JP Morgan Chase & Co. - March 26, 2013

Hi guys! It's been quite some time since I last updated my blog. I've got some good news and bad news for you.

My Name Tag

Good News: This company visit has the most interesting discussion out of all the ones we have attended pre-tour around their office. It took us roughly about two and a half hours, almost eating the entire duration of the stay, to conclude everything for the brief overview of the company because of various questions arising from the majority of the class (and me as well. Hehe...). JP Morgan Chase & Co. talked about their company background, some very, very, VERY interesting trivia about their history, and of course, career opportunities for aspiring job seekers like us. Finally, for the awe, it wasn't just an office tour; it was a building tour! Yep, that's how rich they are being a financial consulting services company inclined on banking.

So are you excited? I haven't told you the bad news yet:

They employ a strict "No Taking of Pictures Inside, Other than Rooftop" Policy. Otherwise, they would sue our institution, De La Salle University - Manila, any students who are specifically enrolled under the course Information System, to be permanently banned for internship and employment. In short, they would no longer consider any career opportunities for us.

Who would want to add insult to injury? Everyone complied and nonetheless, JP Morgan Chase & Co. was accommodating and professional enough to treat us as adults.

So this post is really going to be a challenge to me but I will do my best to have you visualize what it feels like inside. Without further ado, here's a brief overview:

JP Morgan Chase & Co. is one of the oldest financial institutions in the United States. With a history dating back over two hundred (200) years, JP Morgan Chase & Co. still remains to be one of the global leading financial services firm with assets of $2.4 trillion. It operates in more than sixty (60) countries, with four (4)  branches in the Philippines, and the one we attended to is located at Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. It has 260,000 employees.

We arrived there at eight o' clock in the morning and the call time was eight thirty. The entrance was a bit confusing because there were two: One in their lobby where the class grouped together and were subdivided to be lead by representatives from the company, and the other one was for the elevator entrance to their offices.

In our arrival at their briefing room, a group of professional speakers presented to us about the company. We were lucky enough to have the vice president of the Branch Infrastructure Services to speak for us. The first speaker talked about the company's background, history, and provided some interesting trivia.

Did you know that:

Monopoly Deal Character Tribute for Mr. Morgan

• The famous character icon in the board game Monopoly Deal was a tribute to Mr. Morgan.
• JP Morgan Chase & Co. was one of the firms that funded the establishment of the Statue of Liberty. 

  

  Statue of Liberty, USA

• JP Morgan Chase & Co. is also listed as one of the Most Admired Companies of 2012 by Fortune Magazine .
• Barron's Magazine also listed JP Morgan Chase & Co. as one of the Most Respected Companies of 2012.
• JP Morgan Chase & Co. Philippine branch was also given a Silver Mabini Award for being Disabled-Friendly with its facilities.
• JP Morgan, is included in one of the Men Who Build America according to a film.
• JP Morgan Chase & Co. Philippines is also awarded with Outstanding Energy Efficiency Award
• Finally, JP Morgan Chase & Co. Philippines is also awarded in 2009 as an Outstanding Employer of the Year.

The next speaker was a Quality Assurance (QA) Tester of the Branch Infrastructure Services. He began with a short introduction about himself, of how he started and ended up working enthusiastically in JP Morgan Chase & Co., he then followed with what he does in the company and how are some of their projects going.

I forgot to take note of all the names of the representatives that discussed to us but when we reached to the talk of the vice president of Branch Infrastructure Services, he discussed to us his story of rags to riches. He said that he used to just help his parents run their bakery when he was little. He was challenged in life by poverty and thus worked and persevered hard to reach his dreams. When the dawn of computers came in, his curiosity grew towards technology and turned into his passion that kept him to his feet until now.

Another interesting fact I've discovered during their talk is that JP Morgan Chase & Co.'s organizational structure under Information Technology (IT), specifically the people that composes such field, is vast. They set up teams for everything specifically rather than outsource them. Like for example, under their branch for IT Infrastructures Services, they have six (6) teams.

One team observes how JP Morgan Chase & Co. obtain, deploy, maintain, and dispose IT Infrastructures while managing costs efficiently (IT Asset Management); another team focuses on developing new applications (Software Development); there is also a team that manages the security of valuable information that JP Morgan Chase & Co. possesses (Network Security Management); for ensuring performance is always at its best, there is a team that conducts schedules for maintenance and other various tests for the assets of the company (Quality Assurance); finally there is also a team that is so feasible for Information Systems students. This team analyzes the company's business processes and when they spot a problem, inefficiency, or opportunity, they propose new solutions. (Systems/Business Analysts).

Moving on after the interesting talk, JP Morgan Chase & Co. started the tour around their building. This is the sad part because there is so much I wanted to show you too while we were toured around like their spacious food-court about as big as the ones we find in the malls with affordable meals, their mailing office, their silence rooms for peace of mind during difficult times of thinking, their rooftop (I got a picture below), and finally, their vending machines that provide all sorts of beverages ranging from cold sodas to hot coffees and milk for FREE. Our time was very limited and there was only a spare left, so we kind of rushed in with the main technologies that they use.

Since JP Morgan Chase & Co. is an international firm, they need to conduct meetings and conferences online. What makes this process unique is that they don't just use an Instant Messaging (IM) software like Yahoo! Messenger, Facebook Chat, or Skype. Rather, they use a TANDBERG Telepresence Interoperability and Business-to-business (B2B) Video Conferencing system.

Here's a video of how it works:

Cool, right? They showed us a demo and we enjoyed it a lot.

Rooftop. Find me! Photo by +John Jane Granada 

JP Morgan Chase & Co. provides plenty of career opportunities for different fields not only IT. Seeing the blissful and invigorating expressions of its employees makes me want to join the organization in the future. This might be my dream company. I love everything from its career opportunities, to its workstations,  policies and procedures, to its accommodating employees, to its vision and mission, until its training seminars held every fiscal year. I surely learned a lot and enjoyed this educational fieldtrip with my friends. If you happened to be seeking for career opportunities as you read this post, I suggest you give JP Morgan Chase & Co. a try. We might see each other in the future. Until next time! :)