Pros
3COM had a great corporate culture, employees were valued and treaty fairly and compensated well. My overall compensation package included : base salary, sign-on bonus, 3 bonus (quarterly), profit sharing and stock options. They also had a great tuition reimbursement plan and excellent onsite facilities (3 cafeterias, onsite laundry, gym, etc). We were always kept in the communication loop by senior management and employee morale was high. The environment was professional, relaxed and high performers were recognized. Employees were courteous and friendly, in general. Managers were accountable and tried hard to make the environment pleasant for employees. What more can I say ?
Cons
Really none. It was overall a great place to work. Sometimes. interdepartmental communications were not very effective as other departments knew things that our department did not know. But, management tried hard to improve overall communications. Overall, some acquisitions that 3COM made were poor and led to the company's demise a decade ago. It does not appear that 3COM has ever recovered from these corporate decisions. 3COM did not have the sharpest folks, but most folks were there that wanted a work/life balance and 3COM was excellent at providing this. Managers were generally understanding when it come to granting time off, etc.