by Peter Lloyd for IT Experts, On the Job
Although it’s been posed many times, many ways, here’s a big philosophical question for information technology professionals to ponder this holiday season. Have another eggnog and ask yourself this: In our unrelenting march called progress, are we responsible for the negative effects of our work that follow in our creative wake?
Is Einstein morally or ethically responsible for Hiroshima? Before you answer yes or no, factor in the benefits of nuclear energy. Consider also that someone else would have formulated E=mc2 eventually and named it something similar—relativité or относительности.
More down to Earth, is the IT inventor liable for the downside of information technology? A handful of recent news items prompt me to raise this issue of IT moral responsibility. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Einstein, moral responsibility
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by Peter Lloyd for IT Experts, On the Job
My friend Tom Flynn always goes to work on Christmas Day as a matter of principle. At least when it falls on a work day. He’s a fierce advocate for Separation of Church and State and author of
The Trouble with Christmas.
He reminds me of another friend who doesn’t celebrate Christmas. She’s a Jehovah’s Witness.
Christmas ranks among the most important and busiest work days for many mainstream Christian clergy and their associates, of course. In similar spirit, volunteers all around the Christmas-celebrating world will serve Christmas dinner for folks who have no other place to go today.
There’s no Christmas break, naturally, for people hired to protect us: police, prison guards, soldiers, paramedics, fire fighters, doctors, nurses, and hospital staff. And those who serve us: waiters, transportation workers, and this year, maybe representatives working on health care legislation. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Christmas
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by Peter Lloyd for Creative Experts, IT Experts, On the Job
We considered the general benefits of telework for information technology, creative, and marketing professionals in Telework: Working Out the Bugs, Part 1. We also asked you to “Check Your Teleworkability.” If you’ve done that and you’re ready for telework, here are two more points to ponder:
2. Understand What It Is
You, you manager, and the company need to understand what each other means by telework. First, understand upfront what the company will supply and pay for in the way of equipment and network connections. Will that include iPhones? What about office supplies like everything from paperclips to coffee filters? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: telework
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by Peter Lloyd for Creative Experts, IT Experts, On the Job
In 2006 almost all information technology professionals polled by Intermedia said they intended to go in to work—that’s commute to the office—over the year-end holidays. This year less than half declared that intention. It’s not that IT pros are getting lazy. The majority still plan to at least check in remotely on a regular basis and even to do work from home. And that represents one of the major benefits of telework. Namely that employers will get more work from employees whom they encourage to work away from the office or shop.
Network World summarizes the benefits of off-site work in “Telework programs as good as cold hard cash, survey says.” The article author Denise Dubie says, “Companies offering telework programs not only will find their employees more productive, but also happier because of the money they are able to save by working from home at least part of the time, according to a recent survey.” Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: telework
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by Peter Lloyd for On the Job
As buyers of creative, marketing, and information technology services, today’s managers have been known to seek and find the cheapest, least-qualified suppliers willing to work for the lowest fees. Eventually they, and sometimes the companies they work for, fail. But not fast enough to stem the tide of lowering standards.
As workers and suppliers of these services, we feel the pressures of a poor economy and respond by taking jobs we really don’t want or accepting rates we know are too low for the value we deliver. We are forced to encourage this fall of working standards by lowering our own. It will be difficult to bring either of them back up again. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: quality, standards
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by Peter Lloyd for Creative Experts, IT Experts, On the Job
The way it should be: All managers understand that creative people are different. And because we’re different, they don’t expect us to behave like accountants. Creative accounting, after all, is a crime. They appreciate the fact that creative people have trouble organizing their desks, paying attention at meetings, and showing up on time.
That’s why all managers happily bend over backwards to accommodate their creative writers, their savvy marketers, and their information technology stars. Work is fun. Life is good. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Beethoven, Einstein, Emily Dickinson, Imagination Deficit Disorder, Isaac Newton, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Richard Feynman, Ultimate Management Enlightenment, Vincent van Gogh
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by Peter Lloyd for Job Hunting, On the Job
Here in the Talent Centric Blog, I’ve avoided compiling job search questions and offering answers, especially the kinds of answers a lot of employment blogs and websites so confidently provide. On the other hand, there’s value in the Q&A format. Reading Q&As can help a job hunter keep up with trends in employment. At the very least, they reflect what employers expect from resumés, cover letters, interviews, and all the rest.
So instead of adding to the glut of Q&As, let me direct you to two sources on each end of the good of what’s already out there. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Cover Letters, interviewing, Job Hunting, job search, Q&A, resume writing job tip
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