Synopses & Reviews
Truth is often stranger than fiction, especially when it comes to the workplace. In Cube Farm, author Bill Blunden recounts his three years in Minnesota performing research and development for Lawson Software. Riddled with intrigue, duplicity and collusion, this story offers a trench-level view of a company in the throes of internal rivalry, and suffering from a string of failed projects.
If you have ever suffered at the hands of an incompetent manager, or toiled in a dysfunctional environment, then this hilarious account will appeal to you. Cube Farm provides lessons learned sections at the end of each chapter, which delve into the basics of corporate self defense. Table of Contents The Ivy League AdvantageBlazing a Trail to MinnesotaFirst ImpressionsThe IlluminatiVanishing ActThe King's New ClothesThe Great EscapeIt's the Nature of the BeastA Fixed FightThe Y2K Time Bomb
Synopsis
Our economic system is founded on competition. This is a nice way of saying that it's every man for himself, and let the devil take the hindmost. Companies are free to pursue their own best interests within the confines of the law (and sometimes that doesn't even stop them). In other words, the implicit aim of any for-profit institution is to dominate its market, maximize its revenue stream, and drive its competitors out ofbusiness. Larry Ellison once summa rized this as, "It's not enough we Oracle] win, everyone else must lose. "l In theory, this free-market cage match occurs to benefit the average con sumer, who plays vendors against each other in order to get the best deal. We all know, however, that the ivory tower conclusions of economic theory don't always agree with what actually happens in the real world. Sometimes a com pany may become a little too successful at dominating its market and end up with a captive audience. In this case, the average consumer has no recourse. They must pay whatever price the monopolist dictates. The business community's attitude towards this problem is dichotomous. When a monopolist emerges in a particular business sector, its products are scrutinized, the media demonizes its CEO, and the federal goveroment assembles an army of lawyers. Nevertheless, most companies secretly wish to become evil monopolies also. In fact, I think that when companies air grievances against a particular competitor's success, it's almost always a case of sour grapes."
Synopsis
While most readers chuckle at Dilbert, there are fiefdoms in the software industry that deviate only slightly from the madness of a comic strip. Truth is stranger than fiction, especially when it comes to the workplace. In Cube Farm, Bill Blunden describes his three years in Minnesota, performing research and development for Lawson Software. It is a story riddled with intrigue, duplicity, and collusion. From his trench-level view, Blunden provides a droll examination of a company in the throes of internal rivalry and suffering from a long string of failed projects. It is a hilarious story that will appeal to anyone who has ever suffered at the hands of an incompetent manager or toiled in a dysfunctional environment. This is the book for every fan of the movie Office Space. Containing similar woodcuts to those seen in Software Excorcism, this book is a great continuation on the thoughts of Blunden.
Synopsis
Perhaps it'll make you feel better about your own company, which is probably not quite
— Ron Dippold, Slashdot contributor
I highly recommend reading this book...from the neophyte programmer so they can 'get their guard up, ' to the seasoned veteran (for laughs over times gone by).
— J. David Boyd
— Philip Greenspun, MIT Computer Science Researcher
If you want to...confirm your fears that corporate life is horribleread
— Tom Duff, Duffbert's Random Musings
(Check out a recent interview with the Reverend on Code Generation Network )
Truth is often stranger than fiction, especially when it comes to the workplace. In Cube Farm, author, Bill Blunden, recounts his three years in Minnesota, performing research and development for Lawson Software. Riddled with intrigue, duplicity and collusion, this story offers a trench-level view of a company in the throes of internal rivalry, and suffering from a string of failed projects.
If you have ever suffered at the hands of an incompetent manager, or toiled in a dysfunctional environment, then this hilarious account will appeal to you. Cube Farm provides lessons learned sections, at the end of each chapter, which delve into the basics in corporate self defense.