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The largest of the Standards When the Supreme Court dissolved Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company in 1911, the biggest of the 34 pieces let loose was Jersey Standard. Jersey Standard soon proved itself a player, secretly purchasing half of Humble Oil of Texas in 1919. In 1928, Jersey Standard entered into the Red Line Agreement, which reserved most Middle East oil for a select few companies - including, naturally, Jersey Standard. While Teagle resigned in 1942, after Congress investigated a prewar deal between Jersey Standard and Germany that would have aided Germany's efforts to develop aviation fuel, Jersey Standard's growth was not impacted. In 1948, Jersey Standard paid $74 million to obtain a 30 percent interest in the Arabian American Oil Company, and six years later, it gained a 7 percent share of Iranian production. These two moves made Jersey Standard the world's number one oil company at the time. To end the confusion between Jersey Standard and other oil companies still using the Standard Oil name, Jersey Standard changed its name to Exxon in 1972, a name chosen for its compactness, intriguing spelling and lack of offensive meaning in any major language (and in fact, lack of any meaning at all). In 1999, with the acquisition of competitor Mobil, the company became Exxon Mobil Corp. Exxon's record of success ran aground with the infamous Exxon Valdez tanker, which spilled almost 11 million gallons of oil into Alaska's environmentally sensitive Prince William Sound in 1989, killing hapless waterfowl and big-eyed seals, and strewing oily sludge throughout the area. The disaster cost Exxon $2.5 billion in clean up costs and untold damage in public goodwill. The pain lingered for Exxon; a 1994 federal grand jury found the company's "recklessness" caused the grounding of the tanker and fined the company $5 billion. (Exxon appealed the judgment in 1997.) But no one should feel sorry for Exxon Mobil just yet. Due to its financial moves in the 1980s and wise expansion plans in the 1990s - targeting Russia, Indonesia, and Africa - Exxon Mobil has become the most profitable company in the United States. A marriage of convenience and efficiency America's most profitable company just got even larger. Perhaps the most stunning in the recent string of mega-mergers was Exxon's acquisition of the nation's No. 2 oil company, Mobil. On paper, Exxon's $80 billion purchase of Mobil is reminiscent of the days of John Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust, the original mammoth that spawned both companies. (Old Teddy Roosevelt must be spinning in his grave by now.) Approved by the Federal Trade Commission in December 1999, the new Exxon-Mobil entity is not only the world's largest energy company (move over, Royal Dutch/Shell), but also the world's biggest company, period (you too, General Motors), with revenues of over $204 billion and a market value of about $275 billion. Mobil's $81 billion price is the most expensive in history, outdoing Citicorp's $72.6 billion acquisition of Travelers Group. In many ways, Exxon is simply continuing a strategy it has followed throughout the '90s: profitability through efficiency and cost cutting. The strategy has sustained Exxon's profits while world oil prices have plummeted to a mere $11.13 a barrel. Exxon expects to save nearly $4 billion annually from the merger, a large chunk of that through over 16,000 layoffs by the end of 2002. But some analysts feel that Exxon paid too much money for Mobil, whose smaller operations would have more to gain from a merger than Exxon. While Exxon has always been a model of conservative efficiency, Mobil has proven itself to be an innovative and aggressive company, actively seeking new sources of oil and gas around the world while other companies are scaling back their exploration efforts. Mobil's vast holdings in the North Sea, Russia, and the Caspian Sea, not to mention its rosy relationship with OPEC heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, provides Exxon with the international clout it needs to replenish its reserves and remain competitive in the global market when oil prices do rise. The biggest challenge for Exxon Mobil now is to meld successfully the two companies' distinct styles into a efficient, yet innovative, new force in energy production. The deal has drawn heavy scrutiny from antitrust regulators in the United States and especially Europe, where both companies have marketing and development ventures with British Petroleum; while the deal was eventually approved by the FTC, its chairman warned that future mergers of big oil companies would likely be blocked. The oil behemoth agreed to sell 2,431 stations in the U.S. to win federal approval. Meanwhile, in Europe, newly-merged BP Amoco agreed to buy Exxon Mobil's combined 30 percent stake in a 1996 Exxon/Mobil/British Petroleum gasoline venture to meet European regulators' merger conditions. BP Amoco also purchased Exxon's jet turbine lubricating oil business.
Insiders tell us that the first interview at Exxon Mobil is conducted by employees, often hired within the last year, who take a week off from their job to help recruit others with similar backgrounds (often from their old college). Generally, this interview is very direct without any trick questions or things of that nature; your interviewers are not professionals. Says a source: It's "a straightforward assessment of you, your abilities and interests, the company and its opportunities, aimed at identifying a possible fit." However, for those interested in the business side of the company, interviewers "may ask you a business scenario," so "it's usually a good idea to be familiar with the company's major products, locations, and perhaps customers." Insiders say that you should stress any leadership positions you've had in a campus or other organization because Exxon "tends to hire people likely to have not just needed entry skills, but some depth of character and the potential for growth over a career." Finally, Exxon Mobil knows it's a huge company with an equally gigantic bureaucracy, so it looks for people who can thrive in such an environment. An insider says Exxon is looking for a person who "likes the challenge of working in a large organization - filled with other high performers." Although the attitude at Exxon is no longer that employees who are hired are going to stay on for life, Exxon definitely wants to hire people who have "a long-term interest in working for a large company."
An age-old culture? The reviews of Exxon are mixed. While most call Exxon "a first class company" and "an excellent experience," quite a few employees disdain Exxon's suffocating bureaucracy. "Exxon is a large company - with some of the negatives associated with that - structure, standards, hierarchy," one source says. Another employee is less kind. "Exxon has a Cro-Magnon culture - everything comes from the top down. There is no entrepreneurial spirit, no one is given any responsibility, everyone works at the bosses" whim, [and] most things seem to be micro-managed." Most agree that Exxon might not be for everyone. "If you're the sort of person who has a burning desire to own and run her own business, Exxon's size and bureaucracy would drive you up the wall," an insider says. Another source notes: "It's a huge bureaucracy that lives for using acronyms." Excellent benefits But the advantages of working for a moneymaking behemoth like Exxon are there too. It's "large enough to have opportunities," has a "good reputation for management development," and has "competitive pay" with "good benefits." These benefits include disability and life insurance, company subsidized medical and dental plans, a pension plan, a retirement savings program with matching company contributions, and a 3-to-1 gift matching program for university donations. Says an insider: "Exxon has a great matching 401(k) where, if you put 6 percent of your salary in, they"ll match it with another 6 percent, 7 percent if you invest in Exxon stock. The catch is, you only get to keep the matching part if you work there for at least five years." Employees are eligible for one week of vacation after working at Exxon for six months, and the company also pays for moving expenses and gives other relocation assistance. "You'll get two weeks vacation to start, 3 weeks after your fifth year," a contact says. Finally, for the male-dominated oil industry, Exxon is a leader in providing childcare for the children of its employees. In Houston, Exxon has spearheaded a group of 28 companies which spent $3.4 million to fund after-school care. Not your daddy Following the national trend, Exxon is no longer seen as a place where one will spend his or her whole life. "It is less paternalistic," a contact says. "We work to keep people in interesting assignments so they can enjoy their career, but we also make a point of keeping skills current because we realize they may work somewhere else later." If you can play the bureaucracy game right, there are opportunities for advancement. "If you are sharp, and your people skills are good, you should progress easily," an insider says. However, sources report, the culture is as conservative as ever. "We are a very conservative company," a contact says. This means no dress-down Fridays or business casual attire. Says a source: "Dresses and suits are pretty much standard." In terms of hours, they seem to "vary by location" but insiders say to expect to work 50 to 60 hours a week. "I'd ask your department of interest directly, because there is no norm for this," a contact says.
Human Resources
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