Comments on: Inputs and Outputs http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2008/02/12/inputs-and-outputs/ Economics of organizations, strategy, entrepreneurship, innovation, and more Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:38:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU By: Christos http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2008/02/12/inputs-and-outputs/#comment-69492 Christos Wed, 13 Feb 2008 02:11:18 +0000 http://organizationsandmarkets.wordpress.com/?p=1371#comment-69492 Maybe because input in academia is a good - though imperfect - proxy for output. Maybe because input in academia is a good - though imperfect - proxy for output.

]]> By: Bo http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2008/02/12/inputs-and-outputs/#comment-69490 Bo Tue, 12 Feb 2008 22:56:40 +0000 http://organizationsandmarkets.wordpress.com/?p=1371#comment-69490 This is indeed an interesting phenomena. My take on this is that people who find it necessary to work (and talk about it) constantly simply lack efficiency - or perhaps intelligence...If you really have to work 15+ hours per day 7 days a week AND you still do not win any Nobel Prizes or become professor at the age of 22 etc. then it must be because you are simply not talented enough and thus rather than working harder you should consider changing your career path. It is very baseball players that become MLB players simply by hitting more balls at practice, nor do most of the contestants at American Idol head for a sparkling career in singing simply because they try harder...talent is 90% and effort is 10%...Yet we keep trying... This is indeed an interesting phenomena. My take on this is that people who find it necessary to work (and talk about it) constantly simply lack efficiency - or perhaps intelligence…If you really have to work 15+ hours per day 7 days a week AND you still do not win any Nobel Prizes or become professor at the age of 22 etc. then it must be because you are simply not talented enough and thus rather than working harder you should consider changing your career path. It is very baseball players that become MLB players simply by hitting more balls at practice, nor do most of the contestants at American Idol head for a sparkling career in singing simply because they try harder…talent is 90% and effort is 10%…Yet we keep trying…

]]> By: Gary Peters http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2008/02/12/inputs-and-outputs/#comment-69488 Gary Peters Tue, 12 Feb 2008 21:32:01 +0000 http://organizationsandmarkets.wordpress.com/?p=1371#comment-69488 Is reading a blog worse than writing one? Is reading a blog worse than writing one?

]]> By: Mauro Mello Jr. http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2008/02/12/inputs-and-outputs/#comment-69483 Mauro Mello Jr. Tue, 12 Feb 2008 10:54:56 +0000 http://organizationsandmarkets.wordpress.com/?p=1371#comment-69483 It seems academia is getting contaminated by the same set of attitudes that came to be expected from most workers in fast-paced, high-stakes "knowledge" environments. It is almost too common for people to hold conference calls on cellphones while going from one meeting to the next, while eating something for a missed lunch, carrying a laptop on the other hand while talking to coworkers on the way to said meetings (which will spill over into commuting time, subsequently at home) - and they brag about it! Ah, the buzzwords: multitasking, doing more with less, delivering value for money, incentivizing (!), 24/7 availability, etc. Sigh. You end up being squeezed and audited both ways: on your inputs and outputs, and will have to show proof that you cannot work less than at the rate you already are. These people, their effectiveness notwithstanding, are held in high esteem by impressed one-minute(-pointy-haired)-type managers and are often touted as examples to be followed by others. I second Kieran's view that this is mostly an American phenomenon, though one which is increasingly being adopted by, or rather exported to other countries, courtesy of buzzword consultants (and, I would say, many clueless adopters). To me, this is the result of a fragmented, disjointed view of the technology and governance of organizations, where each of their many components try to single-mindedly optimize its own performance and impose on others its understanding of what the optimization rules should be (e.g., accountants winning over engineering, sales winning over engineering, accountants winning over academics, etc.) It seems academia is getting contaminated by the same set of attitudes that came to be expected from most workers in fast-paced, high-stakes “knowledge” environments. It is almost too common for people to hold conference calls on cellphones while going from one meeting to the next, while eating something for a missed lunch, carrying a laptop on the other hand while talking to coworkers on the way to said meetings (which will spill over into commuting time, subsequently at home) - and they brag about it! Ah, the buzzwords: multitasking, doing more with less, delivering value for money, incentivizing (!), 24/7 availability, etc. Sigh. You end up being squeezed and audited both ways: on your inputs and outputs, and will have to show proof that you cannot work less than at the rate you already are.

These people, their effectiveness notwithstanding, are held in high esteem by impressed one-minute(-pointy-haired)-type managers and are often touted as examples to be followed by others. I second Kieran’s view that this is mostly an American phenomenon, though one which is increasingly being adopted by, or rather exported to other countries, courtesy of buzzword consultants (and, I would say, many clueless adopters).

To me, this is the result of a fragmented, disjointed view of the technology and governance of organizations, where each of their many components try to single-mindedly optimize its own performance and impose on others its understanding of what the optimization rules should be (e.g., accountants winning over engineering, sales winning over engineering, accountants winning over academics, etc.)

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