Pros
The 3 stars are strictly for the benefits and cosmetics. Medical plans still have co-pays. Job security, environmental friendly policies, 3 weeks of paid shutdown, on-site cafeteria and great places to eat around the area, Christmas parties and company picnics, well-kept facilities and grounds, good place for entry level people to learn the ins and outs of manufacturing.
Cons
This facility is a production plant and not an innovation center. Management is complacent with this and there is no change visible for the near future even-though it is desperately needed. The only businesses that are profitable are Toner and Toner Cartridge Manufacturing and these are directly controlled by Japanese expatriates. All product and equipment design is done in Japan and any engineering change requests need to get Japan approval. Engineers are rarely allowed to exercise judgment and are therefore treated like glorified technicians. Job security comes at a price. No one gets fired for bad performance and going above and beyond in your role rarely gets recognized or rewarded. This creates a lot of dead-weight and frustration for motivated individuals. The vacation policy is absurd. They claim to be generous with time off, however, there is only one pool of this and it is broken up into 15-minute increments. Employees must use time off for any personal issue or appointment no matter how small the amount. This is a big issue for employees who are at the company less than 5 years which are often forced to work during shutdown to make up vacation time. Finally, there is culture clash with the Japanese. Communication and sensitivity to employee needs is difficult at times. Many of the Japanese that are sent over here as advisers, managers or directors are just bidding their time until they return to a new assignment in Japan. These expats usually look down on their US counterparts and do not care if the local plant succeeds. They are more worried about not upsetting anyone in the motherland. There have been many exceptions to this, but in general this is what you see. In addition, many paths to advancement are blocked since a lot of the coveted positions are always staffed by the Japanese expats.
