Pre-Revolutionary France, with bricks.
Pros
The people. The non-management staff are some of the most resourceful and agile people I have ever met. The fact that they don't run off screaming is a testament to their mental fortitude, especially coupled with the fact their pay and benefits are barely competitive.
Cons
The management is a very 'let them eat cake' bunch. They fail to grasp the day-to-day challenges that each employee faces, from the salesman that has to hand-unload product at a job site to the counter person that's working with obsolete PCs and buggy software to the truck driver that drives an underpowered truck because the big motors 'cost too much'. Many employees feel that the current crop of managers are just keeping things going until they receive a good buyout offer, which cripples morale. Retention is also a huge problem, as people that have skills and ambition are usually the first to go.
