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Data Mining Moves To Human Resources
theodp writes "Just when you thought annual reviews couldn't get worse, BusinessWeek reports that HR departments at companies like Microsoft and IBM are starting to use mathematical analysis to determine the value of each employee. At an undisclosed Internet company, analysis of (non-verbal) communications was used to produce a circle to represent each employee — those determined to generate or pass along valuable info were portrayed as large and dark-colored circles ('thought leaders' and 'networked curators'), while those with small and pale circles were written off as not adding a hell of a lot. 'You have to bring the same rigor you bring to operations and finance to the analysis of people,' explains Microsoft's Rupert Bader. Hey, who could argue with what Quants did for finance?"
"run each different division as a separate company, responsible for one thing - the bottom line. If they don't produce, then close them down. "
You are no better than the environment you disqualify. Both of you are members of the "see this complex problem? it's not complex but simple and here you have the solution for 100% of the cases" brotherhood. Your solution fails on the locale optimum side and it is visible at all levels. With your proposal you are guaranteed to never look for projects with returns of benefits outside your division scope, exactly as current corporate culture avoids for the most part projects that go far beyond next quarter.
It is said so many times it's boring but a company's best asset is people, specially while despite being said so many times management always seem to benefit "machinery" above people to cover their asses. If you put your focus on local optimus you'll lose a lot on sinergies; if you only look for far reaching goals day-to-day bussiness will take you out the game and it makes *people* to properly judge a situation and find the most profitting middle ground.
please also consider my valuable contribution to this discussion:
Elephants are large land mammals of the order Proboscidea and the family Elephantidae. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, the Mammoths, dwarf forms of which may have survived as late as 2,000 BC,[1] being the best-known of these. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata.
Elephants are the largest land animals.[2] The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (260 lb). They typically live for 50 to 70 years, but the oldest recorded elephant lived for 82 years.[3] The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kilograms (26,000 lb),[4] with a shoulder height of 4.2 metres (14 ft), a metre (yard) taller than the average male African elephant.[5] The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch.[6]
The elephant has appeared in cultures across the world. They are a symbol of wisdom in Asian cultures and are famed for their memory and intelligence, where they are thought to be on par with cetaceans[7] and hominids.[8] Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind"[9]. The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek á¼ÎÎÏαÏ, meaning "ivory" or "elephant".[10]
Healthy adult elephants have no natural predators[11], although lions may take calves or weak individuals.[12][13] They are, however, increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals according to a March 2007 estimate.[14] While the elephant is a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory, CITES reopening of "one time" ivory stock sales, has resulted in increased poaching. Certain African nations report a decrease of their elephant populations by as much as two-thirds, and populations in certain protected areas are in danger of being eliminated[15] Since recent poaching has increased by as much as 45%, the current population is unknown (2008).[16]
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Taxonomy and evolution
o 1.1 African Elephant
o 1.2 Asian Elephant
* 2 Physical characteristics
o 2.1 Trunk
o 2.2 Tusks
o 2.3 Teeth
o 2.4 Skin
o 2.5 Legs and feet
o 2.6 Ears
* 3 Biology and behavior
o 3.1 Social behavior
o 3.2 Intelligence
o 3.3 Senses
o 3.4 Self-awareness
o 3.5 Communication
o 3.6 Diet
"Not an actor, but he plays one on TV."