Staff and mid-managers are repeatedly set up to fail. Evaluation criteria remains unpublished until well into evaluation period. Employees held responsible for performance factors never given to them –and failure to meet performance factors affect incentive pay. That you were uninformed of these factors is not an acceptable ‘excuse’. Company bestows responsibility without authority.
Scapegoating happens all of the time. Channels to seek guidance from HR are present, but such requests (though repeated) remain unanswered. Salary is below par, and benefits are excellent. In one case a senior architect went for 5 years without a cost of living adjustment. Some employees were given performance awards and then terminated for no reason in the following 2 weeks.