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I see people complaining about the fact that it is just employee opinion. I agree that just one employee opinion it's not important or so relevant by itself.
by kartan 7y ago
I see people complaining about the fact that it is just employee opinion.
I agree that just one employee opinion it's not important or so relevant by itself.
But, for most people, a human face for a problem makes the problem easier to understand and to sympathize with the situation. So, it seems that the journalist decided to give voice to Stuart as an stylistic choice. HN readers may like or not this choice. But, it does not invalidate the content of the article.
An example does not invalidate the rule. It would be interesting to discuss the content more than the style, even that it's also a valid discussion.
My take out of the article is that lack of trust on upper management is part of the problem.
> “I want to think that I work for one of the best companies in the world. I want to think that when I come home from a 10-12 hour shift that I’ve done something good. But I don’t know because I see the lies. They’re going back on everything that they’ve told us. So it’s really difficult for me to feel good about any of it.”
Most people see themselves as good persons. Most people wants to do a good job. When your company leadership fails you there is a conflict between that believe and reality. That is why company leadership is so important and it should not only respond to share holders but to all stakeholders in the company including customers and employees.
- 8ytecoder 7y agoThere are different values and styles in reporting and each serves a different purpose. When they are conflated they cause confusion. - Interviewing one person with the necessary data and analysis to backup a certain conclusion. This would be a consultation with the Subject Matter Expert. Opinions backed by data. E.g interview with climate scientist on the impact of global warming - Interviewing one or more people to put a face to a story. It has the effect of humanising an issue. To be viewed critically and with the realisation that it’s an emotional appeal. To be used to inform yourself only if it’s backed by data in another way/form These two are not the same when it comes to making informed opinions.
- faeww 7y agoThe story builds up over time -- it points to major problems at Boeing. e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvkEpstd9os https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvkEpstd9os (The Boeing 787: Broken Dreams)
- mcv 7y agoIt's a problem when society keeps telling people that the only job of companies is to increase shareholder value. Recently there have been more and more people pointing out what a stupid idea it really is [0], but there are still a lot of companies focusing way too much on shareholder value to the exclusion of all other values, and there are still people repeating this harmful mantra. Companies that only care about shareholder value run the risk of becoming parasites preying on society, looking for any way to extract value from society. A healthy company should balance the needs of their shareholders, their employees, their customers, and society at large. Only if you balance those 4 concerns can you have a healthy, sustainable business that's a boon to society rather than a bane. [0] Example: https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2017/07/17/making-sense-of-shareholder-value-the-worlds-dumbest-idea/#ff9b1bf2a7ed https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2017/07/17/making-...
- jacobr1 7y agoThe real probably is the focus on short-term, quarterly financial reporting and how that relates to share-price. There is nothing wrong with focusing on maximizing value for the owners of a company, but if you focus on short term measure that look good to securities analysts, you'll actually undermine longer term value. The companies that build the most value ALSO have satisfied employees, happy customers and are respected by those outside in society. Neglecting the other factors might work for a while, but at a very high cost.