Managers across various business units have been struggling to assert their relevance. It has become abundantly clear that, in general, most first-line and middle managers will become irrelevant once the Broadcom acquisition is finalized. Broadcom is intensely focused on enhancing individual contributors' productivity and their direct contributions to customer value. Broadcom has no interest in workplace politics or favoritism.
Several business groups have endured a prolonged period of favoritism. Many seasoned individual contributors who have spent several years at VMware are well aware of the favoritism that most times influences promotions and bonuses. Despite this, it is important to note that merit and competence ultimately prevail. However, in the meantime, many engineers have suffered, feeling alienated and targeted due to the incompetence of certain managers.
Many of the managers, directors, senior directors, VPs, and even a general manager who were investigated by independent private investigators for favoritism and other allegations are no longer with VMware. However, the toxic footprint and impact on engineers and employees have long outlasted their forced departure. The damage to the culture proved irreparable.
A significant number of existing managers, who were remnants of that toxic regime, have persisted and attempted to survive by hiring junior engineers and 'Yes' men. These unwitting junior engineers unknowingly aided them in their toxic 'divide and conquer' mission, all in an effort to secure their own positions."
This doesn't exempt individual contributors, especially those with an unbearable ego. I'm referring to individual contributors who perceive themselves as the gods of science and innovation. Yes, you guessed it – the individual contributors within the CTO office across VMware's various business groups. These individuals have been consuming resources, engaging in mutual back-patting and paper approvals within their own circle, all in an attempt to carve out relevance for themselves. This behavior is concerning in a public company that should primarily be focused on the best interests of investors and profitability.
Experienced engineers and other individual contributors within the organization are expressing a strong desire for Broadcom's forthcoming takeover. Their primary aspiration is for impartial and non-toxic leadership, a need they believe Broadcom can fulfill. A prevailing sentiment among these contributors is that maintaining their current reporting structure, which is uniformly overseen by the existing management chain, will likely impede their productivity. While there may be exceptions to this perspective, the prevailing consensus suggests that the integration of the current management chain into Broadcom could, in most instances, result in the inevitable failure of these individual contributors.