Company: J-P-Morgan
Date: 2008-05-08
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: former

JPMorgan is all about the people - educating them and giving them opportunities to grow
Pros: The Private Bank, under Asset Management has daily 8:15 Morning Meetings to update the staff on market conditions, key economic indicators, headlines, and key messages to clients.  These daily presentations are given by top management (including our Chief Economist, CIO and CEO), and anyone internally has access to attend in person or via the conference bridge.  They don't take it for granted that everyone is totally up-to-date with the "lingo", and they will not neglect to explain the 101 concepts when they introduce / discuss topics.  We are told that no other competitor does this.  There is also a weekly "Eye on the Market" report that is written by our CIO, which is circulated to our clients and all staff.  Even if we are not in the front line, there is plenty of opportunity to be educated and be in tune with the market, and understand our positioning with clients.
Cons: It is a large scale company, and while this creates opportunities for lateral movement (internal transfers are often encouraged to broaden our horizons), there can be much bureaucracy and politics.  Although our motto is "One Firm. One Team. Be a Leader.", there is a lot of 'aligning oneself with the right people' going on.  I've seen that not necessarily the most knowledgeable / talented makes it up the ranks, but it's who you have aligned yourself with, and whether they are in power at the time.  And the power holder shifts with every management change, especially with all the mergers that's been happening over the years - JPMorgan  / Chase, JPMorgan Chase / Bank One, and now with Bear Sterns it will be interesting to see.