Employees are paid only minimum wage at the base level. Performance based incentives pay for the rest of their wages/salary. Numerous different performance measures are used for each employee.
Profit is shared. This gives employees a sense of ownership and incentive to examine the whole business instead of just themselves. They will be more likely to pressure others in the organization to do a good job.
Group performance levels. Employees can be seperated into groups of multiple kinds: AM and PM; servers, cooks, bussers, etc.; groups containing a certain number of people from each department that will work together. These groups can be paid based upon performance standards such as control of each positions costs, sales and customer ratings at different times of day, and observed contributions of each individual to the organization (team will then be given incentive to pressure other group members to perform better).
Individual performance levels.
Performance rewards will vary depending on employee performance compared to specified levels for achieving specific goals. Higher performance yields higher rewards.
Thoughts & Ideas posts page 9
Ideas: File Browser
file browser (like finder) has built-in/plug-in capabilities to read and work with basic document formats. Images would appear as thumbnails, with preferences, that can be easily viewed at full size in a self controlled slide show type thing by folder. Movies would be viewable full size in the browser as well. audio files would be listenable toable, including being able to leave them play while doing other browsing. Text files would be completely viewable, possible editable. PDF’s would be viewable. Other formats would have plugins available from the maker of the app that produces them.
Allows viewing of files while still maintaining a file-browser like appearance and functionality at all times.
Controls would be provide when necessary from an easily accessible location, such as at the top of the window or in a floating window that disappears with no mouse movement. Proper controls would appear for the proper file-type.
All files would be able to be given tags, including user created tags, that are simply data about the file for informative and searching use. For example mp3 tags would be editable from the browser, as well as JPEG EXIF data.
Files could be organized in multiple directory setups without the use of aliases or anything, just an additional centrally located database directory file. Each media type would or could be given its own database so that one could look at all images at once in the image database while still have those images grouped with related other media in the regular directory system. This could perhaps be automated, having all images automatically put into the image database, which would then be able to be queried by its tags to show categories or specific dates or what-have-you.
All controls would be easily navigable and accessible with the keyboard as well as with the mouse, allowing speed and flexibility. This would include at least the major preference settings.
The browser would be very customizable to fit most peoples needs and tastes.
The browser would be designed to be slim and fast, taking up as little disk space, memory, and processor power as possible.
It would also be very plug-inable, so that users who don’t want certain features could easily remove them to save resources. Plug-ins would be able to be developed by third parties, so that alternatives for each file-type or function could be provided. If someone doesn’t like, say, the regular image browser, they could remove it and install a third party one easily that would integrate with the browser.
/****** the following is sort of a reworded, newer, and a bit different version of the above *****/
The independent application that handles specific document types is generally no longer needed, in my opinion. All files can be handled from within a single application, allowing the difference in file types to not affect the similarity in content (one should be able to view both text files and images relating to a given subject without having to change applications).
Plug-ins would provide the capabilities for multiple file-types: a plugin would essentially be the application for viewing and editing a given file-type, but would be opened within the ‘finder’ instead of separately. Each plugin would be loaded when opened, and taken back out of memory when no longer needed, possibly a specified time after the last opening of that doc type, with the amount of time weighted based upon the frequency of opening that given doc type.
Each document would be stored in the database like an object of an inherited class in an object oriented programming language. Every file would have certain attributes, such as disk location, creation and modification dates, name, user, group, as well as functions, such as rename, modifyContent, view. These would be part of the ‘file’ class. General categories of files may have more attributes and functions than that: ex ‘media’ category may contain author, date media was created. The ‘media’ category would contain some specific file types, or perhaps more specific of categories, such as pictures, movies, music. Each specific file type, what would be the instances created in the database, would have the most specific attributes and functions. A photo might have attributes size, color profile, shutter speed, and functions resize, contrast. Each specific file type, like in any OO inherited object, would have all attributes and functions of the more general categories of file type in addition to its own.
With standard setting, the document by default is opened in viewing mode. In this mode, no changes can be made to the file. All commands are designed to aid in the viewing of the file. A certain command would enter editing mode (likewise in editing mode, a certain command would bring you to view mode). In editing mode, all commands are set-up for editing. As an example, for a text document, typing ‘apple’ might put ‘apple where the cursor is currently when editing, but live-search for that text when viewing (another entry has more on this).
If anyone is interested in helping me build such a thing, contact me at public@tobymackenzie.com. I have only a little programming experience and have done almost nothing towards creating this project. I plan to start by making an application for Mac OS X that is like any other application and doesn’t affect the finder or its database, instead having an additional database that is its own and working through/with the systems database.
related thought
folders are not really files. they are used only for organization, so would not exist if there was no organization. files containing your content are a different kind of file from the organizing folders.
Employees Lives as Expenses
Employees of a company are treated as assets of that company whose lives are expenses to the company, as would be maintanence of any asset. Instead of giving employees salaries, employees are given what they need to live. Food, shelter, car or bus pass, and other essentials would be covered as a bare minimum. Other extra benefits are given to produce more incentive, as would higher salaries or bonuses.
Employers would be given the power to manage the living expenses of employees. Lower “wage” occupations would be watched and managed very carefully to keep costs as low as possible, while higher ‘wage’ earners would enjoy a much more relaxed and free management of their expenses, allowing them to choose as they’d like.
Managers of more tightly managed occupations would choose food based on nutritional content, giving employees meal plans where each food contributes to getting RDAs of nutrients and the diets are designed to ensure all RDA’s are met without giving too much excess of a given nutrient. Meal plans would be managed per individual, giving people with more active lifestyles greater energy intakes and people who are ill more vitamins and minerals that are linked to helping that illness.
Housing would be a bare minimum sized apartment for low wage earners. Higher earners would be allowed more space and privacy.
Spending cash would be given to all but the lowest income jobs, allowing employees to make day to day purchases of small items they may want. The amount would increase with ‘wage’. The money would be given through a card similar to a debit card through a credit card service, allowing employees to use the card where credit cards are excepted and also withdraw cash from ATM’s for places where they aren’t. The cash would be inserted into an account for each employee that would, with higher wage earners at least, have the possibility of accrueing interest on the balance.
For lower ‘income’ people, things such as computers, sporting equipment, and musical instruments would be provided in a group ownership form, such as access to a computer lab, a gym, and a lobby located piano. Higher ‘income’ folk would be given the opportunity for more personal versions, such as a personal computer, their own tennis racket, or a keyboard.
This system would provide the most incentive to employees to do a good job if the better rewards are achievable through better performance. Perhaps an employee who does really well in sales one year will be given a bonus of a personal computer, which they may use in place of the employee computer lab. The rewards would have to be tailored to the desires of the individual: someone who doesn’t like computers shouldn’t be given one, someone who doesn’t like cars shouldn’t be given one. Management must attempt to ensure that all employees receive what would be considered equal value for equal performance. If an employee doesn’t want to drive a car to work but would rather walk or take the bus should be given something else if the other employees have cars. It must be something they want though, and maybe something that seems more of a necessity comparable to a car so that other employees then don’t feel jealous when the guy gets say $20000 (value of the cars the co buys normally) of whatever he or she wants.
variable heating
Heating system will run continuously, providing heat to the house at the rate at which it is leaving. Output will be able to be varied very precisely to hone in on proper heating rate. Should not need as much ‘power’ (needn’t be as big of a maximum source of heat), as it will be matching outflow only.
Proper heating rate determined by monitoring carefully the temperature. If temperature starts to go down, need more heat. If it starts to go up, need less. uses interior and exterior temperature for better control.
Should be able to run very efficiently by running continuously.
Waste Recycling
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Recycling is an important and necessary method of waste and resource management. In this method, products no longer useful by the people possessing them are taken, often dismantled and remanufactured, and then resold to be reused.
Resource Management
Recycling allows us to reuse resources already removed from the ground, forest, or other location. Instead of gathering more, we simply take what we have and convert it into a form that allows it to be reused, reducing the load on the natural resource consumption and slowing the pace of depleting the almost non-renewable resources. Recycling will also often require less energy and/or money than collecting more of the equivelant resource. The costs would be reduced further through larger scale, more efficient recycling programs.
Waste Management
Recycling prevents a potentially very large portion of our waste from being shred up into a mixed collection of materials made toxic by some of its contents that is then piled in a heap that will require clean up at some point in the future. The costs of recycling will be lower in the long run than costs of cleaning up the mounds of waste otherwise created. The increase in useable land and decrease in toxic seapage damaging to life are also significant benefits of recycling.
Go to Earth911 for more information about recycling and where facilities are in your area.
gov inspection and control of business
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Each business will be given by the government a worker who will work in a management like position at the business, paid by the government, but only specifically in regards to ensuring the company complies with legal standards. Every business will be given a number, based on its size, mostly number of employees but also geographical size and industry, balanced to ensure that the gov worker always has work to do but not an overbearing amount. Small businesses too small to need or make economical use of a dedicated gov worker will share with other businesses to give a gov worker a full workload. This will make government headed decisions directly a part of the business, making inspections of certain industries built-in, and adding them to all others. Lawsuits will also be less common, as the gov worker should ensure the business is in compliance with all law including current common law.
In most businesses, the inspector will deal with accounting laws, employee related laws, and other such laws common to all or most businesses. Some businesses, such as hospitality, which have many industry specific laws, will have those watched by the inspector in addition to the basic business issues. Inspections of restaurants to see if they are up to sanitation codes would be eliminated in this system, as the inspector would continuously or frequently be at the restaurant and would have managerial powers to change problem areas. Instead of giving a score that decides whether a restaurant will be shut down or allowed to remain open, they will attempt to fix the problems through a managers capabilities. Only if changes are not able to be made and the inspector finds them unlikely to be able to be made will a shut down be considered.
Careful care must be taken to ensure that the inspector does not become attached to a company in such a way that he/she will bend the law or “look the other way” to benifit the company. The inspector shall
-recieve no pay or benifits, such as free meals, from the company
-hold no stock or other stake in the company
-make no company decisions other than those directly related to legal issues
-have as close to no ramifications as possible for making decisions that would harm the company in the interest of legality
No More Patents
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no more patents. Patents create a temporary monopoly for the inventor of a product. This ensures the ability of the inventor to make money off of the invention if it will sell; a smaller company may be unable to compete with a larger one once the larger one starts selling the product, since it will have more money to make and push the product with, as well as more fronts to push it at. Other companies may even be better able to make, sell, and promote the product with the same amount of money. The inventor, who has taken time to research and develop a product or modification to an existing one, deserves compensation for this important help to society.
However, patents also can slow significantly the spread of a given invention and the knowledge associated with it. This can be devastating to some lines of development. There is up to a 17 year period over which any other manufacturers cannot sell this product: they can develop it but cannot sell it for the entire period, which significantly reduces their possible interest in it and capabilities to do so. Other people must develop the product/mod with no monetary incentive (unless they can surpass the inventor in some way while developing it, which sometimes does and sometimes doesn’t need to be a very significant change) to do so and without the knowledge that the inventor put time and money into.
Patents as they stand in the US right now also stifle the very small inventor, as opposed to helping as is the idea. Some folk come up with ideas independant of a company (meaning by themselves). Many of these folk are not particularly wealthy and don’t know how to obtain the money or other resources necessary to get their product to market. To patent the product they need to come up with a significant amount of money (relative to a normal person’s personal income) just to get the patent checked out and then, if they are lucky, put on the books. This leaves even less money for them to make and market the product. The alternative to self-manufacturing, probably more feasible to an individual, is to have another company make and sell the product and then give money to the inventor. Some companies will take inventions from individuals, deal with the patent office, and then sign a deal with another company that would want to manufacture it. However, this costs at least what the patent office charges, possibly more for the service. The other option is to contact a manufacturing company directly. If the company likes the idea enough, it will likely pay for the patent making. However, the inventor would likely have little leverage and improper knowledge to insure getting a good deal with the company. Also, an individual will have little documentation of his or her having done the work to invent the new invention, as well as no way to protect themselves legally against the company if the idea is stolen; they have little money, especially compared to the company, little knowledge of how to go about the legal procedings, and little evidence that they invented the product and the company didn’t independantly.
possible replacement-something sort of comparable to a copyright licensing set-up. An inventor creates a product. for a small fee, the product’s inventive features can be inventrighted. the fee will be based on the size of the inventor monetarily. these features can then be used on the given product by anyone, regardless of the want of this ability by the inventor. However, the other manufacturers must pay a royalty to the inventor for this use.
The royalty is determined by the ‘patent’ office instead of the inventright holder, as it would be with copyrights. The ‘patent’ office examines the significance of the change to determine a fair value, based on the changes potential effect on society/life relative to other current inventions as well as what companies could be expected to be able to afford if they were to implement these changes. This charge would be as a percentage of the companies income from the product. The fee would be scaled based on the size of the licensee company making the product, so that a small company could make the product with a much lower fee than a large one; as that company grows, however, so does the fee.
The inventright would last only for a certain duration, perhaps,say, 17 years, and the invention/modification would then become free to sell. The fee would probably start at a higher cost and then slowly phase out to nothing over the period, to give the inventor a chance to get into the market with less competition. This would apply only to the selling of a product, not to its manufacture.
In licensing, there would likely be a requirement for the inventor to provide some basic info about the mod/invention to the licensee. This would not be anything that will cost the inventor significant money, probably something like a document based upon internal documents on the process, materials, or any other pertinent info that would be necessary to implement the mod or make the invention as the inventor had. This is to allow quick sharing of the ideas involved so that they can spread rapidly and then be revised and built upon by others.
possiblity 2 (far simpler to implement) – patents allowed only for two year period. This allows inventor to have monopoly on invention for long enough to get fairly strong beginning in market, while still allowing quick dissemination into society. reviews of patents would then be more stringent and require greater modifications to be applicable for another patent if other inventors make insignificant mods to get around monopoly. The mod must have a significant impact on functionality of the product. this functionality means that of the features that are the essence of the product ( ie effect what it was designed for, its purpose) as opposed to parts that are insignificant in the use of the product.
There would be allowed, in that two year period, a licensing out of the manufacturing of the product, as a percentage of net income from that product, chosen by the inventor ( not to be greater than 100%). As in above, the inventor probably would have to provide info to competitors on how to produce the new product/ mods, in this case to anybody who requests it. They can charge a fee for the info however, which must be reasonable for the amount of info provided.
[added 4/12/6]possibility 3: government incentives replace monopolistic incentives. grants could be given for succesful creation of inventions or/and for research toward their creation. the patent office or body put in charge of this would award incentives based upon the significance of a possible improvement over the current technology as it affects humanity or the world. Incentives would likely need to be given out incrimentaly based on their actual affects, to insure the company actually markets the item. Products more well marketed (sold more) would recieve more money, as these would have a greater affect on more people.
My political View
in
I am somewhat of a radical in that I want change, and the change that I would advocate is often a fairly significant departure from the current position. My views are based upon what I see and experience, how I think things should be based upon what I know. I often know only the basics of the topics I am discussing. I am no professional politician or pro in fields directly relating to these ideas, nor have I done research on them, either of other people’s data or of my own. My opinions may well change based upon new information that I find out, and I cannot gaurentee them to work well or at all. Also, many if not all of my ideas are just ideas that I found interesting and think would have some potential, but not neccessarily be what I’d want or advocate.
Interactive Scheduling
scheduling done interactively with employees. make forecasts for need, employees fill in shifts needed. as given day of work approaches, forecast may change. a few employees choose shift slots that may be dropped if needed. A few other employees, not scheduled to work for that day, choose to be in shift slot that may be used if necessary. management ensures that all employees are getting fair share of shifts. some may be given priority if need be. scheduling sign-up done on inter/intranet accessible database that allows employees to schedule from home and view the schedules from home, set up alerts in case of changes in their schedule. also allows for switching of shifts, and viewing of schedule at any time.