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Snippets #47, Monday, 27.Oct.2003 (ISSN 1530-9622)
_______________S N I P P E T S _________________________from James S. Huggins' Refrigerator Door ___________________________________#47, Monday, 27.Oct.2003 _____________________________________________ISSN 1530-9622
__________0. CONTENTS _____1. Work Satisfaction _____2. Feet _____3. MIT Makes Music Available . . . Legally _____4. Goodbye, INS. Goodbye, Customs. Hello, ICE. _____5. Orgasmatron, Part 2
__________1. WORK SATISFACTION One of the wazillion ezines I read, Working Wounded from Bob Rosner, reported these numbers which are actually from the Conference Board: 58% Workers satisfied with their jobs in 1995 49% Workers satisfied with their jobs today 33% Workers satisfied with their pay today 20% Workers satisfied with employers promotional and bonus policies today The numbers don't look that good to me.
__________2. FEET I've been arguing for some time that companies have broken trust with their workers. I personally know many who are still in their job, hanging on as others in their firm are laid off. The only reason they don't leave is that there is no place to go. But --- primarily because of how they have been treated --- as soon as the economy begins to recover, they will be walking out the door. I just read an interesting column by Michael S. Malone that says much the same thing. He argues that one of his tools for analyzing companies is to "watch the movement of its key people" --- "watch their feet". He discusses several feet movements, and the article is worth reading for much more than this point. But related to my personal theory he writes: A lot of high tech's biggest companies have survived this most recent recession, despite being filled with unhappy, disgruntled workers and managers, because in the dead job market those people had no place other place to go. Very soon they will, and for some companies, the exit of talent is about to become a stampede. Many don't even know it's coming, how much their employees hate them. But they will. These firms will bleed intellectual capital out of every doorway, as their employees race to join young, dynamic and humane competitors. Which companies will suffer the most? . . . the companies that have always treated their employees like cattle --- and during the bust acted like slaughterhouses. This is just a small part of his article. But it is always interesting to read someone who agrees with your own pet theory.
Silicon Insider, 23.Oct.2003 soon to be
__________3. MIT MAKES MUSIC AVAILABLE . . . LEGALLY Two students at MIT have developed a model for music on demand which they say is legal. It isn't actually on the internet. Instead, it is broadcast across the cable . . . the same cable that television uses. And it uses the internet to permit individuals to schedule the music they want to hear. As for the music, they bought it in bulk, the same way radio stations do and will pay the royalty fees for broadcast. And, what did the music business say? Representatives of the recording industry, including the Recording Industry Association of America, Ascap and B.M.I., either declined to comment or did not return calls seeking comment.
N Y Times Article MIT Website
__________4. GOODBYE, INS. GOODBYE, CUSTOMS. HELLO, ICE. Did you know that INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) and Customs are going away? I didn't. Came as a surprise when I read this article. Seems that they are being combined as part of the Department of Homeland Security into ICE: Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And, according to this article, that merger has a few problems.
Merger of immigration, customs agents causes friction
__________5. ORGASMATRON, PART 2 After the last issue's "Orgasmatron" article, I received a delightful note from subscriber David W Roberts "down under" in New Zealand. He offered another link to a less high-tech version. No, it isn't about sex. But it is about feeling good.
The Original Orgasmatron
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