"Founders' syndrome" limits growth potential; arbitrary policies create fear and mistrust
Pros
Lovely facilities on a beautiful bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, free lunch provided onsite daily, nice exercise room, mostly pleasant and intelligent co-workers. Interesting software and customers.
Cons
Top management has sense to hire smart people but then micro-manages them ("founders syndrome") and will not tolerate dissenting ideas. Subscribes to the Jack Welch (of GE) big company management theory that 10 percent of employees should arbitrarily be ranked as "under-performers" each review period (twice a year) resulting in lots of voluntary and involuntary turnover. Paranoia about job security leads to a "keep your head down and blame the other guy if something goes wrong" mentality. Promotion, review, and dismissal policies perceived to be completely random.
