Ferguson Enterprises – “A bureaucracy is like a septice tank-- the big ones go to the top...”

Pros

Well, it provides a source of income, at least for a while. Make no mistake, ALL Ferguson associates are TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES. If economic (or political, or any other) conditions warrant, even the most productive worker will be disposed of without hesitation like yesterdays newpaper.

Cons

You are a peon, oftentimes being overseen by one of their illustrious "management trainees" (read that-"wet-behind-the-ears-kids-who-haven't-seen-the-light-of-day"). You are expected-nay, REQUIRED-to wave the FEI flag and bow in homage regularly to Newport News, the Source of All Power. You may NOT be critical in any way of anything FEI. Your days are numbered in any event, but that will only speed the process. The wholesale plumbing business is well-populated by bright, industry-savvy, hardworking FORMER associates who were dismissed for "political" reasons (I am personally acquainted with more than one hundred people in this catagory!). Go to work for Ferguson, and you, too, can eventually join the group...

Advice to Senior Management

For Gawd sake, pull that stick out of your backside! Take a look at the successful companies that Wolseley acquired that have been turned into brown gushy stuff after "Fergusonization", and try to figure out what made them successful in the first place! Get rid of your Ivory Tower corporate mentality, dismantle that giant bureacratic structure and get back to basics. Dump the white shirts and ties. It's a PEOPLE BUSINESS, not rocket science.