Step 102: How Not To Run A Business

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A nuclear explosion takes place when the most insignificant of particles creates an escalating chain reaction that quickly becomes an OMG BOOM! Of course, by the time you think of the acronym OMG, the boom has already reduced you to more insignificant particles.

So this past Monday, yet another employee (insignificant in the eyes of the powers-that-be) turned in her notice and unintentionally started what may become a nuclear explosion within our company. I'll give you time to read my post about her actions. Okay, done? Well then, let me post about the today's next action in this chain of disastrous business decisions as our Director of human resources showed herself to be Catbert's role model.

She strolled about the plant handing out her restrictive policy (highly approved by the CFO and Pres) on employee vacation time. What she didn't expect were the angry questions and comments as she went from production cell to production cell. She might as well have been poking a large bear with a stick. She reacted to one employee who has been there 37 years by asking sarcastically, "Do you really believe that you deserve 20 days off a year?" After years of simmering employee frustration over greedy business policies, you can imagine how this attitude by our wonderful HR and the impromptu rule change has pushed the workers to a boiling point. Shortly after she finished her walk through the plant, we received notice that there would be an employee meeting about the new vacation protocol and "other important matters".

Our guess at this moment is that "other important matters" means stopping 401(k) matching or, to appease the natives who are now considering a sitdown strike, pay raises that are six years overdue. We'll find out tomorrow if this chain reaction destroys what could have been a great company.

Jan. 8th: Update

What Happens to My Job Now?

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It looks as though the sale of the company that I work for is about to reach its final stages. Since upper management has told us very little, rumors have been rampant. We're reasonably sure they're not going to shut down the business. We're not sure if a corporate relocation may be in the works once a sale is finalized. We do know that the company president did very well. He had a 3% ownership which the new owners bought out. We've also learned that he received a very nice severance package as CEOs usually do. This probably explains why he's been smiling like he never has since I've known him. Either that or he drowned a litter of cute kittens over the weekend.

As for us pions, we hope that the new owners will be business people --- ones who understand the importance of rewarding workers for their blood, sweat and tears. This would be a happy change after dealing with owners who fattened their bank accounts by treating their workers as necessary evils. One thing that I've learned from working here is that business integrity can be like oxygen. The higher you go, the less of it there is...

SEMA 2007

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Las Vegas hosts several trade shows throughout the year. One that is related to the automotive aftermarket arena is the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show. Even though I have worked as an engineer for an automotive company for over 15 years, I have yet to go to this annual event. At one time, my company was chock-full of enthusiasm, the spirit of innovation, the possibility of a rewarding future, and engineers. During those exciting times, upper management deemed it vital that members of engineering investigate upcoming technology. Research and Development was important to the powers-that-be for future revenue. When everyone returned from this important show, we came up with a lot of profitable products for the company. Of course, from the stories that I heard, not a lot of time was spent sleeping in those Vegas hotels in pursuit of R&D ... and other things.

Ah, good times. Here we are today where greedy owners who are closing in on retirement have stripped the company for immediate profits. The engineering staff is down to a tenth of what it once was. There is no R&D at our company anymore. Engineer has become as most positions in the plant have become -- a necessary evil. The only innovative work that I'm doing now is a redesign of all our production testers from their dying 386, DOS platforms to XP-based systems. This year, only the sales department and, naturally, upper management will be making the pilgrimage to SEMA to peddle our almost obsolete technology.

While moral is at an all time low, we still have a flicker of hope. We all dream that someone will buy the company soon and return us to our productive, happy selves once again. Maybe then, we can return to SEMA as a major factor in the industry.

How To Run Your Business Into The Ground

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This company's pool of talented people is rapidly shrinking. The only thing dropped faster is the moral of employees. Today I learned that yet another fellow employee has had enough of the 'fun and games' around here and turned in her notice. The powers-that-be don't believe in succession planning. So naturally, they have no replacements for their dwindling human resources. The work is simply moved onto one or more already overburdened workers. My departing day is coming soon. For now, staying here is like watching a slow-motion train wreck from the inside car...

Waiting For the Other Business Shoe To Drop

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This one company that I'm working for is sending very confusing signals to its employees. We've been told to cut costs and have done so to ridiculous levels. We have done such a great job that the company just had their best financial year ever. Will we be rewarded? Nope. Last year's pay raise of 3%, the first raise is six years, will have to do -- part of the cost savings. What is confusing is that we recently had a Telecom Audit and learned how to save several more thousand over the next two years. This plan was killed because upper management doesn't want to commit to anything over one year. Why is that? No one is telling. We know that the savings and profits have been going to the owners who are close to retiring. Perhaps the company will be sold soon. We hope ... sold to business people who understand that employees are an important part of a company, not a necessary evil to its operation.