Pros

Good job security, fair chances to secure funding for projects, genuine interest in future of company at most staff levels, realistic expectations of work loads.

Cons

Inflexible work attitudes, highly ethnocentric (male-German) perspectives, surprising tolerance for superficial platitudes ("managerese"), poor support for career changers in most departments. Uninspiring and often unprofessional management style. No genuine interest in real further education for staff. Arrogant #1 attitude in many departments. Very old fashioned company culture. Ridiculously fickle bonus system.

Advice to Senior Management

Fresh blood is desperately needed here: employ some professional managers, ie not simply ex-researchers who couldn't cut it in research. Drop the Mao-esque "hurrah" campaigns (zukunftspakt forschung/sicherheit etc). Institute a genuine system for staff promotion, career change and proper further education (ie no more "learn commerce in 3 days" seminars). Increase basic wages but decrease the yearly bonus and make it far more variable and performance dependent. Reform the betriebsrat system (a german perversion) and reducate people against the "us and them" system (a German wide problem, "us"=non-uni educated "them"=uni-educated). Big step: drop the formality, its 2008 not 1908.........