Patterning, Layoffs, Corporate Culture, & Science

Meaning is made through patterning - Live Journal

Jeff Knight's video on instructional design.

More Companies Are Cutting Labor Costs Without Layoffs - New York Times

Companies are using technology to track employee performance and productivity, and in many cases they know that the workers they would cut are productive ones. People are measured and 'metricked' to a much greater degree, so companies know that when they're cutting an already taut organization, they're leaving big gaps in the work force.

For more reasons on why not to layoff, see Downsizing.

10 Reasons to Design a Better Corporate Culture - Harvard Business School

Strong, adaptive cultures can foster innovation, productivity, and a sense of ownership among employees and customers. They also outlast any individual charismatic leader.

Gingko Study Proves Nothing - Brain Blogger

A quite interesting statement from Donna Schwontkowsk:

There's a huge fallacy that exists in the minds of most people regarding research studies. That fallacy is that you can prove that something is NOT effective. This is a scientific oxymoron. Science is the systematic observation, measurement and classification of observable phenomenon. The absence of a relationship cannot be observed, classified or measured. Thus, scientific studies can only prove what exists, not what does not exist.

For example, this brings to mind learning styles in which studies generally show they are not effective when it comes to training, but we know that peole learn differently and have preferences.