

[formerly_proven]

Of course as American employees of the American branch office you might draw comparisons between the work culture there and other, similar tech companies in America and factor this into your valuation of the employer in question.

[hasmolo]

i feel like you’ve made a point here that, if you phrased a little differently, would’ve been an interesting addition to the conversation.

[kurthr]

This (top level story) is a reflection of _SAMSUNG_ (particularly SEC-SLSI) culture. There are certainly elements of Korean culture, but it is for example VERY different from LG culture. I don't understand why there's a reason to jump to 5000 years of history for criticism of a part of a company that's having problems... apparently with truthful internal communication.

I think most people would accept that Intel has/had similar problems based in financial optimization, but that doesn't directly reflect on 5000 years of western culture.

[userbinator]

but that doesn't directly reflect on 5000 years of western culture.

There hasn't even been 5000 years of western culture...

[ineedasername]

I believe the Classical Greek era is usually considered the roots of Western Civilization, so roughly 2500 years.

But if you go back to the Early Greek era of the Minoan civilizations then it is about 5000 years.

It's all slow, gradual accretion though, so you can draw the line in lots of places.

[seanmcdirmid]

Wouldn’t you have to go back to Mesopotamia to get 5000 years? And I’m not sure if that is really considered western.

[ineedasername]

No, Minoan gets you close to 5000, again depending on where you draw line. 5500 if you go back to its roots, hard to call that a civilization, maybe around 4500 if you're looking for something like precursor to cities in the form of small centers of trade. 4000 for examples of writing. Although with remains like that you never know if they simply used less durable materials before hand, or if none have been found yet.

Either way, on any of those benchmarks Mesopotamia precedes it by at least a few centuries or more, though Minoan does get you back pretty far. I don't know the migration patterns, but I think there was influence from Mesopotamia.

Classical Greece ~2500 years is probably often where the line is drawn because that's where some of the foundational works of culture, philosophy, and math had their start and became founding members of the "Western Canon". For millenia, students were trained in Greek and Latin and read the great works of those time periods. But there was a civilization that gradually evolved into that time period, complete with it's own Dark Ages before things climbed back up to what became Classical.

[edgyquant]

There hasn’t been 5000 years of any culture tbh

[moistly]

Australian aborigines have over 50000 years of culture behind them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Indigenous_Australi...

[klibertp]

Very off-topic, but it's one of the most shameful episodes in Western, British, and Australian history. Almost 200 years of racism, persecution, forced assimilation, kidnapping children and putting them into religious institutions, and a lot more - and it was only in 2008 that the Australian govt cared to apologize. Incredible cultures, incredible wealth of lifestyles, ideas, beliefs - almost destroyed in the name of "making [Aboriginal people] more civilized and industrious".

Yes, the glorious Western civilization did the same pretty much everywhere, but Australian Aboriginal people's culture is unique due to their very long period of isolation - it's a gem and wonder worth studying and learning from. Yet, the Western instinct was to trample on and destroy it, systematically, irreversibly, just for the sake of it. Reading the Wiki page you linked some time back literally left me in tears. How could we. I don't even.

[ableal]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt

Co-opted first by Alexander, then Caesar. Later Napoleon also dropped by ...

Seems to have slipped everybody's mind here, strangely.

[edgyquant]

The implication here is that Modern Egypt and Ancient Egypt are the same culture, which isn’t true by any real definition since as you mentioned Egyptian culture was Hellenized centuries before the Romans showed up (and semi-Persianized centuries prior to that.)

This is like claiming the Islamic Republic of Iran is the same culture as ancient Persia.

[timthorn]

Stonehenge dates from 3000BC

[Ekaros]

And we have little idea who build it and for what. I expect at least those basics down for anything to be called part of our culture. At least for back-dating purposes.

[jeffbee]

Some would say there haven't been any.

[spaniard89277]

You work for a shitty boss but the cafetería is nice!

[ineedasername]

Yep, food is nice where I work too, but it's not what keeps me around. A great workplace except for bad/no food is worth brown bagging it, going off-site to a random franchise, ordering delivery, etc.

[borner791]

The SRA caf was super nice, and extremely subsidized... It was a nice trip out there.