There has been a cultural shift at Altria in the last 5 years or so. There is a turning of the guard as a wave of senior leadership retires and new leadership steps in. In the last year we have seen the retirement or the replacement of the CEO, the President of JMC, the President of UST, and several of the VPs. There is certainly a power struggle going on as people vie for promotions. This had led to the proliferation of yes-men to the point of becoming dangerous. People wait to see what their boss thinks before offering opinions so not to rock the boat. As a result, we have seen half baked plans come from senior leadership and programs that are revised or changed at a dizzying rate. Departments come up with innovative solutions, but the solutions are not built to work together. The end result is complicated programs that are difficult or impossible for the field sales force to execute.
One other big internal con- most of the people who work at Altria have worked there for their entire career. As a result there is a homogenous way of thinking bred into employees that is never questioned. Altria very rarely will look outside itself for solutions...some negative fruit from this practice is the HORRIBLE technology that was created in house and the archaic process for advancement.
Externally you have to live with the stigma if working for a tobacco company. Also sales volume on cigarettes is in a free fall. The company has not found a way to make up that revenue. There was a 15% workforce layoff last year. This will happen again.
