Dell

I was attracted to Dell because of the generous salary, good benefits, and very short (for me) commute. Plus, as a NH resident, I am not subject to State income tax, effectively increasing pay by 5.25% over my previous job in MA.

In my 25+ year career, I have held senior/principal engineering positions in about 10 different high-tech companies, from start-ups to telecom giants.

Without a doubt, Dell/Equallogic has the most political, byzantine corporate culture I have ever encountered. If you love to engage in office intrigue more than technical engineering for building your career, this is definitely the place for you. But if, like me, you have lots of innovative ideas and technical ambition, look elsewhere.

Listen to your employees, some of whom may have good ideas, rather than employing the dictatorial management style currently in evidence at the Nashua, NH location.

Also, get rid of your antediluvian performance rating system, which ranks each employee against every other in a 1-N ranking, grouped into ranks of 1-5, with a set number of employees in each. This system is demoralizing to many and contributes to fierce employee rivalry.