Communication is bound to fail, no matter who the employer is or how large the organization. Just because some maintenance person cut the lock off it doesn't mean that your employer (i.e. management) is complicit. There are all sorts of employees who make decisions to do (or not do) something that never goes through even the lowest level management.
Personally, I would not have left the lock on the pole, but I do understand that some do this because they feel the weight slows them down. My experience is that weight had very little to do with my commute times. And sometimes I carried up to 30 pounds above bike weight (typically on fridays when I brought dirty laundry home)