Thomson – “Grass Valley”

Pros

Grass Valley products are interesting. Work is challenging. Technology is exciting. Compensation is acceptable. Local management is excellent and I mean top notch. Engineering talent is most likely the best in the industry (most of them have been around since it started). The company (Grass Valley) is about to be divested of Thomson. This can only be a good thing.

Cons

Thomson has greatly suppressed the company's ability to innovate and be competitive. This has allowed Grass Valley's competitors to gain significant ground on all product fronts. There is major overhead in the cost structure due mainly to Thomson's attempt to buy multiple company's and force them to play nice together. Thomson care's nothing for it's employees. Engineering tools and equipment are underfunded.

Advice to Senior Management

Make the tough decisions. Stop trying to be sensitive to people's feelings. Make your decisions based purely on the data when deciding what product lines to maintain and where (location) to keep certain business operations. Some positions need to be removed and processes need to be simplified. Why in the **** do you still have two control systems?