Dow Jones Reviews

Pros

flexibility with work and good work/life balance

Cons

Used to be a fun place to work - too many changes is management and corporate culture

Advice to Senior Management

Show more appreciation for the work of employees.

Pros

Excellent benefits and work life balance

Cons

Alot of people are on edge thinking that you're going to steal their job so it's very political and stressful there. You're expected to know exactly how Dow Jones operates without any formal or substantial training. If you question that, be prepared to look incompetent. Hardly any of the procedures, products and services have been documented for internal-external training, business or client support purposes. A very competitive environment where there are alot of fake people. Most of the long time employees will let you know exactly how entitled they feel and how you don't deserve to be there. Be prepared to attend alot of meaningless meetings and to have someone else take credit for your contributions. Non-stop reorganisations and a matrixed org structure makes it hellish to know who does what.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop favouring employees who don't contribute to the success of the company. Realise that vindictive employees are doing more harm to the company than good. Document everything for internal employees and clients. Encourage knowledge sharing, mentoring. Eliminate the high levels of gossip and childish behaviours.

Pros

flexible, 35 hours a week, great benefits - health plan and 401k

Cons

no bonus, no pension plan. limited growth

Advice to Senior Management

motivation - equal chance to union members to provide opportunities in management non-union positions

Pros

Flexible work shedules, fair pay. Great for people who want to leave at 5PM sharp. Union mentality persits.

Cons

Very political, senior managment thinks they know it all. If you are not a Director or above, your vote does not count.

Advice to Senior Management

You've already lost most of your best talent. Sr. Mngt needs to listen to people who do the work and give credit to people who come up with great ideas, not steal the ideas and take credit.

Pros

Company name can get you in doors

Cons

they do not know what they want to be. They are definitely not a sales company, they try to screw sales people out of deals rather then reward them.

Advice to Senior Management

figure out what you are going to do with the comapny and let the people who are working there know.

Pros

DJ is ideal for work life trade off. Employees refer to the company as the country club for it's great vacation and schedule flexibility. The benefits have always been very good relative to industry standards.

Cons

The major con is salary. Dow Jones starts at the very low end of the scale for entry level and mid career positions.

Advice to Senior Management

Evaluation of all pay scales and eliminate the union. The union prevents non-linear career paths for employees and forces employees into fixed salary ranges.

Pros

Its a steady place to work.

Cons

No promotions, little raises and outsourcing everything.

Advice to Senior Management

How about a career path for the employees

Pros

Friendly. Generally bright people. Easy going. Union-common-denominator means no one works that hard (wait///that's not really a positive, is it). BRAND is a huge asset. Some publishing platforms and technologies built 15-20 years ago were so good, so sound, so ahead of their time that rest of the industry is still trying to keep up.

Cons

The DJ brand reached a high water mark a long time ago. But publishing (electronic or no) moves slowly, so jargon, politics, and constant reorging masquerade as leadership and strategy. Bureacracy is metastasizing, management bathes in self-congratulation, and the strategists live a Dilbertesque sense of what matters in the marketplace.

DJ jealously guards the Holy Grail--the WSJ. Petty power grabs, sensless land squabbles, and pointless town meetings often eat up the time and energy some hoped to use to improve the company and their fortunes. if News Corp can clearly justify to stockholders that the WSJ sustains itself, the rest of Dow Jones may be in serious danger.

Advice to Senior Management

Either admit DJ has gone from parent to hopelessly underemployed child of the WSJ and adjust accordingly...or get tough, get smart, and get down to earth to make it work. Without the will of the market and the enthusiasm of the people who dig the trenches, you upper crusty types will--at best--run a dying regime. Then again...maybe all non-WSJ DJ is just a giant write-down for News Corp. The market always speaks...will Dow Jones listen?

Pros

Smart people
Great brand recognition
Good products

Cons

Constant reorganizations
Senior management not focused on strategy for the future
Focused only on monthly forecasts

Advice to Senior Management

Create a strategy
Have a vision for the business
Show leadership and inspiration

Pros

Set work hours
Good training provided
Definite pay scales
Time off requests usually granted
Abilitiy to switch teams
Managers are fair, even-keeled

Cons

Pay is definite - poorer performers are paid equally due to union
Work is wooden, not much room for innovation, personal input

Advice to Senior Management

Figure out how to add an element of innovation, reduce big firm feel, lack of fluidity of ideas. Encourage rotation through different departments.