(05-23-2016, 05:57 PM)Bad Dog Wrote: Two managers, and about 10% of the engineering staff quit in the last month. One manger went to the VP of Ops, threw her badge down, and walked out.

The department VP then published a newsletter about how there would be no need to knock down a wall to make space for more staff, as there was plenty of space, now. they also published more strict policy guidelines. Also, 12 hour rotating shifts would continue.

The VP is an X.

(05-24-2016, 12:11 AM)Kinser79 Wrote: Actually mental work is even worse.  Productivity starts a rapid decline after 6 hours even with breaks.  That would be most white collar work.  Physical jobs take longer to reach the status of negative productivity because the muscles are less demanding of oxygen, and fuel than the brain.

(05-23-2016, 06:20 PM)Ragnarök_62 Wrote:

(05-23-2016, 05:57 PM)Bad Dog Wrote: Two managers, and about 10% of the engineering staff quit in the last month. One manger went to the VP of Ops, threw her badge down, and walked out.

The department VP then published a newsletter about how there would be no need to knock down a wall to make space for more staff, as there was plenty of space, now. they also published more strict policy guidelines. Also, 12 hour rotating shifts would continue.

The VP is an X.

Uh, can you put the policy guidelines here so we can lampoon them?

#ThanksInAdvance

12 hour shifts?  Bwaahahahahahah.  Stupid company.  They have no clue that people's performance goes into a nosedive after a 4 hour  interval without a break. It takes a further dive after 8  hours of work even with breaks. When I supervise, I always call a break after every 2 hours in a 8 hour day. I prefer folks who are awake and haven't turned into zombies.

(05-24-2016, 07:34 AM)Odin Wrote:

(05-24-2016, 12:11 AM)Kinser79 Wrote: Actually mental work is even worse.  Productivity starts a rapid decline after 6 hours even with breaks.  That would be most white collar work.  Physical jobs take longer to reach the status of negative productivity because the muscles are less demanding of oxygen, and fuel than the brain.

IIRC about 1/4 of our daily calories (so, about 500 to 800 calories a day) goes to fueling our brains. I remember reading on a book on human evolution that our brain's blood circulation is specially adapted to getting rid of all the heat generated by the brain's metabolism, an adaptation not found in chimps and gorillas.

(05-25-2016, 02:19 AM)Bad Dog Wrote: Policy #4) Working with your peers will be evaluated.
Policy #5) Punctuality and attendance will be evaluated.

(05-24-2016, 10:21 AM)pbrower2a Wrote:  

It obviously cannot attract talented people with solutions, and will be stuck with people going nowhere because they are too scared or incompetent to go elsewhere.

(05-25-2016, 02:19 AM)Bad Dog Wrote: Same newsletter:

Two supervisory positions listed.
Two Lead engineering positions listed.
Seven engineering positions listed.

Out of about 80, total. 12.5% casualties in a month...

Direct quote from newsletter:

"At this point we are holding off on the (staff) expansion, as we currently have plenty of open seats to fill for current staff, and all open positions. We are also focusing on what we can do to increase our efficiency within our team like new tools.  Efforts like this will allow us to provide world-class service to our customers going forward."

Policy #4) Working with your peers will be evaluated.
Policy #5) Punctuality and attendance will be evaluated.

• Are cash rich and have very strong financial statements.
  
• Have reduced expectations for growth.
  
• Demonstrate little interest in conquering new markets, technologies, and frontiers.
  
• Focus on past achievements rather than future visions.
  
• Are suspicious of change.
  
• Reward those who do what they are told to do and punish those who do not.
  
• Are interested in reducing their risks.
  
• Invest much more on control systems, benefits, and facilities than they do on R & D.
  
• Form dominates function in the organizational climate. More emphasis is placed on how things are done, than what was done.
  
• Value uniformity, consistency and formality in dress, decorum, and behavior.
  
• Employ individuals who are concerned about the company's vitality, but are willing to abide by a "don't make waves" operating motto.
  
• Engender only negligible innovation with internal efforts.
  
• Acquire other products or companies for new products, markets, and entrepreneurship to feed into their distribution channels and operating systems.
  
• May be takeover targets themselves.
  
  

• People focus on who caused the problems, rather than on what to do about the problems.
  
• Problems get personalized. Rather than dealing with the organization's problems, people are involved in interpersonal conflicts, backstabbing, and discrediting each other.
  
• Paranoia freezes the organization.
  
• Personal survival and turf wars absorb all available energy leaving precious little to deal with the needs of customers or the world outside the organization.
  

• Has many systems and rules and runs on ritual, not reason.
  
• Has leaders who feel little sense of control.
  
• Is internally disassociated.
  
• Creates obstacles to reduce disruptions from its external environment.
  
• Forces its customers to develop elaborate approaches to bypass roadblocks.
  

(05-25-2016, 02:19 AM)Bad Dog Wrote:

Quote: Same newsletter:

Two supervisory positions listed.

I'd reckon nobody on the inside would go for those 2 positions. Those are toxic because you have unrealistic folks above and disgruntled ones below.

Quote:Two Lead engineering positions listed.

Assuming these 2 positions require some talent above the "regular" engineers below, any competent employees that would have sufficed have bailed out long ago.

Quote:Seven engineering positions listed.

Easy!  Rearranging chairs on the Titanic!

Quote:Out of about 80, total. 12.5% casualties in a month...

Rats leaving the Titanic before it sinks.

Quote:Direct quote from newsletter:

"At this point we are holding off on the (staff) expansion, as we currently have plenty of open seats to fill for current staff, and all open positions.

What the hell does that mean?
A.  The number of actual bodies remains equal.
B. For each bailout, one sucker is hired?
C. The number of open positions shall remain the same.

Quote: We are also focusing on what we can do to increase our efficiency within our team like new tools.

D. Technobling syndrome. Technology X will always increase efficiency.  Translation. We're sure that technobling will make our current workforce more productive regardless of working conditions. In reality, that's usually false because clients' problems can't be shoehorned into some random technobling solution.

Quote:  Efforts like this will allow us to provide world-class service to our customers going forward."

buzzword bingo anyone? If "this" references technobling and steady state staffing, somebodies blowing smoke up someone else's ass.

Quote:Policy #4) Working with your peers will be evaluated.

Yeah, but peer interaction has to fall because of increased interaction with technobling.  This seems like a no can do item, thus resulting in the probability of negative reviews going to 1.

Quote:Policy #5) Punctuality and attendance will be evaluated.

Waste of words because.
1. Nobody wants to work at your company or if a new hired , the probability of bailing is quite high.
2. The result is what you get where I work. In exchange for no raises in 5 years and my salary is basically minimum wage and even lower than fast food, I have the explicit liberty of showing up whenever the hell I want to and I can wear the *shittiest clothes I want to and nobody can do anything about it.

*I wear shirts with holes because I choose to **opt out of unneeded purchases like descent shirts and I have a ready excuse of low pay to justify it.

**opt out:  A deliberate decision to sabotage the economy by staying out of debt and consuming the least amount possible so as to deprive parasites money like sales taxes, Federal Reserve Ra-Ra about being a consumer. Hoarding $ is frowned upon the establishment, I know that, and it makes me want to do it more. There are also strategic purchases I've made which drive all subsequent demand  down which really screws the system.

(05-25-2016, 11:29 PM)pbrower2a Wrote:

Quote: Technology cannot rescue a failing enterprise.  A competitor will surely use it more effectively and to a greater advantage.

I work for a local newspaper publishing company.  That industry like coal is a dying industry.

Quote:You might want to check my thread on the business life-cycle, start-up to death.

Companies within a dying industry [obsoleted period] have a somewhat different death spiral.  I picked the closest of your model.

Quote:As organizations enter Aristocracy they characteristically:

• Are cash rich and have very strong financial statements. >- Are money pits in a known death spiral.  Declining yearly circulation is a dead givaway.
  
• Have reduced expectations for growth. <- Decline is evident but a sense of denial is evident.
  
• Demonstrate little interest in conquering new markets, technologies, and frontiers. Check
  
• Focus on past achievements rather than future visions. Check
  
• Are suspicious of change. Check
  
• Reward those who do what they are told to do and punish those who do not. Check
  
• Are interested in reducing their risks. Check
  
• Invest much more on control systems, benefits, and facilities than they do on R & D.<- Lack of funds forbids simple maintenance of plant and equipment.  Eg.  Where I work, the ceiling has multiple water leaks, the press breaks down, and the insert machine doesn't get maintained because the present employees have not been trained by the manufacturer.
  
• Form dominates function in the organizational climate. More emphasis is placed on how things are done, than what was done. Check
  
• Value uniformity, consistency and formality in dress, decorum, and behavior. <- A culture of indifference takes hold. Since things are literally falling apart and the circulation jobs are just interchangeable minimum wage jobs, then if the place goes under, no big deal.  There's always some other minimum wage gig. The front office folks have a big problem. They'll lose benefits like health care/ 401k.
  
• Employ individuals who are concerned about the company's vitality, but are willing to abide by a "don't make waves" operating motto. <-  The front office folks probably fit this.
  

• Engender only negligible innovation with internal efforts. <- Yes, rolodexes instead of spreadsheets????? That and an accumulation of cruft in paper form. There is no database for ad sales, subscriptions,etc. Information is filed like the 1970's in paper form in boxes.
  
• Acquire other products or companies for new products, markets, and entrepreneurship to feed into their distribution channels and operating systems. <- It goes the other way. My company sold off it's wireless internet dept. and a radio station.
  
• May be takeover targets themselves. <- With today's loony investment environment, you never know. I guess the subscription list which is in a database is worth something. Another idea would be if an electronic paper with the ads could be just be free happened. Just scan the circulars, have some jock reporter scan court records and catch up on town gossip and you're pretty much there with way less overhead.
  

(05-26-2016, 02:22 PM)Bad Dog Wrote: The company provides networking, broadband, and IT support for businesses that are not large enough to have an enterprise IT department, or those who do not wish to have an IT department (to have someone to fire).

The amazing thing is that it not an overseas firm.

It started in Louisiana, and carries on those grand old traditional values.

The floors are vacuumed every four hours.

The trash cans are emptied every four hours.

Office supplies must be paid for in your own blood (no kleenex for weeks, etc).

Dog and pony shows for clients are led through our war room, so no IT person can wear tennis shoes, etc. No petting of the dogs or ponies is allowed. No personal items of any kind are allowed in cubicles.

The CEO is an early Boom salesman. Top line revenue is valued.

Anyone fired is immediately shamed by having an email sent to all employees, with photo, stating said person is no longer with the company, and is not allowed in the building.

Anybody getting a picture of how corporate thinks?

(05-26-2016, 02:22 PM)Bad Dog Wrote:

Quote:The company provides networking, broadband, and IT support for businesses that are not large enough to have an enterprise IT department, or those who do not wish to have an IT department (to have someone to fire).

The amazing thing is that it not an overseas firm.

It started in Louisiana, and carries on those grand old traditional values.

They would probably get their 'help" this way if they could still get away with it:

Quote:The floors are vacuumed every four hours.

The trash cans are emptied every four hours.

Someone has a fetish about cleanliness.

Quote:Office supplies must be paid for in your own blood (no kleenex for weeks, etc).

And not for your comfort!

Quote:Dog and pony shows for clients are led through our war room, so no IT person can wear tennis shoes, etc. No petting of the dogs or ponies is allowed. No personal items of any kind are allowed in cubicles.

No laxity toward even the most benign of temptations.

Quote:The CEO is an early Boom salesman. Top line revenue is valued.

Sell it, but keep costs low!

Quote:Anyone fired is immediately shamed by having an email sent to all employees, with photo, stating said person is no longer with the company, and is not allowed in the building.

Nothing but fear.

Quote:Anybody getting a picture of how corporate thinks?

Bad Dog Wrote:The company provides networking, broadband, and IT support for businesses that are not large enough to have an enterprise IT department, or those who do not wish to have an IT department (to have someone to fire).

Quote:The amazing thing is that it not an overseas firm.

Quote:It started in Louisiana, and carries on those grand old traditional values.

Quote:The floors are vacuumed every four hours.

Quote:The trash cans are emptied every four hours.

Quote:Office supplies must be paid for in your own blood (no kleenex for weeks, etc).

Quote:Dog and pony shows for clients are led through our war room, so no IT person can wear tennis shoes, etc. No petting of the dogs or ponies is allowed. No personal items of any kind are allowed in cubicles.

Quote:The CEO is an early Boom salesman. Top line revenue is valued.

Quote:Anyone fired is immediately shamed by having an email sent to all employees, with photo, stating said person is no longer with the company, and is not allowed in the building.

Quote:Anybody getting a picture of how corporate thinks?