Voodoo Manager

I am a strong advocate of customer service. In economics, we learned about the fundamental selling categories of “goods and services” and we learned about “supply and demand”. But, I will admit that I have wondered if I have pushed my businesses too far with providing “excllent customer service”. Going too far costs more money and can sometimes have an adverse effect on employee morale.

Lemme tell ya that I do not believe in a separation between “goods and services”. When I make a purchase, I do so by encompassing all aspects of my experience with the provider. So, if I am buying widgets, I will not always buy the cheapest. I will easily pay 10% more to a person who makes me feel comfortable and who makes me feel like he wants to earn my dollar. And, in a free market like the US, “supply and demand” is almost irrelevant, or at least it is not my concern. So, if you don’t have supply to meet my demand, you lose my business. If you do not provide service with your goods, you loose my business. Too many vendors want my business and so I have made a conscious decision to “speak with my wallet”, for some time now.

So, last week, I wanted some BBQ. There is a new BBQ joint in a neighboring town that has excellent Beef Brisket sandwich and a spicy vinegar sauce that raves. So, I stopped in last Sunday…did not read the hours on the door (because I did not get out of my truck since it was apparent that they were closed. People in the South eat alot of BBQ, and it is often enjoyed after church on Sundays, but their schedule is their decision. Never-the-less, I went back Monday…closed. Hmmm…I looked at the schedule and it turns out that they are closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. I like BBQ, but it sounds like they hold themselves in much higher regard than their customers by being open only 57% of the time. Still, I went back yesterday with my two sons. They were open and I was really looking forward to the Brisket sandwich and to let go of my previous frustrations with their schedule. I ordered. I did not get the typical responses like “be right up” or “cash or credit”. No, I received the response “we don’t have any brisket. We only make brisket on Fridays”. Whoa…I mumbled something as I walked out the door, vowing never to return.

Once again…speaking with my wallet.

A Management inside secret to most hourly employees: There is a common belief that “it’s not about the money“. And, sometimes it’s not. But, Managers have worked very hard for a long time to dissuade employees from wanting more money, regardless of circumstance. I cannot tell you the number of times someone has told me that they want a raise. Well, often, it is just not available. Typically because raises are most often awarded as a corporate common adjustment or awarded at review/merit season.
Yet, I get complaints from employees about how hard they work, how their families are suffering, how they dislike their job, blah, blah, blah. And, I am sure most of it is true. But, Managers are charged with operating their business in the most efficient means possible. EVERY year, without exception, in every corporation, under every budget I have proposed, I have been asked to get more things accomplished with lowered costs (translate: fewer people). Period. The two largest financial liabilities in most companies is 1)inventory and 2)payroll.
I have asked for money for employees and the most common reply I get is to distract them with something else. For instance, and employee want a raise, I know that they just requested a vacation during a restricted season. I award it, they stop asking for a raise. Or, employee wants a raise, work them a little OT for a couple of weeks then reign it back in. These are typical tactics used to squash employee complaints through distraction. And, they happen everyday.
So, why are companies so hung up on avoiding raises. I support a theory of rewarding excellence. I think that there are three categories; Top Performers (10%), Middle Performers (60%) and Low Performers (30%). There should be huge differences in pay in these ranges. If an employees asks for a raise, why can’t the Manager be given the autonomy to set a heightened standard for the individual to allow them to earn that raise? If they excelled enough, it could lead to heightened productivity which would later cause a reduction in force through simply leaving behind low performers. But, most importantly, corporations need to stop playing games with employees and let good Managers reward people for a job well done.

I am not sure about most people, but I think we have missed the bus on a few things. Foremost, US Companies have a high expectation of their workers. Despite laboring for 40 hours per week, they are mandating laptops and blackberries to allow us to work more during what used to be our “off time”. In fact, about 50% of employees bring work home. Since we have become more “connected”, we are able to work long after leaving the job which has reduced a need for manpower…therefore, US Companies need fewer people and are “laying off” left and right. When you add workplace efficiencies and robotics, it is no wonder that we are encountering a 10% unemployment rate in the US. But, it is the technology aspect I wish to discuss.

I discussed off-hours worker connectivity in a recent article titles “Gimme a Break” and in “Overly Productive”. Now, it is no secret that I am a conspiracy theorist, and I have always believed that “Big Brother” is watching. But, which “Big Brother”…the government, Corporations, your school, your girlfriend? Well, all can be “Big Brother at one time or another. But this week, news reports stated that iphones were hacked. Nothing new, right…wrong. In this instance, an “invisible” text was sent to the phone which used a code to prompt the phone to discreetly call back to a designated number. AND, the code turned on the microphone. Thus, allowing the person sending the code to the phone to spy on conversations within the reach of the cell phones microphone.

Also this week, a Pennsylvania school district is under investigation for wiretap or computer intrusion. It seems that several school laptops were missing and the school remotely accessed the laptop webcams to investigate as to who may have the laptops.

So, how long until your employer decides to “drop in” on you working from home? With company owned laptops and blackberries (or any other cellular device) are used, they will be allowed to access them at-will, legally. So, won’t this tie into all of the work we are already taking home from the office?

On the morning after a new jobs bill was created by the US Senate, I am left wondering a few things.

Foremost, I wonder how a bill of this writing will ever make any substantial impact on the employment rates. The bill is estimated to create about 100,000 to 200,000 jobs. Great, except that this is an extremely small number. In fact, it represents only about a half of one percent of unemployed Americans. There will be tax breaks for companies who hire unemployed workers, but this will really just propogate the underemployment setting. Huge numbers of Management jobs were eliminated and companies are not going to be in the market to reintroduce these roles. So, these former Managers will experience as much as 50% income cuts but still encounter 100% of the costs of living.

But, I was also left wondering what defines the difference between a recession and a depression. There are so many definitions of each that a person could write a book on simply discussing the differences. As most unemployed Americans can tell you, they are “depressed”. So, why isn’t this called a depression? Recent unemployment has targeted mainly males. America is a progressive country, but there are some core values which it seems to continually hold dear…male employment being a highly regarded tradition. So, what happens when men lose their jobs or, more importantly, get caught in the churn of frequent involuntary unemployment attributable to a recession or depression? Studies reveal that the emotional impact is severe. Suicide rates in males increases and divorce rates increase exponentially. This, in turn, starts a vicious cycle in the family which can create a disdain from children toward the corporate environment. So, really, this is a depression. I think we should avoid creating all the verbiage and call it what it is. With so many depressed Americans, it is a depression, regardless of the economists terminology.

All of these comes as the Obama Administration has begun to publicize it’s nationalized healthcare plan…again. It sure seems that his timing is well rehearsed, as the healthcare plan always seems to surface when it is best received then it dives back into it’s hole when unpopular. Could the President (or government) really be supporting the “depression” to keep unemployment rates high? This would, of course, make a nationalized healthcare plan more favorable to Americans, thus easing legislation. Could they be related? Regardless, this depression is having a tremendous impact on our families and on the existing workforce. Employees are expected to work harder, faster and better than ever before to make ends meet after 10% of their co-workers were laid off. This depression is having much more impact than most Americans realize.

Americans seem to have a varied response to the Stimulus plan. More to the point, most Americans seem very confused about the plan, now that stage 1 is being declared by the government as completed. Two cities in NC have had two very different experiences with the recent US Stimulus plan issued by the Obama Administration.

Matthews, NC hired a lobbying firm to work on the stimulus plan for them, to maximize income. They expected more monies but received only about $32,000 from the stimulus plan. For those unfamiliar, Lobbying Firms come at a high cost. It would be easily conceivable that the lobbying may have cost them $50,000,. With a return to $32,000, they would have incurred an $18,000 loss. Is this good governing? Concord, NC received about $2M and did not expect that much. Much of these monies are being allocated by the city for traffic cameras, etc.

The stimulus plan seems to have had a lukewarm effect, at best. Unemployment is still hovering around 10% and an estimated 1M other Americans have stopped looking for jobs. The factor that is not included is the number of Americans who are underemployed, through accepting lesser role/income or other factors. Stimulus Plan is defined by Investor Words as “An energizing stimulus plan which provides tax rebates directly to taxpayers…this money would be used to re-stimulate the economy“. But, the monies are not being directed to taxpayers. Instead, they are headed to States who are, in turn, re-allocating the funds to Cities.

So, our tax dollars are being spent to rejuvenate the economy. And, President Obama has declared that stimulus funds are to create jobs. But, how can communities create more jobs if the monies they receive are spent hiring high-profit lobbying firms? How can stimulus funds save people from more layoffs if the monies are being spent on traffic cameras (not even getting into where the cameras were made, assembled, or who owns the company)? Wake up, America! We are giving away money that we shouldn’t and to all the wrong people…cities in this instance. Sooner or later the bill will come due. And, who do you think has to pay it? Are we just throwing good money after bad?

Last month, the US unemployment rate dropped to 9.7% or about 30M people out of work. There are about an estimated 1M more who have stopped looking or are under-employed. Translation; There are a lot of extremely qualified and highly experienced workers available. With so many people available, why are there so many jobs going unfilled? With the rapid growth of professional networking sites such as LinkedIn, I would even wonder why employers are spending any money to advertise positions on job boards. Considering these two aspects alone, there should be no problem in filling positions. But there are.

Most jobs post on Monster.com for 60 days. Many people have plenty of professional network connections on LinkedIn.com. But, employers are still slow to hire. I contacted a Recruiting insider who stated that “Companies are looking for the right 100% perfect candidate…they are taking a long time to make a decision…” and “…other times the offers are being low balled and people are turning them down…alot of strange things are happening for sure“. From my experience, I have noticed a disturbing trend that I briefly discussed in my post “What is the real value of education”. Employers have increased the education levels that they are seeking. Instead of inside salespeople who are proficient with selling, employers are now requiring a Bachelors degree. Managers, even in construction industries, are often required to have an MBA, Police and Firefighters need at least an Associate’s degree. From a value added perspective, experience far outweighs education in the blue-collar fields. Admittedly, fields such as Nursing, engineering and many other science oriented fields need higher education. My theory, based on this premise, is that we have devalued education in this country as it relates to jobs and careers.

I also note that employers are requiring much higher experience levels. In 2005, my employer laid off about 10,000 employees including me. In 2009, I was caught again in a seniority based reduction in force. I note the difference in required experience levels being approximately 25% more now than in 2005. I also see that more employers are requiring candidates to have SixSigma, 5S and other training for fields which rarely utilize these methodologies.

In summation, I believe that employers have gotten this out of whack. They have upped their standards without warrant. And, I believe that they are preying on the unemployed not unlike poachers or price gougers in times of need. Further, I believe that most of these employees who have taken roles which traditionally would have required less experience and education will “jump ship” when the economy heads north. So, the investment companies have made in educating this “new wave” will be lost because of a short-sightedness to hire the best candidate for the job.

The first reports are coming in regarding President Obamas stimulus plan. The $787B plan was rolled out one year ago and has left many Americans wondering…why? The opinions seem to be “all over the board” but the Obama Administration is steadfast in their position that the stimulus helped prevent a much deeper dip in the economy. The administration also states that the plan created of saved 2M jobs. While this may seem significant, it represents less than 10% of the unemployed and less than 1/2 of a percent of the American populous.

But, with unemployment still hovering around 10% (30M Americans), there are still fewer people spending money simply because expendable funds are not as readily available to American families. What should be of a major concern is that we are still experiencing approximately 36M illegal immigrants in the US versus 30M unemployed workers. The US bailed out US Corporations with the bill going back to the American public, regardless as to whether or not your job was saved. There are 11M eligible more workers today than there were only 10 years ago, despite the decline in jobs over the past couple of years. And, these points are just the tip of the iceberg.

Unlike the force feeding of our current Presidential administration I trust you to draw your conclusions as you wish. There is alot of data to consider. My concern is that Americans are being sold on a bad bill of goods…pun intended.

There was some recent talk about requiring drug testing of those receiving Welfare. Recently, it seems to have fallen into the shadows of complaints against the Presidency, unemployment and the Haiti earthquake. Obviously, this raises some concerns. The primary being that what a person does in their home is their business. I do no agree, in this regard. I hold high the sanctity of ones home and believe that no man should intrude there upon. But, there are limitations to that privacy. Such as eminent danger of persons therein, drug manufacturing, et cetera. To sum up my position, we cold loosely say that I believe you forfeit your right to privacy in your him if engaged in felonious activities.

I oppose “Big Brother”, I do not condone big business nor big government. But, when you become dependent upon the state, I believe the rules change. Just as though many employers require drug testing have drug testing policies. In fact, most of them can include termination of employment is an employee is found to be using illegal drugs. So, why not persons drawing funds in some form from the government? Where do you draw the line…food stamps, subsidized housing, Medicaid, unemployment? If a person is using government assistance because “times are tough”, then they should not be squandering their monies on drug utilization anyway. In 2000, Michigan attempted to require drug testing of Welfare recipients but later abolished the program when the Supreme Court ruled that it was a violation of the 4th Amendment. But, there has been reconsideration thereafter, such as in Hawai’i.

But, I propose taking the drug testing a step further. How about Congress, the Senate and Presidency? These are public officials charged with significant responsibility, that many Americans believe they take too lightly. There is currently no mandated drug testing on our countries leaders. Why not? Most Americans are subjected to drug testing policies in the workplace and their responsibilities would have little impact on our nation. Consider the illegal drug use Marion Berry. Is it terribly inconceivable that tax dollars could be used to support the drug habits of government officials? I am certain that most Americans find it difficult to understand legislative bills. So, why would we believe that a doped up congressman could do any better?

I would like to see the drug testing of welfare recipients be brought back to the table. And, I would like a portion of that bill to include drug testing of persons holding political office.

I have not postred this in a long time. It is the 45 Declared Goals for the Communist Takeover of America. It was from “The Naked Communist,” by Cleon Skousen. Have a read and make your own decision as to how these goals measure up to current America. I felt that it would be nice to review these, as we recently borrowed $1T from China, one of the last Communist strongholds in the world, and that the US Supreme Court recently ruled that Corporations will be allowed to make campaign contributions. While this may seem unrelated, I recommend that you read my recent post The apocolocyntosis of the 1st Amendment.

1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.
2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.
3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament [by] the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.
4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.
5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.
6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.
7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.
8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev’s promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.
9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.
10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.
11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces.
12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.
13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.
14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.
15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.
16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.
17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers’ associations. Put the party line in textbooks.
18. Gain control of all student newspapers.
19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.
20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policy-making positions.
21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.
22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to “eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms.”
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. “Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art.”
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and free press.
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”
27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with “social” religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a “religious crutch.”
28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of “separation of church and state.”
29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.
30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the “common man.”
31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the “big picture.” Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.
32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture–education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.
33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.
34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.
36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.
37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.
38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand [or treat].
39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.
40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.
42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use ["]united force["] to solve economic, political or social problems.
43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.
44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.
45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction [over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction] over nations and individuals alike.