------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- >Date: Mon, 9 Jun 1997 09:52:11 +1200 (NZST) >X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >From: Paul Bruce <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Top NEWSPEAK Stories of the Week #72 ( >Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >>AMERICAN NEWSPEAK. Inflicted weekly at http://www.scn.org/news/newspeak >>Celebrating cutting edge advances in the exciting field of Doublespeak! >>Written by Wayne Grytting >> >>Employees Gain Recognition >> >>A survey of 900 corporations by the American Management Association found >>that employers are taking a keen interest in the work of their employees. >>In fact, 67% of the firms were so interested in their workers that they >>practiced surveillance. The most widespread practice was monitoring phone >>calls, practiced by 37% of the firms. Growing in popularity are the >>practices of videotaping employees at work (16%) and reading e-mail and >>computer files (15%). Many companies (23%) assist their workers by not >>informing them of the surveillance and thus not adding to their >>information overload. Critics of these management tools say it amounts to >>spying. But this is a simple misunderstanding according to Eric Greenberg, >>author of the AMA study, who "bristled" at the use of the term "spying". >>"The focus here is on security and employee performance," Greenberg said, >>"not on spying." He suggests the term "monitoring" be used instead. Or you >>may prefer Bellsouth Corp.'s more delicate "observations". (AP 5/22, WP >>5/24) >> >>Big Brother Comes to the Washroom >> >>Corporations can now insure their employees have clean hands thanks to an >>invention called Hygiene Guard. For a mere $1,500, Hygiene Guard can be >>installed in any washroom. Employees need only wear a small badge. When >>they enter the restroom an infared sensor is triggered. A second sensor at >>the washstand is triggered if the employee stands in front of it for at >>least 15 seconds. This information is then relayed to a computer. Failure >>to use the soap dispenser causes the badge to blink, alerting all to the >>unhygenic condition. NetTech International says this system will alert >>employers to "miscreants who don't enter the lavatory all day or use it >>too much." Obviously this is just the beginning. The mind reels at the >>possibilities, like monitoring coffee consumption or the use of toilet >>tissues. NetTech CEO Glenn Cohen defends their invention on public health >>grounds, actually declaring, "Our belief is its time for Big Brother to be >>concerned." Well, he is. (WSJ 5/20, AP 5/20) >> >>Union Relations, Northwest Style >> >>How does a hip, post-therapy aged Seattle latte company view employees who >>protest working conditions? Starbuck's has been facing an "unstrike" by >>employees in the province of British Columbia. Unionized workers have >>continued on the job but have been handing out leaflets to customers and >>wearing union buttons. Senior vice-president Wanda Herndon says, "It is >>very disappointing that we have a fraction of our partners who want to >>have a third party that would come between our relationship." The >>"partners", as Starbuck's calls its employees, earn the minimum wage in >>British Columbia, $5.15 an hour in U.S. money. The shameless homewrecker >>is the Canadian Auto Workers, who now organize service workers and have >>even threatened Starbuck's with a strike. In words that reportedly caused >>Henry Ford to roll over in his grave, Ms. Herndon responded, "(Starbuck's >>Chairman) Howard Schultz is heartbroken that this has occurred because we >>have a really wonderful and unique relationship with our partners." Stay >>tuned to Oprah and Geraldo for future developments. (Seattle Times 5/25) >> >>States Rights Rises Again >> >>Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ted Kennedy teamed up to sponsor what >>should have been a no-brainer bill to raise tobacco taxes to fund health >>insurance for children. But they didn't count on the keen analytical mind >>of Sen. Jesse Helms. The bill was killed after Helms pointed out that not >>only would this tax against the "politically incorrect" discriminate >>against the working poor, a perennial Republican concern, but it would >>interfere with states rights. The proposed tax increase from 25 cents a >>pack to 67 cents would create a funding shortfall for states because it >>would decrease the sales of nicotine sticks. The Republican Policy >>Committee estimates it would cost states more than a $1 billion in lost >>revenue each year .Concluded the RPC, "Even if one believes that decreased >>demand for tobacco is positive from a societal view, it still has negative >>fiscal aspects for the states." Letting the "Even if..." pass, maybe we >>could mandate a certain level of cigarette consumption to protect states >>rights to sponge off tobacco. (Cong. Rec. 5/21, NYT 5/21) >> >>The Global Competitiveness Dept. >> >>Singapore is once again the winner in the World Economic Forum's annual >>ratings of the world's most competitive economies (in the nation-state >>division). Hong Kong finished second followed by the U.S. and Canada. >>Singapore and countries like Indonesia (#15) benefited from the fact that >>"human rights appear to have no direct impact on competitiveness." If >>human rights fail to impact competitiveness, what does you ask? Well, the >>most "disappointing group" in the survey were European nations who "all >>provide high living standards," and high government spending. Both >>interfere with the "efficiencies" of the market. However two nations, the >>Netherlands (#12) and Ireland (#16) have improved their ratings, in the NY >>Times words, by "making their welfare states more user-friendly for >>business." "User-friendly" appears to be the key. (NYT 5/21) >> >>Special thanks this week to Maarten Ultee and Paul Loeb. Newspeak is >>posted each week and a mailing list can be found by contacting >>[EMAIL PROTECTED] and leaving the message "my brain is user-friendly." >> /-------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | Bill Rosenberg, Acting Director, Centre for Computing and Biometrics, | | P. O. Box 84, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand. | | [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone:(64)(03)3252-811 Fax:(64)(03)3253-865 | \-------------------------------------------------------------------------/
