Posts Tagged: work environment

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12
Apr 10

Analysis Paralysis

In case you forgot what it means:

“Analysis paralysis is a phrase that describes a situation where the opportunity cost of decision analysis exceeds the benefits that could be gained by enacting some decision, or an informal or non-deterministic situation where the sheer quantity of analysis overwhelms the decision making process itself, thus preventing a decision. The phrase applies to any situation where analysis may be applied to help make a decision and may be a dysfunctional element of organizational behavior.”

I like how the see-also section refers you to Wicked problems:

“a problem that is difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize. Moreover, because of complex interdependencies, the effort to solve one aspect of a wicked problem may reveal or create other problems.”

<sigh>

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26
Oct 09

The economy is causing unhappiness at work

The Economist on unhappiness at work:

“A survey by the Centre for Work-Life Policy, an American consultancy, found that between June 2007 and December 2008 the proportion of employees who professed loyalty to their employers slumped from 95% to 39%; the number voicing trust in them fell from 79% to 22%.”

The article puts the primary blame on the poor economy, but also suggests that micro-measuring employees (how many times did you smile at a customer today?) and mixed messages about company loyalty play a significant role.

Bob Sutton discusses the data further. Particularly, he is interested in how companies will fare when the economy returns.

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8
Sep 09

Innovation through Play Time

Matt writes about How playtime is responsible for Post-It Notes, Lasik, and more

“In fact, that’s how IBM invented the application of laser for eye surgery. A group of IBM scientists were experimenting with laser for improving IBM products. One scientist wanted to see what the effect of laser would be on a cut on his finger. Intrigued by the results, the scientists experimented on cows’ eyes and eventually human eyes. IBM eventually licensed out the technology, making millions in profit.”

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20
Aug 09

Veggie first, local second

According to the Worldwatch Institute, to best way to improve the environmental impacts of your diet is to eat vegetarian foods first before eating local.
“As it turns out, when we look at life-cycle analysis, a “cradle-to-grave perspective” on food products, food miles are “a relatively small slice of the greenhouse-gas pie,” says DeWeerdt. In fact, according to a comprehensive analysis last year by Christopher Weber and H. Scott Matthews of Carnegie Mellon University, final delivery from the producer or processor to the retailer accounts for only 4% of the U.S. food system’s greenhouse-gas emissions!”
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26
Jun 09

Necessary Non-Value

Everything a company does, can not be directly coorelated to benefiting the customer. Ester Derby says it best in Non-valued added, but necessary:

“tasks that don’t directly add value to the customer, but enable delivering value to the customer. Sometimes these are the tasks and functions that enable the business to stay in business–like accounting, or payroll, or management.”

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