John A. Byrne's letter ("The Brand Called Us," November 2004) reminded me of the often overlooked effects of downsizing -- the silent effects it has on the partners, families, and spouses of the people who receive pink slips. We all know that cost reduction goes with the territory in business, but too often it's the very people who continuously strive for corporate excellence who are viewed as the burden.
Darrell Moss
Toronto, Ontario
In John A. Byrne's letter about his coping with layoffs at Fast Company, he wrote that he told his staff: "We create our own job security by doing our best work." I'll bet if he asked someone who, despite doing their best work, saw their job shipped to Bangalore, they'd disagree with him. I've been involved with layoffs at several large organizations where some of the brightest talent were victims of the numbers game. Sadly, employees today -- at a startup, a large corporation, or even Fast Company -- know that doing great work guarantees nothing.
Mike McClary
President
McClary & Co. Inc.
Scottsdale, Arizona
Personality tests ("Personality Tests: Back With a Vengeance," November 2004) create many potential pitfalls for those who use them for selection or promotion screening. The assertion that personality tests are "study- and/or cheat-proof" is misleading. Because of their proliferation, people are often exposed to these instruments several times. I personally know people who can create different profiles on several different instruments.
I've had a much better experience with behaviorally based interviews and exercises because they're derived from specific job and company variables rather than a one-size- fits-all methodology. They also recognize that, in most cases, the situation rather than the individual is the most influential element of job performance.
Steve Fansler
CEO
Affinity Development Corp.
Tucson, Arizona
December's "Innovation Scorecard" on the telecom-equipment sector reported incorrect data for the top companies' ratio of research-and-development expenses to revenue.
The correct data are:
Juniper Networks: 30%
Nokia: 10%
Plantronics: 8%
Polycom: 17%
Qualcomm: 13%
In "What Money Can't Buy" (December 2004), we incorrectly stated Google's market value, which was then approximately $37 billion.
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