I agree that this is backwards, but the cell phone companies are doing this and it seems to be working for them. Give someone a "free" phone and lock them into a contract for 2 years. The only problem with this from a software vendor's perspective is the service they will have to provide. Now when you purchase a computer, you go to the computer manufacturer for service. They are the ones who have to deal with Comet Cursor, Gator, and whatever other viruses come up. From the MS point of view, they provide relatively little service to the average home user. No one who buys a Dell calls Microsoft when the I Love You virus crashes their computer, they call Dell. I don't think Microsoft is ready to provide that level of support. It will probably be easier for Sun, Apple, and other proprietary vendors because they are already at that level, but MS should be fighting this tooth and nail if they know what's good for them.
I see what you mean now and I agree with your point. A ranking system would probably be okay in a large pool of employees, but it wouldn't be telling you anything about performance. In a large group of people, the rankings would probably just naturally work out on a bell curve.
My company has recently moved from the Ranking system to the Rating system for the reasons you enumerated. Strangely enough, it was lower management that wanted the change. The problem was that if they had a good group of people that worked hard, some of them were still going to have to be rated on the low side. If the supervisors didn't rate anyone on the low side, then they had to jump through hoops to to explain why they had rated everyone so high (or at least average). This led to supervisors rating people unfairly. If someone was new to the team, then they got a low rating regardless of past performance because "they are new to the team and I don't know how they work." They also rated people low if they took medical leave. These were easy ways for supervisors to fill their low end quotas.
I think the main problem now is that corporate America has no idea how to motivate its employees. I have been fortunate to have some good managers lately, but others aren't so fortunate. Some managers have no idea how to motivate their employees except through fear and intimidation. To me this is ridiculous since they don't have to know anything about the job they are managing, they just have to manage the people.
It's not sufficient to do your job to the best of your abilities, you have to kill yourself to work your way above the next guy so you don't get fired.
I think you are wrong about this. If you do the job to the best of your abilities and meet company expectations, then you will be rated as average. If you are consistently getting lower than average ratings, then you must not be meeting company expectations and you might want to look for a new job where your talents might be more suited to the job.
There is a guy that I work with that was very pissed off because he was rated a 3 (meets expectations) for 2003. He felt that he wasn't a 1 (exceptional), but at least deserved a 2 (exceeded expectations). This guy started the year as an assistant supervisor and actually asked to be demoted because he couldn't handle the responsibility. Then he merely proved adequate in his new, lower level job. Personally I think he got lucky. If I were his manager I would have rated him a 4 (below expectations). He wanted a 2 because he admitted that he couldn't handle his job and volunteered to take the demotion and also because he had good attendence and learned a new job. To me he deserved a 4 because he botched his old job and took forever to learn the newer, easier one.
I am just old school I guess. I think people should have to work to get their good ratings.
Thanks for your comments. You make some good points.
I agree about not over-extending yourself. Nothing looks worse than a neglected project.
Another good point about knowing how to fix things and change "the book".
I'll also add a #10. Set short and long term goals for yourself. Short term goals should be specific and within your reach to achieve. Long term goals should be fairly ambitious. Develop a personal improvement plan spelling out the steps you need to take to achieve these goals.
My company has a similar rating system only 1 is best and 5 is worst. I was rated a 1 this year for the first time after being rated a 3 every year since I began working there in 2000. Here is what I learned about getting a top rating.
Attitude - This is very important. You must have a positive attitude about the company and your work. Let everyone know that you are excited about the company and moving up the ladder within the company. Never be satisfied with what you have, always want more.
Your Boss - You have to find out from your boss what it takes to get a top rating. Have a one on one meeting with your boss and let your boss know that you really want a top rating. Get them to tell you what steps you need to take. Follow up and make sure you are on the right track throughout the year.
Documentation - You can't count on your boss to document your progress so do it yourself. Keep track of every project you are on and every class you take that can help you in your job.
Projects - Get involved in projects any way you can. Your company probably has Six Sigma or BPI. Take advantage of these opportunities. If you see something that needs improvement, write up a proposal and sumbit it to you boss or whoever is in charge of such things.
Flexibility - This not only means being willing to work overtime, but it means working out of your area as well. Look for opportunities to cross-train in other areas. Be willing to take on additional responsibility for no additional pay. Be eager to learn.
Be an Expert - Become an expert in your job. Even if your job is nothing but cleaning toilets, know everything about it.
Be a Team Player - Customers aren't just the poeple at home using your product, your teammates are also your customers. Find out what you can do to make other people's jobs easier down the line. Never say "That's not my job." Be willing to help anyone.
Do Things by the Book - Always try to follow company policies and processes.
Accept Responsibility - If you mess up, don't be afraid to admit responsibility. Apologize for messing up and ask what you can do to fix the problem to make sure it doesn't happen again.
You don't have to stab people in the back to get a good rating, but remember that no one else is going to help you. You are the one who is ultimately responsible for your rating. Don't let others discourage you either. If someone calls you a "company man" or brown noser, just smile and shrug. Also remember that showing up every day and doing your job well is what they expect you to do. While this is admirable it will only get you and average rating. You have to go above and beyond to get that top rating. I know you can do it so get after it!
When I move into my new apartment next month I will not be transfering my cable service. I have decided that $50 a month for television that is 70% commercials just isn't worth it. The quality of programming is also not very good and most channels seem to be content with showing the same reruns over and over (After seeing the same documentary on the Spartans 10 times over the past 2 years on the History Channel, I doubt I can get any more information out of it.). Out of the nearly 70 channels I get in my basic cable package I only watch 6 on a regular basis. I can get all the news I need from the internet and to be honest, that is where most news channels get their stories nowadays anyway (how many times have you heard "According to the Drudge Report..."?). Plus, Enterprise and the Gilmore Girls are on broadcast TV and they are really the only two shows I am interested in anyway.
Re:And the point of this is?
on
PC In An XP Box
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
The most interesting part of this article was the part where he customized the bootloader to read his sensor and tell which box the system was in. That was pretty innovative if you ask me.
This is one case where it is better to have a large corporate monolith providing your service rather than a small municipal monopoly. One of my friends lives in Atoka, TN and their only choice for service is the Millington Phone Company. For two years that phone company has been promising broadband and better service, but have never come through on those promises. My friend is very mad because people just 200 yards down the street have BellSouth and broadband service. She even asked BellSouth if they could run a line the 220 yards, but BellSouth said that they couldn't because of the Millington monopoly. My friend has talked to whoever she could, even the FCC with no results. It looks like the Supreme Court was who she should have been talking to all along.
My mom used to have a Kodak instant camera before they got sued the hell out of my Polaroid. I also owned several Kodak 110 film cameras because they were so cheap and easy to operate when I was a kid. I then bought a Kodak Andvantax camera which was prone to jamming and I used it about 2 times.
This isn't about eating their own dog food, this is about investment in the future. IBM knows that the M$ monopoly won't last forever, so they are taking steps now to ensure they have a piece of the future.
Just cut the air vents for a couple of hours, chuck some M&M's in the air and see where they go. Then just slap some silicon adhesive in there.. it'll hold
I stopped drinking caffeine for quite a while (and I still drink it only on rare occasions). I never had headaches or any other symptom people associate quitting. I think some of this might be mental or stress related. Just relax and try not to think about quitting. I also recommend drinking decaf coffee and tea and caffeine free sodas such as Diet Rite (which is also sugar, aspartame, and sodium free). You might also want to try drinking more water, you could be mildly dehydrated.
My company has been around a few more years that Google, but it is going through a similar situation. We have expanded greatly over the past 5 years and now the company is starting to lose focus on what made it a success in the first place. Now the focus is entirely on maximizing revenue and maximizing profits with little care for future consequenses. I expect that my company will be a lumbering giant before too long, just like everyone else in our industry.
Good prediction. I did not have cable television for a whole year because every time I called I got an operator who did not speak English very well and could not get my address right. Finally I called in the late evening and talked with someone who spoke English well and he helped me get my cable hooked up. Nowadays, if I call a company and get less than perfect English I hang up immediately and usually do business elsewhere (with the exception of my local cable monopoly).
First of all I think this is a very interesting question. I live in a fairly small apartment which is now beginning to collect a fair amount of geek clutter and it is starting to get difficult to organize the larger things. However, I do have a few suggestions. I like the cheap drawer concept and bought a tall set of cheap plastic drawers on rollers (I think it was $20). I keep the newer things in the top drawers and older stuff down below. I think it is worthwhile to keep all those little cables and jumpers, they've come in handy on many occasions. I also finally bit the bullet and bought one of those $40 entertainment centers at Wal-Mart for all my AV equipment. I think the most difficult part of organizing all of this stuff is actually sitting down and doing it. Once you decided to do it, it isn't all that difficult.
I use a generic KVM manual switch I picked up at a local retail store. You can catch them on ebay all the time for real cheap. I have a crappy monitor anyway, but I don't notice any resolution problems at 1024x768. it is strictly ps/2 and vga and I noticed that the MS Blue Optical mouse won't work with it for some reason although my Logitech Optical Wheel mouse does work with it.
I built a small Linux file/print server for about $250 for just the unit (I use a KVM switch, so add another $35 for that). It has a Celeron 850 ($35), 256MB of RAM ($30), a 60 GB IDE hard drive ($50), a CD-ROM for software installation ($45), a cheap motherboard with everything built in ($20), and a cheap case ($50). It's nothing fancy, but it's good for backups and printing and playing with linux. One of these days I'll post a little FAQ on my web page about it, and if it gets slashdotted I'll be very cross indeed.
Where is the presentation software? At my company people use Powerpoint more than anything else almost. I mean, no one will even listen to you if you don't have a presentation. Nothing is going to slay MSOffice without presentation software.
I can't believe the play this article is getting. First it was on MacSlash and now it is on Slashdot. I can't see that it offers any useful information. The author does little to explain how he did anything, mostly because he had no idea what he was doing. The general consensus on MacSlash that this article does nothing to help other people get Macs running in their own place of work. I agree!
Slashdot Mirror
I agree that this is backwards, but the cell phone companies are doing this and it seems to be working for them. Give someone a "free" phone and lock them into a contract for 2 years. The only problem with this from a software vendor's perspective is the service they will have to provide. Now when you purchase a computer, you go to the computer manufacturer for service. They are the ones who have to deal with Comet Cursor, Gator, and whatever other viruses come up. From the MS point of view, they provide relatively little service to the average home user. No one who buys a Dell calls Microsoft when the I Love You virus crashes their computer, they call Dell. I don't think Microsoft is ready to provide that level of support. It will probably be easier for Sun, Apple, and other proprietary vendors because they are already at that level, but MS should be fighting this tooth and nail if they know what's good for them.
Personally I'm waiting for James R. Kirk to come back.
There's an open source business model?
My company has recently moved from the Ranking system to the Rating system for the reasons you enumerated. Strangely enough, it was lower management that wanted the change. The problem was that if they had a good group of people that worked hard, some of them were still going to have to be rated on the low side. If the supervisors didn't rate anyone on the low side, then they had to jump through hoops to to explain why they had rated everyone so high (or at least average). This led to supervisors rating people unfairly. If someone was new to the team, then they got a low rating regardless of past performance because "they are new to the team and I don't know how they work." They also rated people low if they took medical leave. These were easy ways for supervisors to fill their low end quotas.
I think the main problem now is that corporate America has no idea how to motivate its employees. I have been fortunate to have some good managers lately, but others aren't so fortunate. Some managers have no idea how to motivate their employees except through fear and intimidation. To me this is ridiculous since they don't have to know anything about the job they are managing, they just have to manage the people.
I think you are wrong about this. If you do the job to the best of your abilities and meet company expectations, then you will be rated as average. If you are consistently getting lower than average ratings, then you must not be meeting company expectations and you might want to look for a new job where your talents might be more suited to the job.
There is a guy that I work with that was very pissed off because he was rated a 3 (meets expectations) for 2003. He felt that he wasn't a 1 (exceptional), but at least deserved a 2 (exceeded expectations). This guy started the year as an assistant supervisor and actually asked to be demoted because he couldn't handle the responsibility. Then he merely proved adequate in his new, lower level job. Personally I think he got lucky. If I were his manager I would have rated him a 4 (below expectations). He wanted a 2 because he admitted that he couldn't handle his job and volunteered to take the demotion and also because he had good attendence and learned a new job. To me he deserved a 4 because he botched his old job and took forever to learn the newer, easier one.
I am just old school I guess. I think people should have to work to get their good ratings.
I agree about not over-extending yourself. Nothing looks worse than a neglected project.
Another good point about knowing how to fix things and change "the book".
I'll also add a #10. Set short and long term goals for yourself. Short term goals should be specific and within your reach to achieve. Long term goals should be fairly ambitious. Develop a personal improvement plan spelling out the steps you need to take to achieve these goals.
- Attitude - This is very important. You must have a positive attitude about the company and your work. Let everyone know that you are excited about the company and moving up the ladder within the company. Never be satisfied with what you have, always want more.
- Your Boss - You have to find out from your boss what it takes to get a top rating. Have a one on one meeting with your boss and let your boss know that you really want a top rating. Get them to tell you what steps you need to take. Follow up and make sure you are on the right track throughout the year.
- Documentation - You can't count on your boss to document your progress so do it yourself. Keep track of every project you are on and every class you take that can help you in your job.
- Projects - Get involved in projects any way you can. Your company probably has Six Sigma or BPI. Take advantage of these opportunities. If you see something that needs improvement, write up a proposal and sumbit it to you boss or whoever is in charge of such things.
- Flexibility - This not only means being willing to work overtime, but it means working out of your area as well. Look for opportunities to cross-train in other areas. Be willing to take on additional responsibility for no additional pay. Be eager to learn.
- Be an Expert - Become an expert in your job. Even if your job is nothing but cleaning toilets, know everything about it.
- Be a Team Player - Customers aren't just the poeple at home using your product, your teammates are also your customers. Find out what you can do to make other people's jobs easier down the line. Never say "That's not my job." Be willing to help anyone.
- Do Things by the Book - Always try to follow company policies and processes.
- Accept Responsibility - If you mess up, don't be afraid to admit responsibility. Apologize for messing up and ask what you can do to fix the problem to make sure it doesn't happen again.
You don't have to stab people in the back to get a good rating, but remember that no one else is going to help you. You are the one who is ultimately responsible for your rating. Don't let others discourage you either. If someone calls you a "company man" or brown noser, just smile and shrug. Also remember that showing up every day and doing your job well is what they expect you to do. While this is admirable it will only get you and average rating. You have to go above and beyond to get that top rating. I know you can do it so get after it!When I move into my new apartment next month I will not be transfering my cable service. I have decided that $50 a month for television that is 70% commercials just isn't worth it. The quality of programming is also not very good and most channels seem to be content with showing the same reruns over and over (After seeing the same documentary on the Spartans 10 times over the past 2 years on the History Channel, I doubt I can get any more information out of it.). Out of the nearly 70 channels I get in my basic cable package I only watch 6 on a regular basis. I can get all the news I need from the internet and to be honest, that is where most news channels get their stories nowadays anyway (how many times have you heard "According to the Drudge Report..."?). Plus, Enterprise and the Gilmore Girls are on broadcast TV and they are really the only two shows I am interested in anyway.
The most interesting part of this article was the part where he customized the bootloader to read his sensor and tell which box the system was in. That was pretty innovative if you ask me.
This is one case where it is better to have a large corporate monolith providing your service rather than a small municipal monopoly. One of my friends lives in Atoka, TN and their only choice for service is the Millington Phone Company. For two years that phone company has been promising broadband and better service, but have never come through on those promises. My friend is very mad because people just 200 yards down the street have BellSouth and broadband service. She even asked BellSouth if they could run a line the 220 yards, but BellSouth said that they couldn't because of the Millington monopoly. My friend has talked to whoever she could, even the FCC with no results. It looks like the Supreme Court was who she should have been talking to all along.
If it is that important to you, get a text pager. I use one at work and prefer it to using the Nextel radios they give us.
My mom used to have a Kodak instant camera before they got sued the hell out of my Polaroid. I also owned several Kodak 110 film cameras because they were so cheap and easy to operate when I was a kid. I then bought a Kodak Andvantax camera which was prone to jamming and I used it about 2 times.
This isn't about eating their own dog food, this is about investment in the future. IBM knows that the M$ monopoly won't last forever, so they are taking steps now to ensure they have a piece of the future.
Just cut the air vents for a couple of hours, chuck some M&M's in the air and see where they go. Then just slap some silicon adhesive in there.. it'll hold
I stopped drinking caffeine for quite a while (and I still drink it only on rare occasions). I never had headaches or any other symptom people associate quitting. I think some of this might be mental or stress related. Just relax and try not to think about quitting. I also recommend drinking decaf coffee and tea and caffeine free sodas such as Diet Rite (which is also sugar, aspartame, and sodium free). You might also want to try drinking more water, you could be mildly dehydrated.
Those Maids-a-Milking didn't even get a cost of living raise. Things must be tough in the Dairy industry.
I have a 3 year old computer 1GHz Athlon and GeForce2. I have yet to run into a game I cannot play.
My company has been around a few more years that Google, but it is going through a similar situation. We have expanded greatly over the past 5 years and now the company is starting to lose focus on what made it a success in the first place. Now the focus is entirely on maximizing revenue and maximizing profits with little care for future consequenses. I expect that my company will be a lumbering giant before too long, just like everyone else in our industry.
Good prediction. I did not have cable television for a whole year because every time I called I got an operator who did not speak English very well and could not get my address right. Finally I called in the late evening and talked with someone who spoke English well and he helped me get my cable hooked up. Nowadays, if I call a company and get less than perfect English I hang up immediately and usually do business elsewhere (with the exception of my local cable monopoly).
First of all I think this is a very interesting question. I live in a fairly small apartment which is now beginning to collect a fair amount of geek clutter and it is starting to get difficult to organize the larger things. However, I do have a few suggestions. I like the cheap drawer concept and bought a tall set of cheap plastic drawers on rollers (I think it was $20). I keep the newer things in the top drawers and older stuff down below. I think it is worthwhile to keep all those little cables and jumpers, they've come in handy on many occasions. I also finally bit the bullet and bought one of those $40 entertainment centers at Wal-Mart for all my AV equipment. I think the most difficult part of organizing all of this stuff is actually sitting down and doing it. Once you decided to do it, it isn't all that difficult.
I use a generic KVM manual switch I picked up at a local retail store. You can catch them on ebay all the time for real cheap. I have a crappy monitor anyway, but I don't notice any resolution problems at 1024x768. it is strictly ps/2 and vga and I noticed that the MS Blue Optical mouse won't work with it for some reason although my Logitech Optical Wheel mouse does work with it.
I built a small Linux file/print server for about $250 for just the unit (I use a KVM switch, so add another $35 for that). It has a Celeron 850 ($35), 256MB of RAM ($30), a 60 GB IDE hard drive ($50), a CD-ROM for software installation ($45), a cheap motherboard with everything built in ($20), and a cheap case ($50). It's nothing fancy, but it's good for backups and printing and playing with linux. One of these days I'll post a little FAQ on my web page about it, and if it gets slashdotted I'll be very cross indeed.
So I still can't ditch my land line.. unless I want to get into bed with the evil cable company that is.
Where is the presentation software? At my company people use Powerpoint more than anything else almost. I mean, no one will even listen to you if you don't have a presentation. Nothing is going to slay MSOffice without presentation software.
I can't believe the play this article is getting. First it was on MacSlash and now it is on Slashdot. I can't see that it offers any useful information. The author does little to explain how he did anything, mostly because he had no idea what he was doing. The general consensus on MacSlash that this article does nothing to help other people get Macs running in their own place of work. I agree!