So I got this new job....
So I got this new job supplying reports for management supplied with data that comes from the field. Essentially I take somebody's paperwork and compile it with the thousands of other bits of data and make it look pretty so a manager can see what is people are doing or, more often than not, not doing. Yeah, I know it isn't very exciting but they are going to pay me way more than I deserve to fiddle around with some data and make it look pretty, so I will stick with it for a while.
I do have something to complain about though. This is a company that is essential to the general population; providing a service that is absolutely necessary to maintain our way of life and they make a huge profit doing so. The group I support is central to installing the hardware for the infrastructure on which this service runs and has a huge budget. This company is also in the process of spending half a billion on a software package that will keep a record of every transaction, accident and repair that occurs in the field. That's five hundred million just on one piece of software (essentially, let's not split hairs here). I don't have any idea how much real estate they own but can only imagine since they have an office or station in just about every city. I was given a very nice lappy and a large cubicle (I no longer share with a muppet) with witch to complete my work. I will be required to travel between offices on a semi-frequent basis presenting my pretty graphical displays and may need to be contacted whilst I am en route. You would think that with all the money being tossed around that something as basic as a company cell phone would be a drop in the bucket compared to the other expenses that business currently has. One could even argue that a smart phone would be necessary so that I can receive emails away from the office and maintain the ability to respond in a timely manner.
You would think that a company that has all these great technical advances and mobile needs wouldn't think twice about supplying their employees with the tools to make them more effective. But what do you think was dropped onto my desk this morning?
A fucking pager.
That's right, a pager, not even a two way pager that I could at least reply with. I didn't even think they were made anymore. I thought that the cell phone replaced them all when text messaging became essentially a standard function on the lowest model. But apparently this company, with all it's technological advances feels that early 90's hardware is the best option.
~Bibliotender
I do have something to complain about though. This is a company that is essential to the general population; providing a service that is absolutely necessary to maintain our way of life and they make a huge profit doing so. The group I support is central to installing the hardware for the infrastructure on which this service runs and has a huge budget. This company is also in the process of spending half a billion on a software package that will keep a record of every transaction, accident and repair that occurs in the field. That's five hundred million just on one piece of software (essentially, let's not split hairs here). I don't have any idea how much real estate they own but can only imagine since they have an office or station in just about every city. I was given a very nice lappy and a large cubicle (I no longer share with a muppet) with witch to complete my work. I will be required to travel between offices on a semi-frequent basis presenting my pretty graphical displays and may need to be contacted whilst I am en route. You would think that with all the money being tossed around that something as basic as a company cell phone would be a drop in the bucket compared to the other expenses that business currently has. One could even argue that a smart phone would be necessary so that I can receive emails away from the office and maintain the ability to respond in a timely manner.
You would think that a company that has all these great technical advances and mobile needs wouldn't think twice about supplying their employees with the tools to make them more effective. But what do you think was dropped onto my desk this morning?
A fucking pager.
That's right, a pager, not even a two way pager that I could at least reply with. I didn't even think they were made anymore. I thought that the cell phone replaced them all when text messaging became essentially a standard function on the lowest model. But apparently this company, with all it's technological advances feels that early 90's hardware is the best option.
~Bibliotender
the bigger the company the slower the technology.
ReplyDeleteat my company i was asking the same question of some higher ups. the general consensus was that most information was proprietary.
granted, i was refering to trouble shhooting pda's that link to equipment wich can share information and update settings
but even at my international company, being an employee of less than five years, has given me a cell phone