1. Belden is a company that is growing due to acquisition only. R&D and product development programs, within the companies they acquire, are being gutted. Belden simply acquires, "reorganizes" and then moves on to buy another the next year.They do not support product innovation or R&D. This is a great for Belden's executive leadership and shareholders (who have seen the BLD stock double over the last 20 months) but it's bad if you're a director or manager of one of the companies that has been acquired. If you are acquired by Belden; get active climbing the political latter or search for a job ASAP.
2. Executive managers (VPs and GMs) are changed and shifted frequently between business units and therefore DO NOT understand the business or technology they are managing. Good ones get fired generally and "do-nothings" seem to stick around some how. I really can't understand how it happens honestly. All senior managers (good and bad) institute a "strategy" that take a lot of time and money, and then it is shut down as soon as they leave 12-18 months. This process repeats itself, leaving middle-management with the legwork and risk of trying to actually run a business while trying to please a boss who is absent of competency and unaccountable to the heavy-hand of the senior executive level (CEO, COO, CFO etc...)
3. Belden is only concerned about next quarter's financial results. It's a short-term recipe for success, but ultimately a path towards decay. The system of management at Belden is very comparable to HP in the early 2000's under CEO Mark Hurd. Mark Hurd simply cut crucial programs at HP to lower the bottom line of the company. It worked for a while...until the cuts began to hit product quality and customer service. Now, HP still is trying to recover from the damage that he did to the company. Like HP, Belden is a bleeding company.
