Slack Off (p. 27)
FC Article

• Tom DeMarco suggests that downtime shouldn't be a four-letter word. Compare your work schedule to the others in your cell. Who seems to be the most satisfied with their jobs -- those who surf the web all day or those who work like factory rats? How can a company successfully implement downtime in its workers lives without disrupting workflow too much? In a slow economy, is downtime more or less important? How do you convince an employee that it's ok to take some slack time even though there are layoffs within the company?
• DeMarco says the new economy has given workers a 'near-religious intensity' toward work. What components factor into the creation of this fervor? Is it desire to help the company, fear of being fired, desire to show up other workers, etc? What has changed over the past few decades to make people so passionate about their work? Might working long hours without downtime kill innovation? What other benefits can one derive from taking some personal time during the work day?

Has Your Company Found Its Voice? (p. 124)
FC Article

• Companies like United Airlines and E*Trade are spending millions developing the right voice. How would you personify your company's ideal spokesperson? Would it be male or female, young or old, polite or authoritative? Once you build this person in your mind, have others in your cell analyze what impression it gives them of your company.
• Is it dangerous to use a single voice or person to represent an entire company? Or perhaps just even plain annoying? Discuss how your cell members react when they listen to the United lost baggage woman or similar spokespeople. Can voice automation interfere with the distribution of information, or simply frustrate customers? As a customer, are you interested in 'speaking' to a brand, or just getting information? Might voice automation perpetuate gender (and other) stereotypes?

Open to Women? (p. 55)
FC Article

• What has the new economy done in terms of gender stereotypes and segregation? Has the information age made gender roles obsolete, or did it simply create new ones? Is the workplace of the new economy more or less stratified?
• Often scholars analyze historical periods by the progress, or lack thereof, that women made during the time frame at hand. What might the historical legacy of the new economy be in terms of gender? Compare it to other economic periods, such as the Great Depression and World War II, as well as cultural movements like the Renaissance or Reformation?

Digital Matters (p. 70)
FC Article

• John Ellis takes a look at the wireless, or Wi-Fi revolution, and what lies ahead for the very shaky telecom industry. Given all the predictions Ellis makes, what implications might Wi-Fi have on leisure time? Will it be possible to escape technology, or the mobile workplace? Would you embrace technology that both gives you access and makes you accessible at all times, or is that simply overboard?
• Are wireless companies still out to serve the market's needs, or just to impress each other? Are regular people simply overwhelmed by what already exists that they might resist the urge, and expense, of going entirely wireless? Is it fair to call Wi-Fi a grassroots movement, like Ellis does, even though it is being fueled by multi-billion dollar companies?

Andy Pearson Finds Love (p. 84)
FC Article

• David Dorsey shows us how Tricon executive Andy Pearson changed from a tough boss to a compassionate one. Contrast the merit's of Pearson's old 'tough' style of management with the emotional drive techniques he uses now. How would you classify yourself and your supervisor? Which school of management would you prefer to be in? Let cell members who have worked for both types of managers contrast the pros and cons for the rest of the group.
• Can tough management motivate workers or does it simply intimidate them? What effect might this have on innovation? How can a good manager succesfully combine both styles of management, or does no middle ground exist? What are the potential ups and downs in a company where the two top executives play good cop/bad cop?

Don't Just Listen, Connect (p. 142)
FC Article

• While technology companies have been threatening us with smart machines for years, Paul C. Judge demonstrates that they are already on the market in a limited capacity. Besides laundry machines, what other smart machines do you see on the horizon, or would like to see? What will their effect be on privacy? Even if your company doesn't make appliances, what 'smart' interactive methods might you be able to use in your product. Even using the Internet, how can you tighten your relationship with your customers?
• Judge contends that humans are being organically expressed like microcode. Is it possible to diagram a person's habits, likes and pattens and map them out like a computer chip? Or as a species are we simply too unpredictable? Is technology imposing a conformist culture, and if so is that necessarily a bad thing?

Daniel Richards contributed this month's Flash Points.

August 2001 Connexus | Flash Points | Next Steps

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