3 ms·

> That sort of thing has absolutely no place in any organization. That's kind of funny. Many (most?) organizations are exactly like that: willing to break the

by bambax 8y ago

> That sort of thing has absolutely no place in any organization. That's kind of funny. Many (most?) organizations are exactly like that: willing to break the law in order to get ahead. There would be no Uber and no AirBnb otherwise; there wouldn't even be a Microsoft, either. And those are the most visible and prominent firms. I worked at a big consulting firm in the 90s, the corporate culture there and then was total indifference to laws, regulations, morals or even common sense. The only thing that mattered was billable hours. Granted, those companies don't deal with people's health, and it's normal to feel outraged and compassionate towards patients who were put in harm's way by the deceiving tactics and outright lies of Theranos' officials. But let's not forget this happens everywhere -- laws are meaningless if they're not aggressively enforced: if people simply followed the law there would be no need for law enforcement.

musage 8y ago
I think you can also read "has no place" as "ought to have no place".
Elrac 8y ago
> Granted, those companies don't deal with people's health This sentence of yours called to mind a counter-example: Two companies traditionally in the "business consulting" trade, Atos and Capita, were tasked by the British Department of Work and Pensions with investigating the "fitness for work" of millions of British welfare recipients. Driven by expectations and probably bonuses for producing the desired outcome, they erred overwhelmingly on the side of "fit." A few of their "fit for work" examinees were undergoing intensive care in a hospital, at least one died on the day following the assessment. Apparently the assessment crew didn't even have a single licensed physician on board. So here we had two typical "bean counter" outfits acting in a way that tragically worsened quality of life for many infirm and/or poor people.

by bambax 8y ago

musage 8y ago

I think you can also read "has no place" as "ought to have no place".

Elrac 8y ago

> Granted, those companies don't deal with people's health This sentence of yours called to mind a counter-example: Two companies traditionally in the "business consulting" trade, Atos and Capita, were tasked by the British Department of Work and Pensions with investigating the "fitness for work" of millions of British welfare recipients. Driven by expectations and probably bonuses for producing the desired outcome, they erred overwhelmingly on the side of "fit." A few of their "fit for work" examinees were undergoing intensive care in a hospital, at least one died on the day following the assessment. Apparently the assessment crew didn't even have a single licensed physician on board. So here we had two typical "bean counter" outfits acting in a way that tragically worsened quality of life for many infirm and/or poor people.