All Aboard the Blame Game Train - Marketing Gap Employee Review

Culture is the uptight, top-down controlling force you would expect from a company this big. New bonus structure is a joke; basically unachievable. No annual reviews which lead to subjective awarding of bonuses, raises and promotions. When I first started at Gap I loved it. People worked together and helped each other out. A few months later, the spinoff from Old Navy was announced and there was a stampede for the door. Things went downhill quickly, culture-wise. Maybe because the healthy people left and the dysfunctional people remained. Either way, Gap has the most blame-y, Mother-may-I culture I’ve ever experienced. Middle management is so focused on managing perception that that they miss big picture goals and “manage” their staff through subjective nitpicking of inconsequential details. Quiet, passive people who unquestioningly follow orders are favored. As a result, the rank and file are focused on staying out of trouble versus doing their jobs. Blaming others for mistakes is like a full contact sport at Gap. The way conflict is managed reminds me of grade school. No one will address conflict directly; they tell their boss and their boss tells your boss and your boss tells you. If you’re an adult with an independent thought, this is not the place for you.