[bluepizza]

Managers only hire and reward based on loyalty and threats in these highly political environments. It is very common to see a decent director with very weak managers under him, to ensure that nobody is a threat to his position.

Mediocre corporations work in a very different way from results oriented high performance companies. In mediocre places, games of power rule the place, even if it doesn't make sense economically.

[charlie0]

Different definition of power law, but still very applicable to this case.