Alcatel-Lucent – “ALU: How did we get here?”

Pros

Through the merger, ALU is an undeniable powerhouse in the areas that it plays. Long-term, with the proper management, the company has the real opportunity to succeed. Certain areas (Wireline BUs) have aligned quickly. The company has an extremely diverse and intelligent workforce. There is considerable turnover (voluntary and not so voluntary) and for those willing to suffer the pain, there may be long term opportunities for growth.

Cons

Even though this was clearly an Alcatel acquisition of Lucent, morale is poor regardless of whether you are from former Lucent or former Alcatel. Management structures needs to be thinned down... way too many VPs, Directors and Sr. Managers and far too few worker-bees. Managment organizations are overly matrixed resulting in a lack of accountability and political manuvering. Certainly the Lucent legacy has been to treat non-people managers with a lack of respect and distrust. It's based upon the old-world mentality of creating layers of managers to watch each other (Henry Ford era) because they can not be trusted. This has not changed. Ironically, many remaining people managers have been promoted for the wrong reasons. Business systems, product lines and corporate functions still need better integration and streamlining. This is known and accepted as the way it is. Expect to work a lot of hours to compensate for this.

Advice to Senior Management

Sr. Management has failed their jobs at integration. It all looked rosey early on, but it is now clear that much of the work was left undone.

There is a lot of empire building and politics in the company. Those that play it well get rewarded. Brown nosing and kissing *ss is rewarded. Change the culture; break down the walls; pay for performance and start this at the top. A lot of hard decisions regarding the post integration of the company has not been handled well. I think we need a leader who has a clear vision and the courage to execute. New management is needed.