Circuit breakers and will breakers

Last week started with a short meeting between myself and Mr Big Boss. His office is on the floor above ours, and is notably for looking like an empty store room. A skanky old table, two plastic chairs, a state-of-the-art laptop and a flask for holding green tea where the only things in there. He's moved me to the Commercial Department, responsible for finding clients. I'm now meant to find clients in Europe who might want to co-operate with us. The boss' idea was find out the top 100 companies in Europe and find out which ones work in power plant operation and maintenance, eventually getting the list down to 2 or 3, after which we call them up, etc, etc, etc. Now, call my cynical, but I think the chances of a leading European company wanting to co-operate with our company (see below) are not huge. Still, I have to trawl the Internet.

My other task is to translate and proof-read reams and reams of documents relating to the operation of a power station. I've pretty had my fill of circuit breakers now, having spent three days on one 110-page text. Translating a text for the first time is obviously very time-consuming, and efficiency is key. I thought proof-reading would be easier, but it's actually quite tricky (and even more boring), because you only end up half-changing the not-very-good English, when it would be easier to start all over again. It's also almost equally time-consuming, as so much of the English is such that I have to look at the Chinese anyway.

The task of the translator's is truly thankless. Translating from your language into your foreign language is significantly harder than the other way round. I think it's almost impossible for these guys to do it right. The stuff they are translating - circuit breakers, steam turbines, boiler processes, is just excrutiatingly dull. Also, none of them are engineers so have limited knowledge about what they are translating. I've found, despite by best research efforts, I don't understand much of the English I write myself.

The workload is quite a lot now, but that hasn't stopped anyone from engaging in talking on QQ (instant messaging) and watching movies. Although the Internet was cut off last week to stop time-wasting, they seemed to have found a way round it on some computers. Also, film watching and generally farting around have proven adequate replacements. There are two rows, one facing the other offices and main corridor, the other facing outside, so the people sitting in the latter position have a distinct advantage. They can watch Ugly Betty and Heroes in relative safety.

The other reason for the lack of enthusiasm is the company. The management system is non-existent. The head of the Commercial Department is apparently the Big Boss. There is no-one in charge of the translation department. When I asked them who gave them work, they said they didn't know. There is no motivating activities going on at all. Relations between the different departments are visibly antagonistic. I get told off like a school-child if I'm 3 mintues late. The translators intensely dislike the HR Department, "because they control us". While all companies exist only to make profit, this one, and I imagine many of the same sort in China, do it brazenly and don't try to hide it. I quite obviously should be training these guys, but the Boss wants me to earn money for him instead. So the endemic slacking off (I should mention that I'm writing this during office hours) is understandable. I think it's like the school system - everything is done because people are forced, not because they want to, with highly predictable results.

Thus, I'm a bit reluctant to do business with European companies, partly because of all the lying I will have to do. Our website has some guff about 'integrated management system', 'happy workforce', etc. All complete rubbish. The website also talks about "our two hi-tech training simulation rooms are the central part of our training centre". Turns out what this means is that a week before the trainees arrive, we rent out a conference room in a hotel and rig up some computers. Really professional.