Pros
Business purpose - a pure-play water technology company working in the full cycle of water - transporting water, treating water and testing water. Potential - Water is a scarce resource and only getting more scarce. There is great potential at this company for growth. People - many people in the company are committed to the tagline of the company of "Let's Solve Water". There is great technical expertise in the company.
Cons
Performance - Granted the markets that Xylem are in are difficult environments, but the shareholder value that was supposed to be unlocked when ITT Corporation broke up into Xylem, Exelis and ITT Corporation has not been realized. Benefits - As has been done at many corporations, health care is now a high deductible health care plan. ITT had a pension which is now gone at Xylem. The paid time off policy was changed. The severance policy was changed with severance capped at a maximum amount. I fully understand that these changes are based on benchmarking, but they do not result in improved morale. Management turnover - Since separation in November 2011, there have been three CEOs and senior management has turned over significantly. I am hoping that some stability will be established soon.