Comments on: How Layoffs Have Evolved: From “Office Space” to “Up In The Air” http://AuthenticOrganizations.com/harquail/2010/01/25/how-layoffs-have-evolved-from-office-space-to-up-in-the-air/ aligning identity, action and purpose Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:25:33 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: cv harquail http://AuthenticOrganizations.com/harquail/2010/01/25/how-layoffs-have-evolved-from-office-space-to-up-in-the-air/#comment-2553 cv harquail Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:43:48 +0000 http://AuthenticOrganizations.com/?p=2967#comment-2553 Hi Ian- The scripting of behavior is also understood as the incursion of 'scientific management' practices into interpersonal interaction. No better way to deaden an employee's engagement than to tie him/her to a script. Funny, though, the move towards social media use within organizations goes directly counter to that scripting trend, since the ad hoc-y ness of convo on these media make it impossible to script, and also b/c the demands of creating a social presence in online comms make scriptiness ineffective. Hey Joseph- You make me think that maybe Bingham's work role was portrayed a little too ideally-- since it is a rare person who can make that kind of empathic connection to a person's hidden/obscured passion and bring that forward in a termination conversation. But I also laughed (smirked?) at that part in the movie b/c it was similarly fantastical--- given the celebrification of cooking. But it's fiction. I keep reminding myself of that. No wonder you came back Stateside -- and glad that the strategy consulting is more soul-nurturing. Thanks so much guys for sharing your comments- cvh Hi Ian-

The scripting of behavior is also understood as the incursion of ‘scientific management’ practices into interpersonal interaction. No better way to deaden an employee’s engagement than to tie him/her to a script. Funny, though, the move towards social media use within organizations goes directly counter to that scripting trend, since the ad hoc-y ness of convo on these media make it impossible to script, and also b/c the demands of creating a social presence in online comms make scriptiness ineffective.

Hey Joseph-

You make me think that maybe Bingham’s work role was portrayed a little too ideally– since it is a rare person who can make that kind of empathic connection to a person’s hidden/obscured passion and bring that forward in a termination conversation. But I also laughed (smirked?) at that part in the movie b/c it was similarly fantastical— given the celebrification of cooking. But it’s fiction. I keep reminding myself of that.

No wonder you came back Stateside — and glad that the strategy consulting is more soul-nurturing.

Thanks so much guys for sharing your comments-
cvh

]]> By: Joseph Logan http://AuthenticOrganizations.com/harquail/2010/01/25/how-layoffs-have-evolved-from-office-space-to-up-in-the-air/#comment-2551 Joseph Logan Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:06:24 +0000 http://AuthenticOrganizations.com/?p=2967#comment-2551 "Up in the Air" is barely fiction. I was becoming Bingham in Europe, which is one of the top reasons I left pharma last year, although I was never as masterful as in the scene in which Clooney encourages the guy to go to chef school. Make no mistake--for better or for worse, we are getting very good at this. .-= Joseph Logan´s last blog ..<a href="http://publicorgtheory.org/2010/01/21/outsourcing-nasa-could-be-you-know-dangerous/" rel="nofollow">Outsourcing NASA could be, you know, dangerous</a> =-. “Up in the Air” is barely fiction. I was becoming Bingham in Europe, which is one of the top reasons I left pharma last year, although I was never as masterful as in the scene in which Clooney encourages the guy to go to chef school. Make no mistake–for better or for worse, we are getting very good at this.
.-= Joseph Logan´s last blog ..Outsourcing NASA could be, you know, dangerous =-.

]]> By: Ian Ayres http://AuthenticOrganizations.com/harquail/2010/01/25/how-layoffs-have-evolved-from-office-space-to-up-in-the-air/#comment-2550 Ian Ayres Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:37:46 +0000 http://AuthenticOrganizations.com/?p=2967#comment-2550 "Up in the Air" also picks up on the trend toward increasingly centralized scripting of worker behavior. And once a behavior is scripted, it is easier to do at a distance. Call center workers have contingent scripts pop up on their screen. Even teachers who use "Direct Instruction" have scripted teaching plans. So it was interesting to see the young turk try to write a contingent script for firing. [spoiler alert] The movie's excuse for saying that the scripted approach couldn't handle the risk of suicide isn't really plausible (or at least wasn't well established). One of the things a centralized system can do better is to keep track of (and follow up with)people who raise suicide red flags.. “Up in the Air” also picks up on the trend toward increasingly centralized scripting of worker behavior. And once a behavior is scripted, it is easier to do at a distance. Call center workers have contingent scripts pop up on their screen. Even teachers who use “Direct Instruction” have scripted teaching plans. So it was interesting to see the young turk try to write a contingent script for firing.

[spoiler alert]

The movie’s excuse for saying that the scripted approach couldn’t handle the risk of suicide isn’t really plausible (or at least wasn’t well established). One of the things a centralized system can do better is to keep track of (and follow up with)people who raise suicide red flags..

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