General Dynamics National Steel And Shipbuilding Reviews

Pros

Decent pay for white collar jobs
Relatively small departments so easier visibility
Easy to shine in some under performing departments

Cons

Management isn't always the best, they can be very demanding and yell a lot
It is a shipyard, so not the nicest place to work
Not filled with highly educated people

Advice to Senior Management

Make sure to keep an eye out of for the value added people and try to keep them

Pros

amazing ships, learn a lot

Cons

lay offs, instability, unprepared leaders

Advice to Senior Management

there is no professional development....no traininings.....waste of resources

Pros

Large company with a lot of opportunity for growth.
People know their jobs and are competent.
Management was open to help answer questions.

Cons

They didn't have much work for me to do, so i was left to find/make work for myself.
Slowing work load required a lot of projects to be slowed; a lot of vacation time was taken to make up for deficit.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep hiring interns, but make sure there is useful work for them to do. Less time is necessary for the orientation process.

Pros

Lots of freedom within the company.

Cons

Growth is limited, but because of recession.

Advice to Senior Management

Simply the best shipyard in the nation.

Pros

Great people great food great hours

Cons

Too much time off not enough overtime

Advice to Senior Management

Voluntarily reduce salaries and redistribute money to lower paid team members

Pros

Great hours, casual dress environment, 1 week christmas break

Cons

salary workers are expected to work "lots" of after-hours with no comp time offered and no leeway for the sick kid, doctor visit..etc; they make you take sick time...yet some employees take a day off while the mgr looks the other way..its not an across the board understanding. No growth opportunities unless you beat out the rest by the number of service years. MBO's are not a collaboration of employee/manager as to where the employee would like to grow in the business instead they are assigned by management. lots of derogatory remarks against women "chicks", no collaboration encouraged between G.D. business units management likes to be the only face to collaborate; "job security". Health benefits are outrageously expensive if you decide not to fall in line and choose their "value" plan. Benefits departments comment was "well the expensive plan is for you sickly people for the most part we get the healthy one's on the value plan" (much appreciated).

Advice to Senior Management

Advice to middle management ditch the autocratic method of managing and come into the 21st century, try the consultative or perhaps the participative method of managing. After all that's why you hire knowledge workers right? At this point the diplomatic method of managing would be a great improvement.

Pros

-Benefits are excellent
-Previously when they were employee owned, the culture was very hierarchical and you had to be part of the good old boys club to advance. Now that GD owns it, younger/early career employees are doing much better.
- You can really get to know the ropes of a particular area while working on real life projects affecting others
- If you can handle it, they will always give you more responsibility
- Respect for the chain is paramount
- High pace enviorment

Cons

- everything is centered around production. support departments are just that...support
- senior management still comes from the mentality of old shipbuilding. "We've been doing it this way for 20 years, why stop?"
- High pace enviorment (opposite of previous section). If you can't keep up, get out of the way.

Advice to Senior Management

- Invest in new ideas/technologies
- Be more supportive during problem situations. Support each other.
- Allow time and actively support new ways of thinking