Miscast or peter-principled management left in place while saving pennies on pens and pencils is a classic sign. The best example I see is no coordination of sales and marketing efforts among all the departments who should be involved, and, ultimately will be. The push for volume to make up for eroding margins is a perfect example. Too often business problems are masked by one or two highly profitable products or lines, while the balance of the business is not paying its way. Soon, competition will eat away at your profitable business and leave you with the commodity products or services that sell strictly on price.
Companies also tend to believe that they have the inside expertise to deal with all problems.
This is rarely the case. Companies now run lean and there tends to be a shortage of management, not an overabundance. Simply put, even if there are people capable of solving the problem on the payroll, they are usually bogged down daily putting out fires. They are almost always willing, but, due to time constraints, not able. This is unquestionably detrimental to the near and long term future of the company.