Pros
* Very friendly organsation on a one to one level. * Some very capable people, suppressed by the system and toxic organisational culture. * Family friendly. * Very favourable work from home policy - probably to the detriment of getting things done.
Cons
* Highly political and nepotistic - it's who you know rather than what you can do, and that drives a lot of who's appointed to which opportunities, irrespective of actual performance. * Similar high reliance on personal networks - "if a chap knows a chap, then a chap must be OK". Strong (unethical) attempts to influence interviews before they happen. * Suppressed air of fear amongst long-term staff, combined with a high degree of frustration at junior and middle levels. * Prefer to "shoot the messenger" or "play the man, not the ball" when it's bad news - along the lines of "I don't like your tone" as an alternative to listening to what's being said. * Lots of talk about "transparency", "results-focused", "diversity" and "we need to change" but in reality things will continue to be stitched up in private, processes will be followed even when obviously value-destroying, endless discussions will be had, decisions revisted, and nothing will really change. The organisational culture is probably best summarised as feudal Japanese - very high degree of conformity and surface amiability, but incredibly hierarchical and controlling, top-down directive, fear-based, and a lot of very clever people react by rebelling where they can without being too obvious. "Nails that stick out" either get hammered down or summarily expelled, irrespective of the effect that has on those remaining.