Time Capsule for an IT Department from the 1990's
Pros
The Movie Theatre business is a fun industry to work in, with employees enjoying benefits, such as free movies, and half-priced concessions. And for my role, I was able to take out my phone and show people the work that I did, which was very satisfying. I was also paid well for my role, with the potential for a generous bonus. Another benefit is that AMC recognizes more holidays than most companies, such as President's day, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Also, most of my co-workers were great people to work with. The company also did lots of fun events for employees, like bringing in food trucks for employees once per month during the summer for a fun lunch, as well as getting to leave early on Friday during the summer. They also typically provided a nice Christmas party each year, which was fun.
Cons
Because AMC Entertainment is a fun place to work, people tended to stay there a long time. An unfortunate side effect of this is that as ways of doing IT work has progressed over time, those in leadership positions didn't, and are highly resistant to embracing modern tools and techniques. In other words, IT leadership is only comfortable using the tools and techniques that they knew at the time when they came to work at AMC, with practices and tools that are decades out-of-date. Also, AMC is one of the most siloed, and vertical organizations I've ever worked at. Because there are so many silos, and the siloes are so tall, there is a large degree of tunnel-vision, where individual functional groups are primarily concerned with how they work, and less about other how the work well with other teams. So, the concept of a cross-functional team doesn't really exist, and suggestions to address the issue met continued resistance at the leadership level. One downside to the benefits is that the company is surprisingly stingy with vacation time. In addition, for my role, there wasn't any career path, unless I wanted to move into a role that that wasn't really related to my primary job function. Lastly, although AMC was profitable, there has been a slow, gradual trend for movie entertainment to be consumed online vs. in theatres, and a concern is that the COVID-19 outbreak may have accelerated that trend by solidifying those viewing habits across the country. Will AMC survive? I hope so, but only time will tell.
