I don't disagree with you, but instead notice how dramatically it has changed. I began with IBM in the mid 1980s, at a time when they invested heavily in employees' education and development. In my 20s I had the support and encouragement of my management as I pursued graduate school in addition to the job. Plus, we had private offices then. IBM has changed, but so has the relationship between that generation of large companies (i.e. Intel, Motorola, AT&T, ...) everywhere and their employees.