The major changes at WOTC

[gordonknox]

Re: Re: I'm with the king...

I think it comes down to the idea that they are not playing by the same rules as your normal working stiff. There are now two tiers of benefits, executives at big companies get a different set of medical benefits, a different set of retirement benefits and a pay scale that doesn't seem to match performance.




A quible: an execs first responsibility is to the share holders and not to the employees. A SMART executive sees the connection. On the other hand I subscribe to Hanlon's Law: "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity."

I think you can expect the anger towards corporate America to get worse before it gets better. The FBI expects that white collar crime will be the crime of 'choice' in the future. The penalties are generally less and the chance of getting caught are less. Frank W. Agagnale has said "I believe that punishment for fraud and recovery of stolen funds are so rare, prevention is the only viable course of action."

I dislike 'big' corporate america enough that I only work for small companies where I can walk to into the CEO's office and say what is on my mind. That means I will probably never work for any company larger than 30 people or so. I prefer that and fortunately have the skills and abilities to make such choices.

later,
Ysgarran.

I agree with your assessment of the situation but do not understand it, i.e. I believe the anger is not justified.

First of all, I think everyone knows that when they enter a company the higher executives have more than one type of incentive package. Unless the new person is forced to work at that company (gun point to head) or is deceived about the incentive situation, there is no reason to be angry with that one company. Simply, the new employee can look for work at another company, don’t work at all, or start ones own business and run it in the best way he or she sees fit.

Secondly, I believe if a fast food cashier had the same benefits of all of the executives of that enterprise, said enterprise would cease to exist in a very short period. Unless of course, all clients of the company decided to pay $10 for a burger just so all employees of the company had an equal incentive plan. On the other hand, the new employee could lobby the board of directors or shareholders to change the rules.


I am not seeing the connection between anger with a company to increased white-collar crime. Understood, a disgruntled employee is probably more likely to steal than a content employee. However, I link the projected increase in white-collar crime to a decrease in morality. Theft is immoral, whether you are angry or not.

I completely agree with your decision to choose the environment where you feel most comfortable. I have worked in a “big” company and have felt the same way. However, I have to add that the middle management to whom I reported went out of their way to hear and correct any grievances that I had and I never met any person that could be considered “evil.”

On a final note, if I am not mistaken, “small” corporations employ the vast majority of American employees. I believe it is like 80% of the American workforce toils in companies with 20 or less employees. (Something like that).

GK

 

[bayne]

Corinth,

Please don't try to practive revisionist history to sell your political views. Your arguements fall apart when you look at the facts:

1) Why did people takes these jobs over working in the fields? Because they paid better and gave people a better life.

2) Why did people send their children to work in factories rather than in the field? Because it paid better and gave them a better life. If not for the industrial revolution we would still have child labor in all countries until this day. You try to make it seem like big business went out and kidnapped children to make them work. Far from it - parents sent out thier children to work as they always had before.

3) Why were we able to make a 40 hour work week and only have adults work? Because the jobs that were produced by the industrial revolution made it possible by increasing wages and productivity. None of these would ever be possible without the industrial revolution. Without it you would starve to death if you didn't send you children to work (this is why people had big families).

4) Many confuse political systems and economic systems. They are not the same. The countries in the world that have better standards of living and less child labor are the ones with better economies, not the ones with better political systems.

 

[King_Stannis]

....If you are going to take a stand, why not make one for the underdog rather than the all-powerful corporations? Do you think they give to charity out of love or kindness? Or is it PR...

wow, what a brave stand that is, too. it's intellectually lazy to engage in this "big corporation" bashing, and you oughta be ashamed of yourself for doing it.

as for corporations not giving out of love and kindness, i can tell you that i work for a big company in a small and somewhat stagnant town. they give very generously because they believe in supporting the community that their workers live in. i can tell you that the "PR" they get has nothing to do with their giving, and that is the case with many companies, methinks. even if it is for PR, who cares? should we go take away $3 million from the United Way because McDonalds gave them that money to improve their public image? (by the way, DOES the United Way count as a "big corporation"?)

as for executives getting better benefits than the rank and file worker, yeahh...so what? they're more important to their companies than "jack" in the mailroom, and they should be compensated as such. since when do executives of top companies need to have the same benefits as a part time janitor?

man, some of you people need to get down from your freaking ivory towers, take off your rose colored glasses, and join the rest of us in the real world. but i suppose watching erin brokovich interspersed with lots of porn in the basement of your parent's house is a hard life to give up.

 

[Nikchick]

> (Just so you know, web enhancements are a GOOD thing - they are over-written material that can't fit into the book. Once upon a time, it would have been thrown away. Now, it's made available, and I think that's great.)

Thanks for pointing this out. I, too, think web enhancements are nifty keen and I push to have as many of them made available here at GR as we can possibly squeeze out. Nothing worse than paying for a cool monster and a beautiful illo that couldn't make it into the book. I hate to see someone's good work just sitting in a file somewhere, unseen and unused.

Nicole

 

[stormdragon]

Well I could site many occurances, like being told by the head of the RPGA not to bother him with stupid problems when my group was testing WOTC's Forgotten Realms World book, or the The time a fellow coordinator asked one of the top designers at WOTC a simple question at last years Gen Con. His reply was "You know I really don't know, and more importantly I don't care." I could list others but whats the point. As for Seans rebuke, it wasnt really what I was refering to. Sean's a real people person being called a Dumbass by him is like being called a liberal by Ron Silver.

>

Other than Sean's recent rebuke to you, I would love to see an example of this, because I think it's simply not true. WotC designers and staff members have never taken this attitude that I've seen, and I'm fairly aware of what's going on in the industry. Could you please provide references?

 

[Wicht]

hehe - this is looking to be shaping up into quite the 'star trek' thread

Let me throw in my 2 cents

In my experience people are people. In every walk of life I have been in there have been those I liked and those i did not. I find this true among the poor and uneducated. I find this true among the wealthy and intellectual. It is, in my opinion, not the social standing of the person that makes them evil. Nor is it the downtrodden who are always noble. There have been good kings and wicked kings. There have been good paupers who were kind and generous and there have been wicked paupers who would rob you blind. The wicked sometimes prosper and the good go hungry. But just as often those who are good of heart do well in life and are well loved and it is the wicked who feel put upon.

Rather than looking at where a person is in life to calculate what sort of person he is I find it more productive to look at how they treat others. The problem with class warfare, race warfare etc, etc. is that it forgets this fundemental fact that it is what a person does that matters most. Yes there are evil CEOs who would as soon rob from their employees as they would from their shareholders. But there are also those who contribute heavily to worthwhile causes and spend time with their families and try to treat those below them with courtesy and kindness. And then at the bottom of the rung you have those who, unable to steal millions, resort to stealing paperclips, snacks and loose change. And you have others that think what matters is working hard.

Moral of my Post: Generalizations of all kinds are often wrong about individuals and most people want to be judged as an individual, not as a group.

 

[KnowTheToe]

I dunno. I seriously question whether anything WOTC does would really affect my game right now or for some time. WotC has been pretty slow getting the products out, and hasn't put out one that has had a significant impact on my game for some time.

I couldn't agree more. There is so much out now everyone could go out of business and it would not effect my game. There would be less clamor and the industry would shrink and die, but I an not worried that will happen and I am happy with what I have.

 

[Chairman_Kaga]

Re: "Corporate community"?

...that's hand-picked, home grown, organic moral outrage, and I have a freakin' bushel full to share.

Nicole

Sing it sister!

 

[Patrick-S&S]

First let me say that no matter how small or big a company may get/is, people will always get stepped on their toes. It is a natural thing really where one man's bread is another man's death. Not all is in black and white even in larger companies or in the good ol' US (which I have visited a few times and really enjoyed ).

But what happens if WotC changes rules for the d20 concept? Charge money for it or something? I am not sure they can but imagine the scenario (perhaps this has been discussed before?) if they did. All those companies that has popped up recently...

 

[Wicht]

But what happens if WotC changes rules for the d20 concept? Charge money for it or something? I am not sure they can but imagine the scenario (perhaps this has been discussed before?) if they did. All those companies that has popped up recently...

I don't think they can legally withdraw the concept now from the marketplace of ideas.