This is something I was actually shocked about coming from Government. People at the lower levels in a corporation just have no say, and might get lucky to hear about product direction and major decisions, often at far less detail than they actually need. The only way to really get in the know is to move up the chain, but those up the chain don't really seem to understand their own software products very well. Any discussion from an engineer is brushed off as being too "in the weeds" or "not high level enough," but it's not clear that those operating at a high level usually understand what's going on.
I really don't know what it is, but the corporate folks are just obsessed with hierarchy. It feels like it's in their blood. Even at the lower levels, they want to move up the chain so that they can have "real input," and they believe that culture must be set "from the top." Why? This is certainly one way to run things but it's not inherently the only way to run things. Individual teams _can_ set culture, and an individual team _could_ have better input on a strategic decision than the "decision makers." It just seems to be a forgone conclusion in the corporate world, and I can't see any reason for it other than status-seeking.
I really don't know what it is, but the corporate folks are just obsessed with hierarchy. It feels like it's in their blood. Even at the lower levels, they want to move up the chain so that they can have "real input," and they believe that culture must be set "from the top." Why? This is certainly one way to run things but it's not inherently the only way to run things. Individual teams _can_ set culture, and an individual team _could_ have better input on a strategic decision than the "decision makers." It just seems to be a forgone conclusion in the corporate world, and I can't see any reason for it other than status-seeking.