Why Can't I Get A Bailout?!

The Canadian and American governments are tripping over themselves to bailout the auto industry.  Well, there are some strings attached, but that is for another day.  My big question is why does the business world have a hate on for IT.  We are going to save jobs of people that can be replaced by machines.  While we are cut jobs that require actual high skilled intelligent people. 

I'm not blaming industry for shipping jobs to overseas. Sending jobs overseas is just a result of needing to satisfy shareholder value.  The companies using overseas staff, have not reduced head count, they have just employed less expensive staff.  There is a large number of highly qualified  and talented people in these countries, they deserve jobs, so let them work.

My issue now is that all the other companies first reaction to cut costs and "Right Size" is to reduce there overhead. OK, but is the overhead always IT??  We have to pay the executives who's greed, ineptness, or pick your favorite adjective, more than the entire IT department for a salary, and then he deserves a bonus for bankrupting or tanking his company!  Where is the executives accountability? Oh yeah it's in his desire to maintain his bonus. 

I don't disagree that IT sometimes brings on the wrath of business folks on because IT does do stupid stuff.  I also question the brain trust that retrains high school dropouts and people that don't like to use their brains into IT people.  There is also a number of stereotypes within the IT community that doesn't help our cause.  Ultimately we pay the price.

Since the mass hysteria called Y2K, more jobs have been lost in IT than people employed by the auto industry.  Ohh, and business hasn't forgiven us for Y2K, even though it was their fault.  In IT we get stuck with decisions that people that have no idea what the implications are.  They just want to receive the pat on the back from the boss, or receive their kickback or what ever external stimulus has influenced the decision. 
I want my bailout.  I can do a bad job, I'll try really hard if give me money.....

More Later.....
G

Corporate Entitlement .... Again

A number of years back there was a great cartoon Calvin and Hobbes. Bill Watterson had this social commentary on CEOs and big business.  He is so spot on.

There was recently a 20/20 or maybe it was 60 minutes, I didn't see which one, nor did I watch it, but I was told about it by a friend of mine.

Basically in re-affirms our opinion about CEOs and their belief in their entitlement to EVERYTHING.  Lets face it, the BIG 3 automakers well the American automakers, deliberately made decisions that have them in their current predicament.  How many people are payed millions to get it wrong?  In the IT world, we get it wrong, and they bounce our asses out the door.

More Later....
G.

Nortel... Ship arriving too late to save a drowning company?

Nortel is still alive and kicking, sort of.  The former crown jewel of the Canadian Tech Sector, has never truly recovered from the .COM bust.  Today they are filing for "Bankruptcy Protection" in the various countries they are operating in.

They did have some great product, but who knows what will happen.....

More Later....
G

Random Acts Of Violence

Random Acts of Violence is the name my friend and I have for, the unprovoked re-education of co-workers and subordinates in the workplace.  This continues the theme of the work place being a Sopranos episode started in Life in the business world.  The basic premise is: randomly pick someone, belittle them, berate them, or punish them in someway for no reason other than to show you are in charge.  Basically you are being the school yard bully.  If possible you should share your exercise in dominance with a peer or superior.  Also, you make your random act of violence public so everyone else has a calculated fear of you.

This is against everything I personally believe in, but seems to be an important survival skill and strategy in larger organizations. My friend has many many stories on this subject but I will leave their telling to him.

More Later....
G

Life In the Business World.

The more I take my head of out the sand the more I realize life is really more like living in a Soprano's Episode.  A friend of mine and I often have been having these conversations about the criminality and the sense of entitlement that so many CEOs of various public companies have and engage in.  AIG and their $400+k beach retreat, after receiving their bailout package.  What about the GM executive digging a hole while testifying to congress.  I will explore and rant about this further, but my gawd .... where is the honesty and integrity that we were supposed to practice.

I realize, that in Canada, we don't have as many undisclosed financial transactions as part of our daily life compared to some places.  Bribes are more common here than people think, but we have our blinders on, and think that it's only a practice of the few.  Many of my foreign friends laugh at our naivety, undisclosed commissions are an expected part of doing business and life is so many places.  I've begun to accept it, and the more I open my eyes, the worse everthing really appears.

More Later.....
G