> Companies (or departments) wouldn't actually last very long if management teams were as bad as you described. That is only true for companies in a highly com

> Companies (or departments) wouldn't actually last very long if management teams were as bad as you described. That is only true for companies in a highly competitive market. There are all kinds of markets, some are very competitive (e.g., the market for a commodity like gasoline or flour), some are total monopolies or oligopolies (e.g., the market for smartphone operating systems, or for electricity or water in your city) and many are some hybrid somewhere in between. The less competition a company has to face, the more they are able to grow dysfunctional while still staying profitable, thus avoiding any serious pressure to curb the dysfunction. See https://open.lib.umn.edu/exploringbusiness/chapter/1-5-monopolistic-competition-oligopoly-and-monopoly-2/ https://open.lib.umn.edu/exploringbusiness/chapter/1-5-monop... or any intro microeconomics text for more. Also, even in cases that are more competitive, managers are human and make mistakes, and the feedback cycle might be so long that a lot of dysfunction can happen before it's time to pay the piper and a whole division has to be sold off or laid off. This is most likely to happen at companies huge and diversified enough. I think you have been fortunate enough to never work at a place like the one OP described. I have, although only once. If you find yourself in such a place, yeah, take it as a sign to get out.