Plenty of downsides, the main one being the ever changing line managers, most of whom have not got a clue or an interest in the activities of the particular sales team they are managing, only wanting to climb the greasy pole to the next SL level, giving them immunity from being made redundant and before they move onto the next 'project'. The same applies for their managers. Any communication your line manager has with you is normally made up of negative statements, a positive one now and again to boost everyones self esteem and enthusiasm wouldn't go amiss. Marketing have all the power when it comes to sales activities, in all other companies they are there to support sales, in Bosch it is a department devoid of ideas and does its best to hinder. Lots of talk of work/life balance, especially when the bi-annual survey is presented to you, they get very touchy when you give them the poor marks they deserve yet nothing changes. The annual review is a lot of hot air, the same old words in as different order each year withn the same annual conclusion that you have to fight for your bonus. A very fearful, frustrated and brow beaten workforce waiting for the next time the axe falls, afraid to speak out as your card is well and truely marked.
All of this is a very long way from where Robert Bosch himself had set the company objectives, a true philanthropist, unlike the career minded individuals at the helm today.
