In some places people get a cubicle, sometimes not even that. The reasons may be in economics, but they may be underestimating the cost of employees that cannot work (properly/productively).
Dominic Amannsays:
I think the current managerial practice has little to do with productivity and everything to do with managing risk.
Johansays:
@trylks: Exactly, due to the lack of regard for 2nd degree expenses. (Being less productivity.)
@Dominic: It’s usually not about risk management, but about risk avoidance. (Not willing to invest in people/practices, since you can get away with it in other lines of work than knowledge work.)
Dominic Amannsays:
You say avoidance I say management. For managers, “containing” risk is all that counts. No one wants to be the guy that manages a “death march”.
Marcsays:
(1) I guess that for faculty, it may be wise to stay at home one or two half-days each week, if their office is “too open” to students, colleagues etc.
(2) In France, research grants have long been strongly related to establishment of cooperations, esp. with industry but also purely academic. For 15 years, I witnessed (and have been involved in , have managed etc.) so many of these “collaborative” projects where people just wanted to work separately and pretended to cooperate when it was necessary. Now the gvt has partly changed to “funding promising individuals”.
Students should certainly seek privacy to work. In Canada, most professors have private offices… and it is certainly allowable to declare yourself busy (one could even put a sign on the door). Some people like to go work in a café… I did that for many years and still do on occasion. Working from home works very well too, as long as you have the right kind of home.
In France, research grants have long been strongly related to establishment of cooperations, esp. with industry but also purely academic. For 15 years, I witnessed (and have been involved in , have managed etc.) so many of these “collaborative†projects where people just wanted to work separately and pretended to cooperate when it was necessary.
It is not just France.
The problem is that none of these programs are assessed independently. So it all comes down to politics.
Unfortunately, humans are weak in multi-tasking.
In some places people get a cubicle, sometimes not even that. The reasons may be in economics, but they may be underestimating the cost of employees that cannot work (properly/productively).
I think the current managerial practice has little to do with productivity and everything to do with managing risk.
@trylks: Exactly, due to the lack of regard for 2nd degree expenses. (Being less productivity.)
@Dominic: It’s usually not about risk management, but about risk avoidance. (Not willing to invest in people/practices, since you can get away with it in other lines of work than knowledge work.)
You say avoidance I say management. For managers, “containing” risk is all that counts. No one wants to be the guy that manages a “death march”.
(1) I guess that for faculty, it may be wise to stay at home one or two half-days each week, if their office is “too open” to students, colleagues etc.
(2) In France, research grants have long been strongly related to establishment of cooperations, esp. with industry but also purely academic. For 15 years, I witnessed (and have been involved in , have managed etc.) so many of these “collaborative” projects where people just wanted to work separately and pretended to cooperate when it was necessary. Now the gvt has partly changed to “funding promising individuals”.
@Marc
Students should certainly seek privacy to work. In Canada, most professors have private offices… and it is certainly allowable to declare yourself busy (one could even put a sign on the door). Some people like to go work in a café… I did that for many years and still do on occasion. Working from home works very well too, as long as you have the right kind of home.
In France, research grants have long been strongly related to establishment of cooperations, esp. with industry but also purely academic. For 15 years, I witnessed (and have been involved in , have managed etc.) so many of these “collaborative†projects where people just wanted to work separately and pretended to cooperate when it was necessary.
It is not just France.
The problem is that none of these programs are assessed independently. So it all comes down to politics.