The following story came to me this week from a reader who's sentiments may be shared by a lot folks. If I am the last one on the planet to have seen it and it has been circulating around the web for a long time, please excuse my redundancy.

The story pokes fun at business bureaucracy, mismanagement, corporate fairness, employee relations and more. Finding this type of story more often in your in-box displays a kind of recession fatigue and growing cynicism.

A foreign company and an American company decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day, the foreign company won by a mile. The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.

Their conclusion was the foreign team had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing. Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion. They advised that too many people were steering the boat while not enough people were rowing.

Continue reading Sunday Funnies: Big business & recession fatigue support cynicism

Sunday Funnies: Big business & recession fatigue support cynicism originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Looking for better morale? [Eff] You! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Oct 2007 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The New York Times' Career Coach takes a look at online gaming in the workplace. A recent survey indicates that 24% of employees admit to playing computer games in the workplace -- a statistic that may leave a lot of managers none too pleased.

Somewhat surprisingly, employers are mixed in their responses to online gaming. Some have chosen to block all gaming sites, while others have only blocked a few. Many have no clear policy, and some even believe it can be a valid way for workers to recharge their batteries, provided that it takes place in moderation.

Depending on what they're playing, I would argue that an occasional break for a computer game could be very productive -- certainly more so than office gossip around the water cooler. Remember, Warren Buffett has said that he spends roughly 10% of his productive hours playing bridge -- often online, sometimes with Bill Gates. Given that these are the two richest men we have, it's safe to say that their gaming hasn't hindered their productivity too much.

The latest generation of workers grew up on video games, and I suspect that gaming will only become more widespread, and more acceptable, within the office environment.

Is online gaming in the office a serious problem? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Oct 2007 17:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A piece in today's Wall Street Journal takes a look at the growing popularity of instant messaging as a means of communication at work. As the Journal puts it, "Instant messaging is invading and changing the workplace. Employees started to sneak instant messaging into the office in the late 1990s, but now more companies are endorsing it. Faster and more casual than email, instant messaging can foster broader collaboration among employees even as it further blurs the boundaries between work and life."

Those of us who work for BloggingStocks are in constant communication via AOL Instant Messenger (Full Disclosure: BloggingStocks is owned by AOL): We discuss story ideas, the markets, and chat. Instant messaging has built a sense of camaraderie and closeness among people working thousands of miles apart that frankly never would have developed through more traditional lines of communication.

Several experts quoted in the piece predict that instant messaging at work will grow rapidly in popularity: Currently about 1/3 of workers IM at work, often without the knowledge of their bosses, but one expert believes that it will become the dominant method of communication in the workplace.

As well it should.

Does instant messaging have a place in the workplace? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Jul 2007 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.