Novartis reviews

I had a disappointing experience with this company, primarily due to poor upper management. The leaders at the top seemed to lack essential technical knowledge and management skills, which was evident in their day-to-day operations. There was a noticeable absence of tactical or strategic contributions from their end, indicating a gap in effective leadership. It appeared that their main concern was maintaining a positive perception among their peers and higher-ups, rather than focusing on actual business growth or employee welfare. Another significant issue was the ever-increasing list of responsibilities being placed on the employees, exacerbated by the company's decision to enforce a hiring freeze. This decision not only added undue stress on the current workforce but also hampered productivity and morale. Furthermore, the organization is burdened with an excessive number of middle managers. These managers are supposed to 'oversee' various workstreams, but their involvement often feels more like interference than assistance, complicating tasks that could be completed more efficiently. This over-management leads to a convoluted and inefficient workflow, further contributing to the overall dissatisfaction with the company's management structure. Promotions within the organization appear to be less about merit and more about popularity or networking. It seems as though those who are well-connected or favored within the company are more likely to advance, regardless of their actual performance or qualifications. This approach to promotions undermines the value of hard work and talent, potentially leading to a demotivated workforce and a culture that does not prioritize true skill and dedication.

- Race/nationality bias: Advantage if you are of certain race/nationality. You just get more opportunities. Pretty disconcerting to hear certain HR make blatant comments biased towards own nationality. - Identification of "talents" questionable. If you cant perform on the job but are good with your mouth and putting on a show, this might just be the place where you thrive. - Work/life balance out of the question (though dependent on department and how accountable you want to be) - No Job mastery due to excessive job rotation/rotations which were not thought through. Some folks who have been rotated are placed in roles beyond their capabilities but are just smoking through. - Some processes/systems are very inefficient, resistance to change with "this is how it's always been done" mentality. Some decision makers have the "i'm not sure what is adequate so let's just do everything to play safe" mindset. These add on unnecessarily to an already high workload. - Weak managers: Some weak placements through lower/middle/senior mgmt roles. Ability to lead and serve as good role models questionable, resulting in low morale/people leaving. - Plenty of good people left/looking to leave. Yet, many who are not doing their jobs are staying put and even identified as talents. - Some employees are very rude, arrogant and disrespectful to people deemed "beneath" them, because they feel invincible having the backing of mgmt to be groomed into future leaders of the organisation. However, they become very nice to the people "beneath" them when the right people (aka middle/seniormgmt)are around. This creates alot of distrust and dampens employee morale. After all, why bother being a good employee when these are the type of people that mgmt seems to appreciate? And is it a good idea to stay put when these people are going to be the future leaders? This used to be a better place but not anymore. Unless there is a major cultural shake-up, you will not want to be working here.