Mitsubishi Motors – “Nice people, but too much bureaucracy.”

Pros

I had a pretty good experience working at MMC. The working environment was good, with real warmth, even at the senior management level.

MMC has outstanding engineers; really brilliant guys that can make some incredible product.

Working for a Mitsubishi Group company means access to a host of "sister" companies around Japan and a certain amount of cachet (despite the blemishes on the MMC brand name).

Overall I still feel good about the company, even after leaving.

Cons

Despite many steps forward, MMC remains a slow-moving and heavily siloed company, with many layers of bureaucratic red tape at all levels. This can be frustrating for entrepreneurial types.

Even when you find a visionary manager who allows you to create something new within the company, your co-workers (who are accustomed to the usual bureaucratic two-step) may not support you.

Despite the Mitsubishi name, MMC is a relatively small company. Unfortunately, where it could be a nimble player in a segment populated by goliaths, it is as slow and stodgy as its parent (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries).

Advice to Senior Management

Work on better coordination between engineers, marketing and sales. Look to Honda as a good example of "leading with engineering" while still staying in touch with the customer.

Alternatively, scale back emphasis on B2C and focus on licensing, OEM and "supply" deals as a way to grow revenue. MMC is terrible at marketing -- why force it?