That's a dismal view, and a condemnation of the quality of work done by such individuals. If they aren't aware of the current state of technology and the market competition, how can they partake meaningfully in decision making?
In a a lot of bigger companies, developers don't need to partake in certain kinds of decision making, management makes the hard decisions for them. Why is this a dismal view? Not everything is a startup, and some people who I've talked to who enjoy the corporate life have told me they see this as a positive because it makes their job easier.
