Company: Microsoft
Date: 2013-10-15
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: current
Experience level: Confirmed

Great Company, but middle management is meh...
Pros: While the benefits are nowhere near what they used to be, they are still very good in the Puget Sound region.  Additionally, the resources for collaboration (spin up a sharepoint, no problem!) are exceptional.  When harnessed, the power of the talent there working together can do spectacular things.
Cons: The silos in the company are amazingly stupid.  The company has pockets where general managers can dictate how littler or much the company will work together.  The One Microsoft initiative has a LONG way to go.  Also the quality of managers at the director level still varies widely.  Some sr. directors are in their position because they can operate politically; and not because they're the right fit for the role or company.  Longevity sometimes outweighs being good at your job. The rating system (calibration) forces management to value individual contribution over group success, reinforcing the silos and perpetuating the inability to harness the power of the company overall. One bad rating, and you're done. While encouraged to learn from failures, too many times I have seen good employees put on the outside quickly for loyalty to a project or initiative that the wrong person didn't like.  There's no room for improvement, therefore no one wants to admit failure.