While in Shanghai, I have the opportunity to visit many high tech and Internet based companies. One of the biggest high tech firms doing business in China is Microsoft. Their headquarters are located on the 8th, 9th and 10th floor of the Grand Gateway Plaza in Downtown Shanghai. That’s where that fancy Häagen-Dazs is.
Like many high tech companies, security is pretty tight so video taping was limited to very general stuff, like the company lunch room and kitchen which is stocked with free drinks. This didn’t stop me from snooping around to see what kind of trouble I could get myself into. I promise to not reveal the identity of the Microsoft employee with the iPhone.
A visit to Microsoft China shows what kind of opportunities are available for employees of a multinational. Like all multinationals, Microsoft has offices all over the world and employees looking for a change can request a transfer to not just another division, but a whole other country. The China operations are run about the same as the US operations. Because there are less employees, the Shanghai office is a tight knit group. Like all MS offices, Microsoft China has no dress code and employees have no set in stone work work hours. They are free to take a few hours for lunch or play some games in the rec room. Just don’t expect to go home when deadline comes.
