Intel

For a large corporation that has seemingly seen its best days with regard to stock price, Intel Corp. is still a very great company to work for. Employees are well-respected for the most part and are encouraged to provide constant feedback to their immediate managers as well as senior management. The work environment is still very egalitarian; everyone gets cubicles, even managers. I can imagine that would not suit some, but for me, it's perfect. Work hours are very flexible, and Intel tries to accommodate different employees' needs. Finally, there is the pride of working in a company that, even now, continues to be at the forefront of technology and innovation. Intel does a great job avoiding the curse of stagnation that has hit other high-tech firms like HP or IBM.

Intel is still a company that is often run top-down. Although individual employee contributions and creativity are recognized, there is still a sense of process and bureaucracy within which every individual contributor has to function. This is also true for the rating and review process, which is necessary but seems somewhat rigid in its evaluation mechanisms. Change is occurring for the most part, but change seems to be slow, which I guess is unavoidable in a company this size.

I would say that stock price should not be the number one concern. Decisions such as cost-cutting and determining whether a group or project should stick around should be made from a technological standpoint, not a bean-counter point of view. If the technology is good, then the profits will naturally follow.

I like some of the changes being made, such as free soft drinks and the potential switch to open bullpen-style cubicles. That shows to me that you're interested in fostering creativity once again, even if the changes make us more like Google or Apple than anything else.