Recently, I read an article about how the values and culture of a company change when they become a public company or a part of one. No matter what you say your company motto or values are, the number one value and goal of a public company is to generate returns for shareholders.
I don't know many people out of my group of friends who don't work for a public company or a company that is owned by a public company. Unless you work for a small business, it's pretty tough these days to not work for a shareholder driven company. I don't know how you can act in the best interest of the business, especially in tough times, when you have people willing to sell their stock if you don't show them what they want. It's the nature of the beast, I guess.
I'm not saying that small businesses don't have to deal with outside pressure, at all, especially if loans or venture capital is involved. Small businesses have different kinds of problems, like managers trying to do all of the work rather than delegating, employees not communicating truthfully because of the small size of group involved, and simply trying to keep the business going throughout the early years.
Just be aware of factors affecting the nature of whatever company you are working for or thinking about working for, and what's really driving the growth or lack there of.
