big business
Tuesday Stand-By Motivation
Again I am sitting on stand-by B (7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.) it is hard to get my motivation around this stand-by. More because I feel home lost (not homeless), I have a place in San Francisco which I rarely see I think 6 days in December and my friends in Scottsdale have been great opening their home.
The one I have to spend the most time at (my friends) now, is not my place so I feel uneasy. I try and become as small as possible not taking up any room or making any messy. Walk softly and invisible.
Then with being on Reserves, with stand-by shifts days are just tough. Most days I try and go to the local coffee shop, there are 2 that I go to Winflields which is next to a church. It has great atmosphere and the coffee and service are great the other is the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf again great coffee and service with a good atmosphere the only difference is that the Coffee bean is busier so it makes studying harder sometimes.
The reason is I can get up in the morning get ready incase they call me out and then go to the coffee shop which is only a few blocks aways. Make it convenient if I get called out on a trip.
Today I am looking to be able to commute back to San Francisco this evening since I have a day off then start my working vacation. The only good thing is that I know what I will be doing from now till the 21st and will only need to spend 1 day at my friends house in Scottsdale.
For the last month everything has been out of whack, most because of scheduling and flying. I am trying to start this new year on positive notes and turn them into my chapters.
I have gotten some of my reading done for accounting today, but not much I am hoping I can on the flight back to San Francisco.
Break…going to the airport…
A day of sitting on stand-by writing essays
So I have been sitting since 3:00 p.m. waiting to see if I would get called out for work. Luckily they haven’t called.
But I have been working on my homework since 10:00 a.m., the case 3 essay almost done, tomorrow I hope to have a good working copy then a revision and send it off.
It can be hard to sit and study, read and write when you would rather be out doing other things. But its all for the goal for June 2010.
Writing on corporate governance, is interesting because of what has happened in the last year to all these companies. To this economy and to people lives.
The mortgage industry is one that I don’t understand, how could everyone be letting so many people who couldn’t afford a mortgage have one. How could the managers and CEO of these companies allow things like this to happen except for greed and individual opportunistic motives.
The board of directors at some of these companies seem to be letting the kids run amok.
I also believe that it is the obligation of the board of directors and CEOs to take care of the stakeholders. But I for one like a few CEO out there that believe that if you take care of your number 1 asset, your employees they will take care of your customers which will take care your stakeholders (shareholders).
I also believe that a company should make a profit, but how much? at the cost of value? at the cost of employees? at the cost of creating value for your product? or at the cost of creating a quality, reliable product?
I also to believe that if the compensation given to CEOs is so much greater than the upper management there will be conflicts, also the same holds true when the CEO and upper managements compensations is grossly disproportionally to employees.
I see it at the company I work for where the employee at the bottom of seniority can qualify for food stamps, and yet management refuses to pay them. They even refuse to pay them the same as our counterparts which management say is contractual. But after 4 years a contract is no where in-site with our counterparts after the merger (reverse acquisition).
It is unethical for your employees to to be applying for food stamps while you as the CEO and your stakeholder are making money.
But I like learning and what the books have to say and see what happens in real life.
Profit, How much is to much?
This morning on my way to Reno, NV I picked up the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. In the WSJ there was an article describing how management is going to do things differently at Starbucks, Armed with a stopwatch to cut times partners make coffee and do other jobs in the stores.
This is all in an attempt to save money and make more profit and of course more efficient. As the article calls it getting more lean, sounds crazy to me.
Want more profit, get me out of the fu fu drink line.
Set up a machine so that can walk up NOT in the fu fu drink line somewhere else, put my money in get my Hot cup of black coffee and be on my way. No muss no fuss.
Because if you don’t you Mr Starbucks you will miss out, I usually will pass by opting not to wait when I see that line. I know in that line they are all in there ordering coffee using 50 plus words to describe to the barrister what they want in the coffee.
I am probably not the only one who will walk on by. Avoid my nice cup of joe and reason with myself that I really didn’t need to spend the money. Because at my weakest point that moment they had me, that Starbucks line save me from buying what I really did not need to begin with.
It been a nice day here Reno, and a good time to work on homework
Reading Chapter 1 of Strategic Management I was amazed to read what I have been thinking for awhile in it opening statement and I quote;
” GM is having difficulty achieving the levels of success desired by people who have a stake in the firm’s performance” (Hitt, Hoskisson, Ireland, 2007, pg 4)
Seems that is what has been getting this country and it economy into trouble. Levels of success desired by people.
CEO’s, corporations, and workers are letting ourselves be drive by someone else’s greed. To make more, drive more, and cut more bottom line of the accountants ledger is all that matters. To do the task master bidding.
Not the Customer, and not the Employees, just the Shareholders. Don’t the CEO’s and Corporation get it! that those shareholders have no loyalty to said company. Their only loyalty is to the Almighty Green Back, how much money can they make today, this hour, this minute.
It is a greed wheel that has been pushed hard in the 21st century.
What has happened to good honest work, making a quality product you were proud of and making money at it.
Marketing has taught us we need to have all the toys, and the drive to make the money to pay for those toys has hit everyone. With the internet came day traders, out went investors… in a few years I believe it will go to hourly traders to minute traders as computing power gets stronger. The need to race, to get the edge and cash in, will even become greater.
Greed is the fuel of the investor/day trader and with no loyalties the death of many a company that think in old school management terms(were to big for them to hurt us) and don’t seek creative and new ways of management and doing business.
Phoenix
It is a 11:11 p.m. and I have just got done with my laundry, I have been flying today for 11 hours and I am tired. Tomorrow starts early because I have to be at the airport before noon to fly to Philadelphia.
I am hoping that I will be able to get the first essay done this trip. We shall see.
I was looking at Business Week there are some good articles about retirement and the minds of todays employees. I for one do not trust Big Business much any more unless things change in the way they want to do business.
Time for some sleep.
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