Conference 7.286::digital

    
    >Can someone tell me why we can afford to move offices 50 feet for the
    >    sake of "keeping a group all together" and we can't afford the
    >luxury of office supplies, equipment, raises for the troops, etc.?
    
                .-1

    \dlm,

    these are tough questions. no tough questions are allowed here.

    plus, why for crying out loud you need office supplies, equipment and
    raises for??

    plus , they are moving your office for you, a whole 50 feets , isn't 
    that like enough? you want more ??

    more, more, more, more, more . every DECeee is just asking for more things
    these days.

    why? what is happening to us, DEC , DECeees and the world?

    one day it is supplies, the other day equipments, one day raises
    when will this end? what will it be next?

    \nasser

    It would be a waste to buy office supplies.  They'd just get lost in
    the move.
    
    tom_p

    "pots"!  It's just those different "pots" of money everyone talks
    about.
    
    LOTS of money for relocating, downsizing offices, etc., no money for
    anything else.
    
    Toodles.....JP
    

    The answer to .0 is likely to be that a manager doesn't tend to look as
    stupid if surrounded by subordinates.
    
    Steve

    With only about three more plants to shut here in Europe.... what's
    another plant load of stuff to move around.......
    
    Gabriel

    Is this a recent 50' move?  The policy announced a month or two ago
    makes it very hard to get moves authorized, except under certain
    conditions (such as a change in cost center).  You can't even move
    yourself because they won't hook up phones in the new offices.  We've
    got some folks over 100 yards away who we're trying to get to be
    within 50' of the rest of the group, and it's tough.  Note, this is
    in the mill, which imposes its own peculiar complexities on any
    situation.
    
    	Enjoy,
    	Larry

    I have been in SHR3 for a little over a year and have had 3 different
    offices.  
    
    During the last move about 3 days before that "no more moves" memo came
    out we moved 40', and got a new mailstop.   We were told that we could
    not get our desks moved (takes about 5 mins with one of those lift
    things they shove under your desk).  Instead we all had to empty out
    our desks, box the stuff up, have the movers move the boxes, clean up
    our new desks, unpack our stuff, then wait 10 days for keys to our
    "new" desks.  Whoever had my "new" desk before me was a real pig (food
    left in there, coffee [or something] spilled all over the inside of the
    desk, etc.).  
    
    So rather than pay the movers to move our desks (5 mins for a mover) we
    have to move the stuff ourselves (2 or more hours for each engineer in
    group).  Yep that saved money.
    
    At least we got plant engineering to put extra outlets in the two
    offices we use as labs (since lab space is so expensive we can't get
    any).  They also had to put in a couple of new outlets for LPS40s.
    
    My wife just moved to SHR3 two months ago.  She has moved once already
    (east wing to west wing) and she was informed her group (and her lab)
    will be moving again in January.
    
    The *rumor* is that we all had to move this time cause a bunch of new VP
    offices had to be made (SHR3, 2nd floor, west side of west wing).  
                                                                      

    	On my move before last (a year ago) we knew that we would be
    evacuating the building by June this year, but since everyone was being
    moved around anyway, "they" took the opportunity to replace all the
    shoulder-high partitions with floor-to-ceiling ones. I hope the new
    tennants enjoy them.
    
    	I was moved 10' vertically, and two of my boxes of documentation were
    lost in the move. My workstation didn't like the move either. Its hard
    disk went bad immediately, and trying to get FS to replace it when they
    were fully occupied reconnecting other workstations round the building
    meant that another couple of days was wasted.

	Here in CXO, we are in the process of 'consolidating' some of the
remaining engineering groups.  A $2 mill retrofit, (paid for out of
restructuring money!) to move people who are busy and don't want to move so we
can leave portions of the building 'available for other groups that may
someday relocate here', or 'rental to external organizations', or 'empty 
for tax purposes'.

	Existing labs with adequate power and cooling are being abandoned
for labs that must be upgraded - and of course no schedule slips for this
'slight inconvenience'.  The groups involved will be saving money - because
they will be using less office and lab space - not necessarily by choice...
When people who had 10x10 offices move into their new 8x10 offices I know
there is going to be a little culture shock.

	My group downsized our lab space by half earlier this year, and
now we will be moving to a new lab (as soon as they get the wall up and the
network connects in) so they can start retrofitting our current lab for
the new residents.

	I always thought they moved us periodically just so they could 
vacuum the carpets and wax the floors while the offices were empty...  
I guess musical offices is just part of the DECital culture that hasn't 
died yet..

		Joe

RE: PASTIS::MONAHA
    
    >I was moved 10' vertically, and two of my boxes of documentation were
    >lost in the move.
    
    Was that 10' *up* or 10' *down*?  ;-)

    
    
    my whole group moved home...we all (save for one or two individuals who
    must love cafeteria food ) work from our homes now........
    We have no problems communicating via telephone and electronic mail. 
    Some of our team members live in other states (South Carolina,  Seattle, 
    California) but it's just like being there when you can pick up the
    phone or drop a mail message.
    SO.....(you were wondering where this was leading)
    WHY do we have to spend the $$$ to move people who are 50' apart in the
    same building, closer together?????  
    If we're truly trying to save money, why don't we start pretending that
    we're a computer company and use our electronic resources more
    efficiently?  Or why don't we start looking at having MORE people
    working from home so we can close down a few more buildings or
    consolidate a little more space....??  If everyone (possible) worked
    from home, think how much money Digital would save in only one quarter
    just by eliminating constant people moves?? 
    Oh, there's a few additional savings to the work from home plan....I buy
    my OWN toilet paper, and my OWN post-it notes, and my OWN pens and
    pencils///I pay to heat my own house, and pay for the electricity to
    power my workstation, I'm NEVER late for work, even in the worst of
    blizzards, sick time is reduced cause I'm not breathing in everyone 
    elses germs 40 hours a week....I don't have to take a day off work
    because of a school holidays or sick kids.... and, they can always find
    me....(I'm not down at the cafeteria, or at someone elses desk!)
    
    I HATE that saying from Investment in Excellance training, but for the
    most part, Digital mgt is NOT thinking outside of its 9 dots.....

    ..and you'll be home to answer the door to the UPS man when
      he delivers your service award.  
    

    re: .10
    	It was 10' down, adjacent to the coffee machine, and since the
    office had previously belonged to a manager it was double-glazed to
    keep out the noise of the plebs that used the machine ;-)
    
    	On my latest move it was a DESNC that was lost. I tried to
    persuade poeple that this is serious, since the thing is restricted by
    both French and U.S. government licences, but nobody seemed interested.
    I don't actually need the thing, but we should take better care of
    things that are restricted by U.S. export licensing.
    
    	On an earlier move I had the total materials for a course I was
    teaching lost, including the backup magtape that I had foolishly put in
    the same box as the paper documentation.
    
    	I now keep all of my really useful documentation at home.

    
    
    re .12
    
    
    actually, I went in to pick mine up.....;-)

    Something to consider...when facilities (like in ZKO) is trying to
    squeeze up to make room for those coming from closing buildings (TTB
    done; NUO now doing) they will move people around to suit their needs
    and this will always be charged to the facilities group - not the
    individual group moving.  This happened to me in ZKO recently - I was
    in office A and they wanted me to move to make contiguous space for
    antoher group coming in.  They asked be to move to the office behind
    where I was currently located.  Go figure - that office was empty and
    the people moving in were taking up all the space around there too.
     

I'm glad to hear of the move restrictions.  We're moving this week which makes
10 sites (9 moves) in only 6 1/2 years with Digital (only 2 different bosses or
1 job change).  My [satirical] impressions of it all...

100 Move people to get the organization physically together
110 Reorganize
120 GOTO 100

								_Mike

    RE: .16
    
    
    	Any of the sites repeats.  I have friends here in SHRewsbury that
    have been all around the building...only to end up a few doors down
    from where they started...
    
    Go figure.
    
    dlmf

    Re: .17:
    
    That's not musical offices, that's a carousel!   :-)

I received a memo this week that stated that any office moves that require 
outside expenditures are on hold. Perhaps this will stop the music for the 
moment.

    re .19: You been away from the GMA too long. :-)

    
    Does anybody have the memo regarding no more office moves?  If so,
    can you please post it here?  
    
    We're about to embark on a REALLY well-thought out move, whereby
    the sales support people will now be in a bldg across the parking lot
    from the bldg sales people sit in.  When we tried to push back, we
    were told that "Sales Management doesn't have a problem with this."
    We knew this to be false, because many, many salespeople and their
    managers are moaning about it.  So we pushed back more, and were told,
    "Well, Level I Sales Managers may have a problem with it, but Level II
    Managers don't."   ---AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
    
    --Vicki

    Re .21	Attached is (one of) the overall Discretionary Spending
    		memos from Vin Mullarkey. Attachment A - #6 refers to office 
    		moves. Each Area/Territory seems to interpret this differently.
    		The Eastern States has virtually stopped data and telephone 
    		line installations for moves. 
    
    		At end of September, when I moved from one facility to 
    		another (within the same industrial park) I had to get special
    		permission to get my boxes moved!
    
    
    
                  I N T E R O F F I C E   M E M O R A N D U M

                                        Date:     09-Sep-1993 03:53pm EDT
                                        From:     Vin Mullarkey @MLO
                                                  MULLARKEY.VIN AT PNDVUEA1 at 
							MLMAIL at MLO
                                        Dept:     Corporate Finance
                                        Tel No:   223-4447

 
Subject: Spending                                                               


                              COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL

The recently submitted forecasts reflect spending overruns versus budget in 
several parts of the Company.  Additionally, some sample testing indicates 
that we have lost our discretionary spending focus in many groups in the 
Company.  Both these issues have been reviewed at a recent Senior Leadership 
Team meeting and management has been directed to get back on (or below) 
expense plans for Q1.

The Corporate Finance Staff has recently reviewed this situation and decided 
to significantly increase the finance focus on spending reductions throughout
the Company with particular emphasis on the remainder of Q1. We are requesting
that the senior finance management in ALL units of the Company give the highest
priority to the following three (3) point program:

1)  Discretionary Spending Guidelines - Attached are two lists of 
    spending guidelines.  The first follows direction set by the 
    SLT in mid Q4 and the second is a list of several corporate 
    policies that are not being effectively followed.  As the senior 
    finance person in your unit, you are expected to get DIRECTLY 
    involved in the operational review of spending practices and 
    ensure that these guidelines and policies are being followed.  
    Questions should be directed to your manager on the Corporate 
    Finance Staff, Bill Van Atten or myself.

    Additional guidelines and policy directions will be forthcoming
    from Steve Smith and Bob Paul, co-chairs of the Competitive 
    Cost Leaders Forum.

    During October the corporation will be reviewing discretionary
    spending performance for Q1 by major unit (territory, Business
    Unit, function and plant).  Those groups who have not achieved 
    the planned corporate average Q1 discretionary spending 
    reduction of 20% (versus Q1 of FY-93) will be the focus of 
    these reviews.

2)  Unique Local Initiatives - In addition to the items given in 
    the Corporate-wide spending quidelines, each finance manager
    is being asked to develop together with their operating 
    management a list of local initiatives.  

    Particular areas of focus should include:

    -	Local stop spending directives in defined areas.

    -	Renegotiate or defer supplier contracts. 

    -	Evaluate your low value order (LVO) purchasing process
    	for effectiveness and assure it is being used as 
    	intended.  

    	Both the finance manager and the purchasing manager are
    	responsible for auditing compliance to all guidelines in 
    	the use of these processes.

    -	Any supplier cancellation fee or non-compliance fee 
    	activity must be managed with purchasing.  Where
    	possible, purchasing is expected to renegotiate any 
    	expense exposure to an absolute minimum.

    The purchasing organization in the 13 territories will collaborate
    in this effort through the following process.

    -	GIA and Europe - All territory purchasing managers will 
    	develop ideas/suggestions and forward them to their 
    	territory finance manager copying Jack Tracy and Bob Hult
    	for GIA territories or Ollie Butler and Bob Cohen for 
    	European territories.	    

    -	US based functional and business purchasing managers will 
    	develop ideas/suggestions and forward them to the appropriate 
    	business finance manager and copy Bob Paul, who is collating
    	all purchasing input.

    During the next several days, you will be contacted by a member of
    the Corporate Finance Staff for an in-depth discussion of what 
    additional expense reduction opportunities you propose to implement.

3)  Reserve Reviews - During the week of September 20, we will be 
    conducting a review of reserves and accruals to ensure that these
    levels are appropriate.  Expectations will be forwarded under 
    separate cover the week of September 13.

                CORPORATE-WIDE DISCRETIONARY SPENDING GUIDELINES
                                 (Attachment A)

The following are in effect until further notice:

1)  Travel should be limited to revenue/profit-related opportunities
    or customer-related issues.  Refrain from sending more than one
    person from the same organization to the same engagement.

2)  All external training and management training (both internal and
    external) not tied to the achievement of revenue will be deferred 
    except for previously approved degree programs in which an 
    employee is currently enrolled.

3)  Stop all hiring and renewals of temporary and agency personnel
    except for:

    A	Service delivery specialists and consultants directly
    	engaged in revenue projects.

    B 	Direct manufacturing resource requirements.

    C	Facilities support personnel.

    Review all existing temporary and agency personnel and eliminate or
    defer unless they are engaged in a critical business need or meet 
    the above three exceptions.

4)  Keep office supply purchases to an absolute minimum.  Inventorying
    should be avoided.  Additionally, expenditures on items such as 
    express mail, office decorations, personal books, and business
    cards for employees not requiring external contact should only 
    be incurred if absolutely vital to achieving revenue.

5)  All requests for printed materials, such as datasheets, brochures, 
    catalogues, and circulars not directly related to generating revenue 
    should be deferred.

6)  Office moves which are not directly related to building consolidation 
    or restructuring will be placed on hold.  Facility remodeling, 
    repainting, improvements, and reconfigurations should be deferred 
    unless tied to the closing of another facility.

7)  All engagement or hiring of external consultants or consulting firms 
    should cease, except where they are in direct support of revenue/profit 
    generation (i.e. customer bid or delivery activities).  Existing 
    consultant agreements should be reviewed and eliminated or deferred.
    Purchasing managers are being instructed to provide a listing of 
    existing contracts to the appropriate finance manager for review.	

                           CORPORATE EXPENSE POLICIES
                                 (Attachment B)

It is expected that all corporate expense policies will be followed diligently 
and existing internal control programs instill discipline throughout the 
Company.  However, recent compliance audits indicate that some abuses still 
occur.  Assure that all policies are scrupulously followed with particular 
attention to:

1)  The purchase of gifts.  These are not allowed for employees except
    where they are part of a corporate sponsored program.  Gifts to 
    customers must be of nominal value only.

2)  Reimbursement for dues and memberships are not allowed.  These 
    would include such things as athletic clubs, professional societies,
    airline clubs, hotel/dinner clubs, and alumni clubs.  Where there is a
    compelling business reason to belong to a professional society, an 
    exception policy should exist.

3)  Local recognition or motivation programs such as dinners, theater 
    tickets, sporting event tickets, gift certificates, trophies and
    plaques are NOT eligible for reimbursement unless formally approved
    as a general program by a Senior Leadership Team member.

4)  The purchase of personal (non-customer related) limousine service
    is not allowed.  This does not include low cost, multi-passenger
    vans or automobiles providing shuttle services.

5)  Employees will not be reimbursed for travel expenses exceeding 
    policy guidelines for air travel, meals, hotel rates, and car rentals.
    Finance managers should assure that clear guidelines and exception
    approval policies exist in their organization or country and 
    conduct compliance reviews.

6)  Employee relocation authorizations should be kept to a minimum
    with strict adherence to policy.  All relocation policy exceptions
    require a Senior Leadership Team member approval.