Lockheed Martin reviews

Performance review system recently "improved" is too complex, not well explained, and hence fraught with more excessive inequities than the previous system. Instructions for entering "commitments" are vague, general, bloated with corporate-speak, and effectively meaningless. End result is that any employee not in favor can always be told that (s)he did not meet expectations. Raises and advancement have very little correlation to ability and performance. Employees often are not used in their areas of expertise. The company has become totally oriented to the bottom line with little to no true concern for the well-being of the employees, although much lip-service is given to the contrary. Employees are pushed in never-ending cycles to meet schedule after overlapping schedule, forced by the "bottom line" to push out shoddy software in order to come in at or below increasingly unrealistic budget constraints.

The performance review system is ridiculous, even after it was re-worked for the 2012 year. Your direct manager obviously has no influence over your rating or merit, and I've acutally been told this by previous managers in the past on the old system and it is true for the new one as well. I've seen new college grads that are hired have luck with a decent starting salary and merit increases, but others can definitely be placed under a "black cloud" at no fault of their own. High turnover of the younger, new college grads even after a decent starting salary.