| Director of Marketing & Product Development |
Ballard & Tighe is a small educational publisher. There is a close,
collegial atmosphere, and a community feeling. The company is privately
owned by a couple, with the woman serving as president of the company.
The atmosphere is quite creative, since the company focuses on
developing products for education, and there are opportunities for
telecommuting for those involved with content development (creating the
books and programs that the company publishes). The creative nature of
the company means that work hours can extend well beyond a 40 hour work
week for those involved in management or product development.
Because the company is small, there is limited opportunity for
advancement unless/until the company grows beyond its current size. The
executive team is a tight knit group that sets the direction and
activity of the company, and there is a solid business plan and five
year plan in place the the company works from. However, the president
of the company is a micro-manager, and the plan can change directions
quickly, and without much notice. Anyone contemplating working for
Ballard & Tighe should be comfortable with intense scrutiny of seemingly
minor aspects of their job or the work of people they manage, which can
make the managerial process difficult at times. In addition, because
the company is involved in producing educational materials, a manager
without an educational background (e.g. background as a former teacher
in addition to holding an MBA) will be at a decided disadvantage in
providing input and direction, since some of the executive team have
such backgrounds.
Finally, the company has a history of high executive turnover, much of
it as a result of changing/unclear expectations of the president. While
I held my position for two and a half years, my predecessor lasted only
6 weeks, and her predecessor lasted only one year.
I actually found this company to be fun to work for (due to the creative
nature of the work), and the atmosphere to be cultured and urbane (as
are many educational oriented companies). However, as with so many
small, privately owned companies, the personality of the owner had a
tremendous impact on the overall operational style and implementation of
the company, and when factored with the uncertainty of continued
employment (for the same reason) and lack of long term professional
development available, I would not encourage someone looking for a long
term career path to consider this company.
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