| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 1866.1 | | WLW::KIER | My grandchildren are the NRA! | Mon Apr 27 1992 03:12 | 9 |
| Did you try calling the Resource Assistance Center at DTN 276-8774
(RESOURCES @OGO) or the Management Response Center at DTN 276-6477
(RESPONSE @OGO)?
This information is from a card sent to all of the Sales/Sales
Support folks in the Field. Maybe they should have sent them to
every employee.
Mike
|
| 1866.2 | | LABC::RU | | Mon Apr 27 1992 21:43 | 12 |
| 1866.3 | TALKING OUT TURN HERE. | GSMOKE::GCHARBONNEAU | | Mon Apr 27 1992 22:52 | 2 |
| In business you need lost and gain..We lose and DEC gains.( TAX WISE )
|
| 1866.4 | waste not, want not???? | USCTR1::JHERNBERG | | Tue Apr 28 1992 15:32 | 61 |
|
I am sure that many of you have already seen this since it's
original appearence. However, I think it takes on increasing
urgency as each new wave of employee "releases" occures.
The basic premise behind such cost curbing projects as DELTA
is that we, as individual employees, can make a difference
that can have a bearing on the company as a whole; find a way
to make your own work a little more productive, save a little
money in the bargin and hopefully that money might just help
one more person stave off unemployment just a little longer.
However, it is a little disheartening to read that our fellow
employees can spend $1000 on a bar bill (for some of us this
is close to our monthly take-home pay) and that there are
others out there who approve that expenditure. I know it's
said that to make money, you've got to spend money but particularly
in this industry, in this location, customers, vendors, etc.
would understand that the "enterainment" budget is no longer
as unrestrained as it once was. Particularly spending on alcohol
in view of DEC's traditional view on drinking.
In regards to -.1; sadly you are correct but I'm afraid the gains
that DEC might be making are of the Pyrrhic nature and I don't
think this is lost on those companies with enough capital to purchase
DEC.
Oh, well.........}-(
Digital - Targeting abuses of expense accounts
{The Wall Street Journal, 26-Mar-92, p. B4}
Digital Equipment Corp.'s management says employees are abusing expense
accounts by at least $30 million a year, and the company plans to crack down
on the expenditures.
In a Jan. 29 internal memorandum, James A. Wallace, finance manager of U.S.
sales and service, said expense account excesses at the company are "getting
worse not better," showing "poor business judgment" by the computer company's
managers. The memo was first disclosed by the Washington Post.
Among the "most egregarious of the egregarious" spending cited by the memo
were $1,000 bar bills, said Digital spokesman Mark Fredrickson.
"The memo was deliberately written in a pointed style and was intended to
bring about results, to get people to take expense account policies
seriously," said Mr. Fredrickson. "We've definitely begun to enforce existing
rules more stringently."
The memo comes at a time when Digital is trying to cut costs to improve its
bottom line. Digital had a loss of $109.7 million in its fiscal first half
ended Dec. 28, 1991, and $617.4 million, after a $1.1 billion pretax
restructuring charge, in the fiscal year ended last June. The company has
consolidated plants, streamlined operations and cut U.S. employment by 10,500,
or 14.5%, since September 1989, because "growth of our business is not nearly
what it was, especially in the U.S.," said Mr. Fredrickson. He added that
Digital's overall U.S. costs - $6.56 billion in fiscal 1991 - make estimated
savings of $30 million seem like "a relatively small area of the company's
overall plan to trim costs."
Nonetheless, Mr. Fredrickson said that reaction to Mr. Wallace's latest
missive - which follows up to gentler cost cutting memorandum he sent managers
last spring - has been "very positive."
|
| 1866.5 | A crew of three to wash windows ???? | BSS::GROVER | The CIRCUIT_MAN | Tue Apr 28 1992 16:00 | 15 |
| Somewhat related to the title/topic....
Yesterday, I saw what seemed to be an extreme waste of man hours, money
and looked really stupid to boot...
I saw three facilities folks washing the same windows, at the same
time. One was wetting the window, one was squeegeing the window and one
was standing around.... SUPERVISING I'm sure.!?
These three folks had DEC badges, but they may have been contractors.
A total waste of company money, in any case..!
Bob G.
|
| 1866.6 | Ok, slap my hand! | A1VAX::DISMUKE | Say you saw it in NOTES... | Tue Apr 28 1992 17:19 | 5 |
| re -1
Looks like department of public works people have a future in big
companies 8^)!!!
|
| 1866.7 | I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW. | GSMOKE::GCHARBONNEAU | | Tue Apr 28 1992 17:28 | 3 |
| YOU JUST DON`T SEE THROUGH THINGS THE WAY DEC DOES..
BY-THE-WAY,WAS THOSE THREE IN MANAGEMENT.??
|
| 1866.8 | Save money. | DYPSS1::COGHILL | Steve Coghill, Luke 14:28 | Tue Apr 28 1992 18:09 | 102 |
| Re: .4
There was a time when I too tried to save a dollar here and there.
Sorry, I'm burned out. My last money saving effort has left me soured on
the whole idea forever.
Several years ago we were asked to "tighten our belts". So, I thought I
would do my best. I was moved from one building to another. At my new
location they gave me an office that had exactly:
o 1 chair
o 1 desk
o 1 phone
I had to scrounge for a wastebasket. So I set up shop. I put what I
could in and on my desk and dumped the rest on the floor (in a very neat
organized fashion). This consisted mainly of the VMS docset, docsets for
about 15 layered products, and many reference books.
The facility watchdog came in a couple of days later and told me I could
not leave the stuff on the floor. I pointed out the Digital task
assignment for me ($1.5M project for a Fortune 3 company) required I use
these books frequently; and since the facility watchdog had denied my
request for shelves just two days before it was his problem.
I was told I was uncooperative and if I did not comply with the facility
rule of nothing on the floors except office equipment, then he would
request that personnel start disciplinary action against me. So, I
called my boss and told him my tale of woe.
He mumbled something about "What the sh*t do I pay facility overhead
dollars for?" and told me to price shelves and he would have his
secretary order them for me.
I looked around and found that standard office (metal, putty color, 3
shelves, etc.) ran about $130 apiece. I told him the particulars and
that I needed two (2) of them. More foul language about facilities
people and he said he would have our secretary order them in the morning.
That evening, I went to a home improvement store looking for some
materials to finish my basement (my wife said 3 years is more than enough
time to remodel a basement) when I happened across a sale item. It was
shelving. It was identical to what I found in the office supply catalog
with a few exceptions. They were:
1. They were made of press-board, not metal
2. They were covered with cheap, walnut contact paper, not paint
3. They were $25 apiece, not $130
Heck, I'm not proud. They'd do just fine. And I would be a good
corporate citizen because I would have saved Digital $210 in purchase
price, $? in taxes, $? in shipping (I would throw them in my car).
So, I call my boss first thing next morning.
I tell him the great news. He asked if I had in literature. It so
happened I had a sale flyer which had the shelves in it. He told me to
send it to him and he would get back to me. It turns out his boss had
decided a few weeks earlier that all purchases had to be approved by him
personnaly. So, I send it down.
Next day. The phone rings and the conversation sort of was like this:
Me: Steve.
Boss: You promise not to yell at me.
Me: What?
Boss: You promise not to yell at me now, or I will hang up the phone now.
[I have been known to verbally rip peoples' heads off over the phones as
well as in person.]
Me: I promise. Am I fired, finally?
Boss: You can't get the shelves. You have to get the metal ones.
Me: Ok. [I figured there was a logical explaination for this. Trying
to maintain a good image, etc. Why should I yell. So then I asked]
Why?
Boss: Ah sh*t, Steve! Can't you leave well enough alone? Do you have to
question everything?
Me: Sometimes, but not now. WHY! [I wasn't screaming. I just raised my
voice.]
Boss: The man in charge [his boss] says you can't get those shelves
because, and I quote, 'According to policy, Steve, being only a
consultant [i.e. I'm a low-life grunt and not a level II manager like
himself], is not entitled to wooden shelves. He will have to get
standard metal office furniture just like every one else.' end quote.
Me: I'm going to yell now.
Boss: [hangs up the phone]
I have seldom looked for ways to save money since. I don't go out of my
way to spend extravagantly, but I do not expend the effort to look for a
better deal.
|
| 1866.9 | A little frustrated... | FDCV09::CONLEY | Chuck Conley, ACO | Tue Apr 28 1992 21:26 | 41 |
|
Often we don't see waste until it is too late to do anything.
Here at ACO, Digital is spending thousands of dollars (just my
own estimate) to construct a motorcycle parking pad in the park-
ing lot. This involves bringing in heavy excavation equipment to
remove the existing pavement, and who knows what else before the
project is complete. In recent months, I've only seen one motor-
cycle parked here. Maybe someone thinks that with the small salary
increases we've been getting, the only transportation employees
will be able to afford is motorcycle?
The amount of pine bark mulch used at ACO this spring is probably
more that I could use on my half acre yard for the next 100 years,
and much of this landscaping has been done BEHIND the building.
Now I think it's nice to have a perfectly manicured yard around
the building, even though we don't have any windows to see it,
but I can't help but feel that when people are being layed off
(call it whatever name you like) it might be possible to
economize a little on the landscaping.
Another category of problems include those that just don't seem
to have good solutions.
Maybe it's my imagination, maybe not, but it seems like over the
last few months I've been getting a lot more electronic mail than
in the past. There are memos about reorganizations, memos from
personnel, memos from this manager or that manager, memos about
something that Ken Olsen said, and on and on... A high percent
of this has page after page of distribution list attached (or at
the beginning.) I generally try to avoid printing this stuff,
but what I notice, when I go to the shared LPS40 that many people
here use, is that most people print these memos, exactly as they
are received---memo after memo with page after page of distribution
list. It seems like I once saw a memo with a long (multi-page)
distribution list admonishing people to avoid printing memos with
long distribution lists. Oh well, at least the paper goes into
the recycling bin.
/cc
|
| 1866.10 | paper | STAR::ABBASI | i^(-i) = SQRT(exp(PI)) | Wed Apr 29 1992 04:19 | 18 |
| >It seems like I once saw a memo with a long (multi-page)
>distribution list admonishing people to avoid printing memos with
>long distribution lists.
this is really funny.
>Oh well, at least the paper goes into the recycling bin.
i think that recycled paper costs more than natural paper, but at
least it safes trees which is well worth the extra cost.
in my previous life when i had a printer in my cube i used
to turn the paper around when done reading the front, and feed it to
the printer to use it again. i always though it is a waste to
throw paper away when the other side is still blank and can be used.
/nasser
|
| 1866.11 | | JETSAM::DWESSELS | | Wed Apr 29 1992 12:17 | 5 |
| I heard that a building is being quickly renovated to include a 500-600
seat amphitheater in time for a "State of the Company" meeting June
3rd. This decision is said to have been made in the last couple of
weeks and the rush is on. Don't we already have several suitable
locations?!
|
| 1866.12 | It has been in MKO2 caf | SOLVIT::COBB | | Wed Apr 29 1992 12:52 | 10 |
|
We don't have a building with that much seating capacity.
Most recently, the State of the Company meeting has been
held in the MKO2 cafeteria. They convert it to a meeting
room for that day only. My guess is it only holds about
200-300 people max when its converted to a meeting room.
Why they need seating space for 500-600 is not clear to me.
Chuck
|
| 1866.13 | 8^| | TNPUBS::JONG | Steve | Wed Apr 29 1992 14:04 | 1 |
| They must be bringing in all the vice-presidents for this meeting.
|
| 1866.14 | Not enough room for VPs | BSS::GROVER | The CIRCUIT_MAN | Wed Apr 29 1992 15:06 | 5 |
| RE: .13
If that were true, the room they're building isn't big enough. 8^)
|
| 1866.15 | Effort counts for something, I think??? | USCTR2::JHERNBERG | | Wed Apr 29 1992 18:50 | 20 |
|
.8....Steve,
I don't know what Luke 14:28 is but I have read Job and any
employee who has run into a situation similar to yours surly
must have to have the patience of Job. Many people I know
have felt pride in their cost cutting efforts and absolutely
shocked when their ideas have been rejected or worst yet,
rejected for more expensive and less productive ideas. (Being
a secretary, I've processed some IPR's for expenses you just
really wouldn't believe!!)
Hey, you did you part, what else is there to do....I've heard it
said that there is one good thing about banging your head against
the wall.....it feels so good when you stop!
P.S. I hope you take the shelves with you when you leave.
|
| 1866.16 | | CSC32::MORTON | Aliens, the snack food of CHAMPIONS! | Wed Apr 29 1992 22:00 | 19 |
| Re the following;
>> <<< Note 1866.15 by USCTR2::JHERNBERG >>>
>> -< Effort counts for something, I think??? >-
>>
>>
>>
>> .8....Steve,
>>
>> I don't know what Luke 14:28 is but I have read Job and any
Luke 14:28
"For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit
down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?"
Quite appropriate for our situation I think...
Jim Morton
|
| 1866.17 | BYO ? | ZENDIA::SEKURSKI | | Thu Apr 30 1992 00:33 | 18 |
|
Re .12-.13
BYO perhaps ? 100+ people have been moved out of the old Sales
Training facility there just last week and no one seems to know
exactly what is going in its' place...
BYO is a former prep school.
When I worked there as a coop. there was a real nice gym. It's
since been converted to student labs.
It wouldn't take much to convert it into an ampitheater(sp?)
Mike
----
|
| 1866.18 | | INDUCE::SHERMAN | ECADSR::Sherman DTN 223-3326 | Thu Apr 30 1992 15:14 | 14 |
| re: .16
On a show recently on PBS about skyscrapers they explained that towers
of old were built so that families could demonstrate their influence and
power. They were often built as an act of vanity. This may add an
interesting twist to the application of Luke 14:28 to the tower or pyramid
building of today. That is, how many pyramids have been foolishly
built at Digital with little or no thought as to whether the company
could afford it? One good thing about reorganization is that it
presents *opportunity* to dismantle the towers and pyramids and replace
them with functional and pragmatic structures. I hope that it is not
an opportunity that is wasted.
Steve
|
| 1866.19 | | 43GMC::KEITH | Real men double clutch | Thu Apr 30 1992 17:47 | 17 |
| RE Note 1866.1 WASTE WATCH IN DIGITAL- WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE 1 of 18
WLW::KIER "My grandchildren are the NRA!" 9 lines 26-APR-1992 23:12
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Did you try calling the Resource Assistance Center at DTN 276-8774
> (RESOURCES @OGO) or the Management Response Center at DTN 276-6477
> (RESPONSE @OGO)?
> This information is from a card sent to all of the Sales/Sales
> Support folks in the Field. Maybe they should have sent them to
> every employee.
Save your breadth. I tried them. They told me to talk to the person nn
levels above me that was causing the problem. SOME %^$# HELP!
Steve
PS: What a waste of money!
|
| 1866.20 | RESOURCES @OGO Works for 90% | OFFPLS::GRAY | | Fri May 01 1992 20:17 | 13 |
| re: .19
Resources @OGO is a small group who work very hard to find people
when local channels have come up short. I have worked there several
days helping out and they sucessfully find a person for about 90% of
the 70 calls per month that come in. Sorry you did not have a good
result, Steve, but many have. It is also about the only pulsebeat that
US management has to tabulate where the skills shortfall are. So even
those they don't help get visibility to the subject.
Yes, they do ask callers what has been tried so they don't duplicate,
and if little or no attempt has been made locally, they ask that that
be done first. They don't try to be the first line of defense.
|
| 1866.21 | in the eyes of the beholder? | ALIEN::MCCULLEY | RSX Pro | Fri May 01 1992 22:49 | 27 |
| .4> However, it is a little disheartening to read that our fellow
.4> employees can spend $1000 on a bar bill (for some of us this
.4> is close to our monthly take-home pay) and that there are
.4> others out there who approve that expenditure. I know it's
.4> said that to make money, you've got to spend money but particularly
.4> in this industry, in this location, customers, vendors, etc.
.4> would understand that the "enterainment" budget is no longer
.4> as unrestrained as it once was. Particularly spending on alcohol
.4> in view of DEC's traditional view on drinking.
When I saw that article in the WSJ I immediately assumed that the true
sin was that the expenditure was a <gasp> *bar tab* (which probably was
really room service or a restaurant tab for a large group). Before
I passed judgement on it I'd want to know if it was something like
taking the entire founding membership of ACE out to dinner after
finally reaching agreement, or what?
.4> Digital - Targeting abuses of expense accounts
.4> {The Wall Street Journal, 26-Mar-92, p. B4}
.4> Digital Equipment Corp.'s management says employees are abusing expense
.4> accounts by at least $30 million a year, and the company plans to crack down
.4> on the expenditures.
{...}
.4> Among the "most egregarious of the egregarious" spending cited by the memo
.4> were $1,000 bar bills, said Digital spokesman Mark Fredrickson.
|
| 1866.22 | ACO Motorcycle Parking Now Available | FDCV09::CONLEY | Chuck Conley, ACO | Mon May 11 1992 22:42 | 12 |
| Re: .9
I'm sure you'll all be glad to know that the ACO motorcycle parking
pad is now complete. A few people have been parking cars on it.
There was a rumor going around that someone actually parked a
motorcycle on it the other day, but that hasn't been confirmed.
Now, because of the problem with cars, perhaps it will be necessary
to construct/install some "motorcycle parking only" signs.
/cc
|
| 1866.23 | | CSC32::J_OPPELT | I like it this way. | Fri May 15 1992 21:11 | 18 |
| Motorcycle parking is not a waste. It is especially useful
in areas where parking spaces are hard to come by. You can
fit quite a few motorcycles in an area that would otherwise
be used by 6 cars or so. Without such an area, motorcycles
tend to occupy one car-space per bike.
"If you build it, they will come."
Here at CXO3 they have a real nice motorcycle pad. They extend
it in the warmer weather to accommodate 25-30 bikes. Maybe more,
I've never counted. They use concrete parking markers to expand it.
In the cooler weather it handles 15-20 bikes, I'd guess. Maybe
ACO's motorcycle pad hasn't been used much yet because the weather
hasn't been warm enough to ride a motorcycle into work...
BTW, I don't ride (nor have I ever used) a motorcycle.
Joe Oppelt
|