Perhaps the fall of HP's less than beloved CEO, Mark Hurd, best illustrates what is wrong with our current state of economy. When Mark stepped into the role of CEO a few years ago there was no doubt HP's approach to business was short sighted at best, the company relied solely on its ink and cartridge line for its sustainability. Mark changed HP's focus, creating a more well rounded, and as he saw it, more stream-lined company that fast became No. 1 in the personal computer market, and made its shareholders very happy.
Mark Hurd is being given near $43 MILLION to leave HP. This makes me wonder what knowledge about his fellow executives or the company itself this man has that would make HP pay him to keep quite rather than just firing him for conduct unbecoming. No wonder HP's stock has dropped; based on this decision, one would have to assume Mark has intimate knowledge of many of his fellow executives whose practices of blank checks and limited culpability mirrored many of his own. Not a very good perception.
But there in lies the problem. In today's business world, perceived company value (that is, the money on paper Wall street calculates as a company's actual value) drives the bottom dollar. Top level executives no longer worry solely about profitability and business ethics, their role is, now more than ever, one of perception. If a company is perceived as a good investment, more people will throw their money into it. For some strange reason though, many top level executives think that this money is to be siphoned off by them first in the form of huge salaries and bonuses. For whatever reason, be it greed, selfishness, egotism, status, or a need for a 5th beach house, these top executives believe that their role in creating a more profitable company means that they should reap the benefits of this profit, even if this profit came at the expense of many of those hard working subordinates who either, unfortunately, lost their job, or, slight less fortunately, were able to keep their job, but were now forced to work 60-70 hour weeks doing the work of two or three people.
When Mark took over, his style of management was one of streamlining: massive layoffs and reduced pay and benefits across the board, but only of middle to lower level managers and the everyday workers that make the company go. Nothing within the top level executives was touched, in fact, during his reign, they all continued to see salary increases and bonuses, especially as the company was turned around and became profitable once again.
I wonder when the business world is ever going to see its bottom line driven by genuine caring about fellow workers and common sense rather than self indulgence, nepotism and greed. Simply put, if we truly want our economy to recover, consumer confidence needs to return, as this leads to the movement of inventory which creates more jobs and a competitive marketplace. The only way to do this is to ensure that ALL individuals share in the payroll, that the bulk of all payroll is not tied up in the top 10% of a company's employees. If you were to redistribute half of the top 10%'s salary to the lower level workers, everyone could afford a slightly nicer house, a better car, soccer and dance lessons, more groceries and even more long term investing.
Hopefully we can learn from HP's fiasco; though looking at how we got here in the first place, and how very little has changed within the world of business, this is seemingly impossible. Who knows, maybe Mark will feel a little guilty and send each of the 14,500 employees he laid off a $2500 apology... This would still leave him well over $6 million dollars in buy out money.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Masoli: poster child for self-indulgent children
There is something very wrong with sports today. To be a professional athlete once meant that while you were capable of playing a child's game a level higher than the vast majority, you were still forced to hold down an off-season job in order to pay your bills. Today's sports, sadly, readily mirror politics and the dredges of society, where the almighty dollar rules supreme and its gifted players walk freely, able to do what they want when they want, with little or no fear of repercussion.
Throughout the course of history there have always been individuals above the law, above consequence, and above responsibility. It used to that the only way this was achieved was to buy your way in or be fortunate enough to be the offspring of one one already in power. It seems, in today's age, we have passed this free ticket off to our athletes.
The punishment laid down upon USC was just deserved, however, I find it unfathomable that Reggie Bush bears no brunt of it. Let's look at this hypothetically (and I use a hypothetical only because if it was not Reggie, some other athletic Adonis would have taken his place). If Reggie Bush was never born, would USC be looking at any sanctions going forward? The answer is no. So, how is it that USC is made to bear the full extent of the punishment, but Reggie is let off with a tarnish to his reputation, a tarnish that, given the world's love affair with athletes, will be close to forgiven once he scores his first touchdown this season. Is Reggie not a man, was he not he not old enough to know right from wrong?
If I had been arrested for having a role in stealing two laptops and a guitar from a fraternity, I would not be walking the street right now, much less driving a car and being pulled over by the cops only to be re-arrested not more than a couple of months later for possession and various other non-criminal violations. Somehow Jeremiah Masoli is better than all of us and is not only facing no jail time, but is allowed to transfer to Ole Miss to pursue what were, days ago, justifiably dead Heisman dreams.
I am smart enough to know that very little will ever change, money is the greatest corrupter the world will ever know, and athletes generate unfathomable amounts of it. Perhaps it is due to some inherent, latent desire to live our unfulfilled dreams out through our kids, our players, or our idols, or perhaps we are just in awe of athleticism, but I hope that one day society rears its collective voice and shouts "enough". That the masses ensure that all individuals are treated equally, that money and status no longer grant a reprieve, or worse, a license to do it all over again in a different region.
Every individual should be accountable for their own actions and, while the institution bears fault, focus more on the reason than the environment. Perhaps if this were the norm we would see our future athletes growing into respectful men and women rather than self indulgent children.
Throughout the course of history there have always been individuals above the law, above consequence, and above responsibility. It used to that the only way this was achieved was to buy your way in or be fortunate enough to be the offspring of one one already in power. It seems, in today's age, we have passed this free ticket off to our athletes.
The punishment laid down upon USC was just deserved, however, I find it unfathomable that Reggie Bush bears no brunt of it. Let's look at this hypothetically (and I use a hypothetical only because if it was not Reggie, some other athletic Adonis would have taken his place). If Reggie Bush was never born, would USC be looking at any sanctions going forward? The answer is no. So, how is it that USC is made to bear the full extent of the punishment, but Reggie is let off with a tarnish to his reputation, a tarnish that, given the world's love affair with athletes, will be close to forgiven once he scores his first touchdown this season. Is Reggie not a man, was he not he not old enough to know right from wrong?
If I had been arrested for having a role in stealing two laptops and a guitar from a fraternity, I would not be walking the street right now, much less driving a car and being pulled over by the cops only to be re-arrested not more than a couple of months later for possession and various other non-criminal violations. Somehow Jeremiah Masoli is better than all of us and is not only facing no jail time, but is allowed to transfer to Ole Miss to pursue what were, days ago, justifiably dead Heisman dreams.
I am smart enough to know that very little will ever change, money is the greatest corrupter the world will ever know, and athletes generate unfathomable amounts of it. Perhaps it is due to some inherent, latent desire to live our unfulfilled dreams out through our kids, our players, or our idols, or perhaps we are just in awe of athleticism, but I hope that one day society rears its collective voice and shouts "enough". That the masses ensure that all individuals are treated equally, that money and status no longer grant a reprieve, or worse, a license to do it all over again in a different region.
Every individual should be accountable for their own actions and, while the institution bears fault, focus more on the reason than the environment. Perhaps if this were the norm we would see our future athletes growing into respectful men and women rather than self indulgent children.
Faith healing
Yet another set of parents has been arrested following the death of their child, a death that was without question, avoidable. To walk the line between religion and common sense is a difficult one, part of the allure of religion is blind faith (something most cannot understand except when that belief is their own). Part of that allure as well is being told what to do as this lessens self responsibility, and many people join religion's whose doctrines are in line with their own beliefs. Obviously, the greater the numbers the stronger the reinforcement.
As I understand the premise of the Followers of Christ church, God is watching over us and will take care of us, all he needs is strong enough prayer to hear about the problem so it can be fixed. There is one major flaw within this belief, and I have a feeling God himself is banging his head against the wall over this one (and I use "him" as a simple qualifier, for all I know God many be a him, a her or an it and right now tearing out hair, scales, or spirit): If the belief is that God will hear your prayer and come down out of heaven and rectify the situation, what do you make of all of the "non-believers" whose kids are cured of the exact same malady as your children, cured not through prayer, rather cured because of their decision to go to a doctor or a hospital? Does God love those who do not pray more than you, why did he save their children, but not yours?
Perhaps it is more due to this: Every day the world evolves, every day something new is developed. If you believe in God, surely you believe that God gave you all of your strengths. If you believe in God, surely you believe in his infinite wisdom and can understand why we are not all exactly the same; a homogeneous world surely be a boring world. (Think about it, if we all were the same, going through life would be like watching yourself in the mirror every day and, unless you're a touch narcissistic, I'd be willing to bet you'd be bored within 15 minutes).
So, if God created all of us, gave us all strengths and differences, doesn't it make sense that God gave us medicine and those smart enough to heal? Doesn't it make sense that God gave us reasoning minds that want to make the world better around us, to help others as we help ourselves? Based upon this understanding, it makes sense that God knows he does not have to come down out of the heavens to cure our ill because he knows he created individuals who can do the necessary work.
So, I ask you to look deeply at your religion and its practices and ask a lot of the question why. Why does your pastor not want you to go to a doctor, would this make them and their church feel less valuable? Why do people believe in things that are different than your own thoughts, do these thoughts take away from your life or harm you, or do they maybe add some new perspective?
Our children are our future, the lessons we teach them every day, both good and bad, grow within their daily lives and mold them into who they as adults. It is my belief that the saddest lesson taught is when someone's decision takes away the life intended to learn these lessons.
As I understand the premise of the Followers of Christ church, God is watching over us and will take care of us, all he needs is strong enough prayer to hear about the problem so it can be fixed. There is one major flaw within this belief, and I have a feeling God himself is banging his head against the wall over this one (and I use "him" as a simple qualifier, for all I know God many be a him, a her or an it and right now tearing out hair, scales, or spirit): If the belief is that God will hear your prayer and come down out of heaven and rectify the situation, what do you make of all of the "non-believers" whose kids are cured of the exact same malady as your children, cured not through prayer, rather cured because of their decision to go to a doctor or a hospital? Does God love those who do not pray more than you, why did he save their children, but not yours?
Perhaps it is more due to this: Every day the world evolves, every day something new is developed. If you believe in God, surely you believe that God gave you all of your strengths. If you believe in God, surely you believe in his infinite wisdom and can understand why we are not all exactly the same; a homogeneous world surely be a boring world. (Think about it, if we all were the same, going through life would be like watching yourself in the mirror every day and, unless you're a touch narcissistic, I'd be willing to bet you'd be bored within 15 minutes).
So, if God created all of us, gave us all strengths and differences, doesn't it make sense that God gave us medicine and those smart enough to heal? Doesn't it make sense that God gave us reasoning minds that want to make the world better around us, to help others as we help ourselves? Based upon this understanding, it makes sense that God knows he does not have to come down out of the heavens to cure our ill because he knows he created individuals who can do the necessary work.
So, I ask you to look deeply at your religion and its practices and ask a lot of the question why. Why does your pastor not want you to go to a doctor, would this make them and their church feel less valuable? Why do people believe in things that are different than your own thoughts, do these thoughts take away from your life or harm you, or do they maybe add some new perspective?
Our children are our future, the lessons we teach them every day, both good and bad, grow within their daily lives and mold them into who they as adults. It is my belief that the saddest lesson taught is when someone's decision takes away the life intended to learn these lessons.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)