Pros
The best reasons to work for Procter & Gamble can be summed up in two words: 1) People 2) Opportunity People: The people at Procter are spectacular. They hire and retain the best people, who often stay with P&G for the bulk of their career. From day 1 everyone is eager to help you learn your role and succeed within the company. This atmosphere almost eliminates "office politics" that are common at other companies. Opportunity: When I interviewed with P&G, they asked me why I wanted to work there. I told them it was because I had no idea what I wanted to do, but that when I figured it out, I knew I would be able top do it at P&G. They are a massive corporation with employees working in everything from manufacturing to brand management to economic forecasting. You have an aspiration, you can do it here, and the company will support you.
Cons
Again, two words can be used to describe the downfalls of the company: 1) Complex 2) Conservative Complex: All large corporations are complex by definition, but P&G's matrix hierarchy design makes things extra difficult. For example, I have one direct manager that I report to, and he has one manager he directly reports to, but he also has 2 other managers that he "indirectly" reports to. This is an outcome of the collaboration and teamwork within the company (a good thing), but sometimes it can be difficult to get internal alignment because of this. This complexity also bears out in the work processes, especially in budgeting and finance issues. Conservative: The company is extremely conservative. I am not saying they are not cutting edge or visionary, because they are, but they only like to make decisions when they have tested the idea out and are almost 100% it will be successful. This is likely one of the reasons for their success, but it can also lead to losses when a competitor gets a good idea, rolls with it, and beats P&G to market. This conservatism also leads to barriers internally because you have to "prove" almost everything you say with data... and the reality is that data is not available for every business decision that must be made.
