Thread regarding Mattel Inc. layoffs

To the last poster, the truth hurts and the actual numbers/stock price tell the story............I say the same thing about the end of Q results/propaganda, blah, blah, blah..............same old rant over and over. It's tiresome.

I'm never lacking in the area of complaining, whining and being the victim on this site. So many pine over the past. Cadence is always the same.

Hate the leadership, it has led us all to ruin.

I was not appreciated, people stole my credit.

Leadership is overpaid.

Times were better before, we had more creativity, money, trips etc etc.

Ex-factories kill our dreams.

I hate Barbie it's the cause of all my troubles.

Blah blah blah.

It's the same rant over and over and over. You people may have ptsd but for glob's sake get some new material. You're all so tiresome.

At mattel it's all about control and the need to control. It is the overriding behavior that has been built into the management culture. An endless pyramid that prevents the speed and agility in the business that is needed. The lack of autonomy in groups to respond quick enough is so built in that it is crippling. The culture then responds in a risk averse way and diluted accountability. Don't even get me started on how that perverted the testing process. At the end of the day if Mattel continues to believe the notion of singular "thought leadership" instead of more empowered groups that are independent and autonomous then it is truly doomed. Evolve or die. A single individual steering the course of a multi faceted highly complex machine with layers upon layers of moving parts is if anything by far impossible given the changing information that comes in every second. The only answer to that is to abdicate that responsibility to truly empowered groups that are closer to the ground that can see and react to factors in real time. If the company does not let go of the obsessive need to control marketing, design, advertising, content and so on, then truly the best thing will be for it to break up. That age is done.

MattHell "Culture" is very simple. It's like George Orwell's Animal Farm. "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others".

Managers and above are the Pigs, all the rest of the don't matter. This is our culture here now, let's see how long it lasts but the other poster was correct, we could be in Texas now losing everything we own including loved ones or in Chicago getting shot it. This is a walk in the park in comparison so we have to look at this glass half full.

I guarantee you that my "praise" ...(I would characterize my comments as simply "agreement" with the poster) is from a different person. I suspect we even live on different coasts. In any case, my comments have nothing to do with "unrealized" achievements. They are simply a clinical evaluation of what I have seen/lived through in the past 10 years. No need to be angry with me. I am just telling all what my experience has been. Look listen all: we can't change forces further up the food chain. Make the best of where you are at, and don't waste your energies working like a dog anymore. The poster I "praised" is 100% correct. The only way to advance at MattHell is by never challenging mgmt. Even if they ask your opinions in town hall meetings or on line questionaires. Just say you love the place and agree with all your bosses decisions. Or leave. They are your only options. Best wishes to all who worked hard and cared. It feels like a great loss/death to us. That's why we come across as so angry on this site. Anger is simply a normal step in the grieving process. Try to put yourself in the shoes of these poor people in Texas who's entire towns are being flooded and who will lose everything they've ever had. Makes our issues with our employer seem very trite. Perspective friends.

Did you seriously just write your own "praise" post? You're taking notes from DT I see.

Attacking HR like I should care.

And it sounds like you are articulate enough to complain but not enough to be useful to anyone. Like the kid in school that had a lot of potential but never applied himself. The flower that never bloomed.

So good for you to bring up a previous post, complain about it and then give yourself praise for your own retort to it. Amazing bit of work. Whether or not you're an ex- employee you're bitter about something. Possibly again your unrealized potential and blaming mattel for that.

I'm sure you'll keep on with your tirade so by all means bring it.

Of all the posts I have read in the last year, this previous one sums it up beautifully. It is clear you are NOT a whining ex-employee looking for attention. Excellent summation of what has been happening in the past 5-10 years. Too bad the poster before you doesn't acknowledge the truth. His/her loss.

Fact: Mattel has Toxic Culture. Everyone in the industry knows it. Blame HR, the enabler of the dysfunctional, fear-based environment which cripples the entire organization. Management is a fail-upward good-old-boy club. You get in not by skill or achievement, but by s---ing up to the right people. Once you're in, you're golden. No manager/director/veep, however flawed, is ever busted down. HR never helps individuals who seek help with dysfunctional supervisors; those individuals go on a watch list for the next layoff. HR only cares to prevent lawsuits by protecting "the organization" and eliminating "problem employees" who dare to ask if there is a better way. Hardly a best practice for a company which will live and die by innovation. The remaining employees are the passive, quiet sheep who conform and outwardly support whatever idiotic mandates come down from those above. Those fearful sheep are hardly the breakframe, outside-the-nine-dots innovators who will create the game changers of the future. Mattel's fear-based, toxic culture is so far gone that is just doesn't pay to takes risks anymore, not for marketing, not design, not management. Mattel's overprotective chokehold on Barbie IP (gag) and innovation in general has paralyzed the entire company for years and now we are reaping the seeds we have sown. Good luck, Margaret, you have an impossible task ahead of you, "future-proofing" this dog. Pocket all the cash you can as this ship sinks, this may be your last paying job. You are already stained by Mattel's tainted name.

First of all your bitterness took that post from a different thread just so you could rant. Congratulations. You must need the attention.

Secondly, what company does not care about its bottom line? Last time I looked Mattel isn't a non-profit.

Thirdly, not from HR as much as you are from Mattel my disgruntled ex employee.

But your need for an argument here is evident. Probably because you were not hugged as a child.

Mattel is not bottom line driven, that's the problem. The culture and politics are all consuming. I was a top performer there for years and the drag of politics was exhausting. Based on my experience at smaller toy companies there is more talent and focus on product. More passion and freedom to try new things. More cross functional knowledge and respect for your teammates. Yes, the leadership at some of the competition is quirky but you'll find they have a genuine love for toys and this flows through the company. If you are a performer and love toys you'll do just fine elsewhere. Unfortunately, Mattel employees have a reputation of entitlement, laziness and focus on the drama instead of the job. It's difficult to unlearn this. Mattel employees are always shocked at the pace, responsibility and accountability you get at a small company.

Dear Professor:

Stop trying to candy-coat the situation at Mattel. You MUST be from HR, and likely some of the idiots posting on LinkedIn showing millennials frolicking to and from over ice cream and fairy dust. You should be ashamed.

With the stock being at $16, the house of Mattel is burning down around you. The reason for it is the aggressive and selfish culture that the company has. It is completely bottom-line driven (as is every public company) and your attempt at sugar-coating it isn't just offensive, it's criminal. You are part of this culture, you aren't above it and I for one hope you stay long enough to see it dismantled right out from under your feet as you continue to spout off about "culture".