Fire Your Boss: The best place to cut IT organizations is generally at the top.

Discussion in 'News' started by Kitkatninja, Sep 14, 2008.

  1. Kitkatninja
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    Kitkatninja aka me, myself & I Moderator

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    Fire Your Boss: The best place to cut IT organizations is generally at the top.



    ...In 2008 we're facing cuts in IT that are prompted by economic decline. Many of the IT shops I talk to are in denial about this. Many more, while not in denial, are making bad decisions. I think this is a good opportunity to do some housecleaning that probably should have been done years ago. If you have to cut your budget by 10 percent, where do you cut? What if you have to cut by 30 percent?

    As I have written before, one of the great problems in IT management is that the big bosses typically haven't a clue what is happening, what is needed to happen, and what it all should cost. There is a role for trust here, but if the Big Guy is signing off on a budget he can't even read, much less understand, well something is wrong. Some IT departments like this, of course, just like my students liked it when class had to be cancelled (they liked getting LESS for their money), but in tough times, facing reality and speaking the truth is usually the best course.

    Because power in IT organizations tends to be based on head count, preserving jobs takes a priority. And when jobs have to be eliminated, they tend to come off the bottom of the organization when they should more logically come off the top -- or at least from near the top. A tech who directly helps users is more important than a manager who can't manage. This is especially true if that manager is making 2-3 times as much as the tech....

    Read the whole article here.

    -Ken
     
    Certifications: MSc, PGDip, PGCert, BSc, HNC, LCGI, MBCS CITP, MCP, MCSA, MCSE, MCE, A+, N+, S+, Server+
    WIP: MSc Cyber Security
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Comments

    1. dmarsh
      dmarsh
      16 hours per year seems pretty minimal to me, thats two whole days study every year.

      Even the laziest IT workers probably manage that ! :D

      I'd gladly be part of such a scheme if it saved me the 5 hours per interview of assignments/tests/revision etc.

      This is exactly the reason why I originally embarked on certifications, unfortunately as has been mentioned these carry little weight in many interviews these days.
    2. Arroryn
      Arroryn
      Even the thought of sitting through the merest nanosecond of such rivetting seminars as

      fills me with an overbearing feeling of nausea.
    3. BosonMichael
      BosonMichael
      Dude... it's an IT company. :rolleyes: They're likely gonna let go of a bunch of IT people. :biggrin
    4. BosonMichael
      BosonMichael
      What they said. It's one post with 1000 comments. How does that prove that IT people aren't respected in most places?
    5. Sparky
      Sparky
      So very true. Sometimes I even make an appearance at customer sites even though everything is working fine. If I’m on-site they think they are getting value for money. :rolleyes:
    6. UCHEEKYMONKEY
      UCHEEKYMONKEY

      Wow:ohmy Spoken from the heart, respect to that! :thumbleft :rocks
    7. sunn
      sunn
      In the places I’ve been IT is respected but not understood. Everyone understands what accountants do. From paying bills, verifying charges, collecting money (simplified, but you get the point); accountants are an easier job function to understand (not easy to do!). Whereas in IT, people don’t really get the whole server team from helpdesk, from networking, etc… If one person can install a program on a computer why can she do the same on a server?

      Like anything else, if someone in power doesn’t understand the role an individual plays for the company, that individual may be considered expendable. This is another reason why IT is trying (and needs) to have a seat at the business decision-making table.

      In regards to the HP article letting 24,000 people go, like BM said, it’s an IT company, who else would they get rid of? The Ford plant in my town is letting people go too, guess which folks… Line workers! Of the 2 industries, which will find it harder to find a job?

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