Slashdot Mirror
A $251 Million Typo
theodp writes "A Taiwan stock trader is jobless after a typo left her company looking at a paper loss of more than $12 million when what was supposed to have been a small order mistakenly resulted in a $251 million purchase. 'Something like this is difficult to explain to superiors,' a company exec explained."
Hmm, I don't think a simple "whoops" would suffice here ;)
'Something like this is difficult to explain to superiors,' a company exec explained." ..
* "Where is that 'undo' button?"
* "I think I might take my lunch break now..."
* "...MUMMY!!!..."
* "#*#@(!!!!...now stay calm...breath 1 2 3....$(#(#$*$!!!
* "Urmmm....'Oops?'"
A job at a Taiwan firm: $50,000 USD per year (Converted)
An order placed by said firm: 12 million USD (Converted)
Making a typo and putting every exec, and just abotu every other worker's kid in the ordering company through college: $251 million USD (converted). For fixing your mistake, and everything else, there is MasterCard.
(Note: 98% interest fees apply on all orders over $250 million).
Here's how i would have designed the application...
Warning: You're about to spend $251,000,000! That is a lot of Fucking money! Are you sure you wish to continue [OK] [Cancel]
Hey now... I know you said ok... but that really is a fuckload of money.. are you serious about this purchase? [OK] [Cancel]
Ok... But don't say I didn't warn ya. Please press the OK button 50 more times to confirm or Cancel if you change your mind [OK] [Cancel]
Seriously tho.. $12 million in losses... Why not fire some programmers while you're at it.
-- Knowledge shared is power lost. -- Aleister Crowley
and ended our civilisation as we know it, provoking a stock echhange collapse like in 1929 and the rise of some democratically challenged leaders. Quite offtopic, makes me think that we haven't had a forties revival yet.
Google passes Turing test : see my journal
great words...
"It's my first day"
"Tread softly because you tread on my dreams"
Fouled up by one number, perhaps?
Bart Simpson would say, 'I didn't do it'.
Let the commencement BEGINULATE!
"'Something like this is difficult to explain to superiors,' a company exec explained."
I propose laying off those superiors instead, as they have trouble understanding something that can be quite easily explained in a slashdot summary...
This space is intentionally staring blankly at you
you're fired!
They probably licensed the Amazon 'One Click Order' patent.
He just pressed the wrong key.
In most cases they will all agree that the most important thing to do is to find who seems to be directly responsible and fire them, and once that is done, come up with an "Action Plan" to avoid it happening again
So this is really 'Anger management' through the device of 'Blame assigment'. First react with anger and mindless retaliation, then calm down and think about what to do. This seems a good description of our Western culture. Smells like Iraq.
OTOH, the Japanese way seems to be to first chop off a limb or two of your own, then act. Find your ex-associates and kill them all.
The Chinese way is more like to burn a village or two, search for the anti-emperor, or anti-regime dissidents and publicly stick them on poles.
The good old European way is to find the heretics and burn them. Simple&clean.
I think I LIKE the modern Western way the most...
"I miss you hunny and I can't wait to see you this weekend ;) ...",
I typed,
"Jesus Christ woman you have ruined my life and I've been cheating on you with your sister!!"
... I hate keyboards...
Nah. They'll just replace her with a script.
I'll turn into a supernova and burn up everything. Well I'll turn into a black little hole and you'll turn into string.
Back when I was working at a university my pay check was miskeyed. We received checks late on Friday. Guess they liked the extra float. I phoned the payroll office and was told, quite rudely, that I'd have to wait until Monday for a corrected check.
"No problem, I'll just deposit it and refund ther excess when I have time".
"Err, what sort of mistake did we make?".
"About $116k in my favor".
I had my correct check in less than 10 minutes!
Payroll folks had a much better attitude for years...
I do that all the time. I mean, the keys are right next to each other...
Why?
I had that happen to me too. I think they were just looking to cut staff and used the non-completion of a project to cut two of us though they left the project manager in place (who had actually screwed it up). They led me and the other guy to a conference room where we were suddenly confronted by the CIO and HR, told we were being laid off, and asked to sign a release in exchange for 3 months salary, a good reference, and a couple of cheesey job training seminars. A pretty good package all in all but I was mightily pissed at the circumstances and all the abuse I had taken while there. So I told them I would think it over (the other guy took it right away) and after trying to scare me into accepting it on the spot allowed me to come back the next morning. I went home and printed out all the emails I had already forwarded home, specifically complaints to HR about abusive conditions, concerns about the project's timeline and process, emails to execs asking for followups with the project manager, and, best of all, the emails where I complained to HR about being harrassed and teased for my mobility disability. It may sound like I was a pain but this was over a couple of years.
So the next day I came back to work and this time just the HR drone was there. I shook his hand, opened my bag and dumped all the email printouts on the table. Then I told him I was going to the labor board that morning and was going to start shopping for lawyers that afternoon. Of course, I just went home and waited for them to call, which they did, repeatedly. I called back the next day in a great mood and spoke to the HR and a number of others on the conference call, including the PM, my manager, the CIO, and HR.
They started by telling me I had no case against unfair dismissal, that this was my last chance for the package and a good reference, etc,etc. I didn't say a word and didn't respond when they asked aggressive, leading questions. Finally, I said: "under the advice of my lawyer, I am informing you that this call is being recorded". You could have heard a pin drop. HR started talking then someone hung up the phone mid-conversation, they called me back and my old manager said I didn't have permission to tape the call. I said fine, I'm taping it anyways, I can't use it in court but the labor board will love to hear the intimidation you're giving to a disabled guy you mocked and unfairly fired after a couple of years of excellent reviews. They hung up again and called me the next day, just when I was starting to get worried they'd call my bluff.
There's a long story about negotiations over the next week but here's what happened. They gave me another job in a different building, a raise, and put the worst of my old tormentors back on probation (and he got let go before the end of it). In return they asked me to sign another release, essentially giving up all my previous claims and grievences. I refused and they let it pass.
Last year I went to the company Christmas party and I saw my old manager there with his young and charming wife. While he was talking with another couple I walked over and (politely) interupted and said: "hello, remember me, [anonymous coward], who used to work in your department? Remember how you and a couple of others would call me a gimp and drag your foot around when you thought I wasn't looking? I just wanted you to know that I forgive you for it, even if it did make me cry every morning." Jaws dropped and I walked (well, dragged) back to the bar. His wife looked pissed at him for the rest of the night.... call me petty but it was the best Xmas party I've ever been to.
Here is a really funny story (german link):
f inanzen/steuererklaerung/steuerbescheid_tippfehler .jhtml
http://www.wdr.de/themen/wirtschaft/oeffentliche_
A local tax bureau made a typo in entering the tax data for a 70 year old retired man. He had declared 11000 as income from stock and later found out it was really 17000. The lady from the tax bureau typed in 1100017000 which is one billion german mark. Accordingly, the man got a statement asking him to pay about 100 million euro taxes. He contacted the tax bureau and they recognized the error, but in the same time charged his bank account already 10 million euro. The man got a lawyer to write a nice letter to the office.
Since in germany, lawyer payments are calculated in terms of the amount which is disputed in the case, the lawyer's fee for writing this letter amounted to 2,3 million euro, which the office was to pay. They refused, but apparently they now had to pay the lawyer 500000 euro, lately.
Require the person to enter the amount in words as well as digits (just like in a personal cheque).
So now you're going to require them to know how to spell as well as trade stock? If their employees have the spelling skills of most Slashdot readers, their work would NEVER get done...
"Let's see - buy 100 shares...Wun hundert...One hunderd...On hunndred..."
That's where they got the video of the guy smashing his monitor...
Denver Isuzu Suzuki
http://bash.org/?5300
Your "b" key is upside down
Hey, you didn't provide a link to a book that proves that there is no corruption! There! He said you had to! You stooge of the system you! It should also be added that this type has spammed similar posts on several threads, promoting the same site. It's more a case of making the topic fit the post than the other way round...
Wish you were her(e).
when you see the word 'Linux', drink!
Thanks man. I just wasted an hour of my life reading bash. Gotta route that to 127...
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