The general practices of middle/lower management on the operations side are very archaic and inefficient. To reiterate some of what has already been said, they are power hungry. Their focus is on getting and keeping their titles, but not actually doing the managerial work or developing a strong team. Common practice is to hire under-qualified employees and then keep them on even if they are underperforming, causing more work for the stronger team members, and bringing down morale. Occasionally, a talented person will slip in through the cracks, but then s/he will be heavily depended on to keep things moving and even fix the mistakes caused by the "manager". Management looks for seat fillers who do what they're told and nothing more, and satisfy their ego and superiority complex. Expectations are so low it has actually made me sick to my stomach.
Don't even think about a promotion or a transfer based on meritocracy. It's about sucking up to the right person and playing to their ego. Very incompetent people get promoted or moved just because they know someone and they take credit for other people's work.
They're very big on rhetoric and inaction. You'll be told from the interview stage that there are career development opportunities and you'll have regular meetings to discuss career performance. That won't happen; not even if you are proactive about it. Instead, you'll spend 20 minutes talking about upcoming travel, or an hour listening to the manager repeat himself for the second or third time because the poor performers didn't listen or take notes the first time. All time that could have been better spent having a brief meeting about performance and development.
They're cheap when it comes to compensation.
