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Why embrace the bad parts of startup culture (open plans)? Seems cargo cultish: open plans exist as a cost control measure, and make it easier to grow/shrink. A
by spamizbad 8y ago
Why embrace the bad parts of startup culture (open plans)? Seems cargo cultish: open plans exist as a cost control measure, and make it easier to grow/shrink. Academia has endowments and tends to have a more stable labor force.
- czardoz 8y ago> Why embrace the bad parts of startup culture (open plans) That's really just your opinion, not a fact. I for one love open plans, I find they make working a more social activity, which suits me.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- jonas21 8y agoAs you mention, it would make little sense for academia to do this as a cost-cutting measure. The same goes for companies like Google or Facebook that are swimming in cash. Is it that hard to believe that they're doing this because they value the additional opportunities for informal communication and collaboration that open-plan offices provide? I realize this is a polarizing topic, but personally I've always preferred working in open-plan spaces to having a private office for precisely that reason.
- zamfi 8y ago"More stable labor force": you are thinking of faculty, who make up a small percentage of research labor at universities. Graduate students & postdocs—who make up the majority of research labor—come and go, on the order of months-to-years, making open plans actually somewhat reasonable.
- ken 8y agoYet the comment here was that it's faculty who have the open floor plan. Why are they using the agile aspect of startups for the most stable asset in academia?
- zamfi 8y agoThat is what the comment said, however, the open floor plan is not just all faculty in one open space, it is all researchers (faculty, students, postdocs, other research staff) in one open space. Faculty additionally have huddles where they can take meetings.