tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post2814218498640648824..comments2024-03-12T14:31:50.264-07:00Comments on Bits and Pieces: When Not to Run a University Like a BusinessHarry Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-82385868027847730752014-02-17T07:49:42.751-08:002014-02-17T07:49:42.751-08:00Thanks to the several who have correctly observed ...Thanks to the several who have correctly observed that good businesses don't run this way. But that speaks to the feeble understanding in universities of what it means to be "run like a business." I see a lot of going through the motions of being businesslike, without the forethought and vision of the big picture that characterize businesses that last.Harry Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-85490074852760471452014-02-17T06:20:09.990-08:002014-02-17T06:20:09.990-08:00Whoops, somehow i came up as Unknown -- it's C...Whoops, somehow i came up as Unknown -- it's Craig Partridge.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01354737282284832510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-59516811822082670342014-02-17T06:19:35.549-08:002014-02-17T06:19:35.549-08:00My experience matches Lance's -- businesses I&...My experience matches Lance's -- businesses I've worked with do try to fix their mistakes as the value of the happy employee is important. I'll agree that probably there's a company that doesn't (cf. headlines in the past few days about corporate attempts to reduce 401K obligations), but this isn't a business vs. non-business story.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01354737282284832510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-67789965426263999072014-02-11T09:55:45.235-08:002014-02-11T09:55:45.235-08:00There is another point to be made here. To the ext...There is another point to be made here. To the extent that we believe that a University has a mission to educate citizens, as opposed to teaching skills, it should value responsibility and teach by example. There was a series of mistakes made (the initial error, the nonchalant response, etc.) In a moral environment "mistakes were made" is not an acceptable phrase. The institution (and very likely, some supervisor/dean/bean counter) should come forward, and own the mistake. <br />I am not saying "heads should roll" -- but there should be institutional and personal responsibility that should ensure that something was learned. After all, Harvard IS an educational institution, even if at universities the folks hardest to teach are the administrators.<br />CSProfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07212822875614144307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-73554880093788918832014-02-10T08:24:00.065-08:002014-02-10T08:24:00.065-08:00I don't want to speculate on the specifics, bu...I don't want to speculate on the specifics, but I am not inclined to be as harsh as you. I'd rather think that everyone was well intentioned, but an error in judgment was made somewhere along the line.Harry Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-33133563455346879692014-02-10T08:20:34.690-08:002014-02-10T08:20:34.690-08:00I should not have picked on Pepsi, because I imagi...I should not have picked on Pepsi, because I imagine different businesses would have handled the situation differently. But any business would have done some sort of a cost-benefit analysis, and I'm sure many would have come to the conclusion that the benefit was not worth the cost.Harry Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-29925392271711065782014-02-10T07:17:14.610-08:002014-02-10T07:17:14.610-08:00The issue is not `like a business' vs `not lik...The issue is not `like a business' vs `not like a business' . The issue is not even acting ethically or not ethically. The issue is not that Schools are free speech zones and businesses aren't (have you head of a concept called `gossip'?). The issue is competence. Lying to 11,000 employees is just incompetent. What could Harvard have possibly gained from it? (I actually want to know.) GASARCHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06134382469361359081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-13670096886988111472014-02-10T05:40:16.292-08:002014-02-10T05:40:16.292-08:00I'm going to disagree with you Harry. If the s...I'm going to disagree with you Harry. If the same situation happened at Pepsi they likely would have paid for their mistake as they know the value of happy employees. It's not that Harvard shouldn't have acted like a business in this case, it's that they should have.Lance Fortnowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06752030912874378610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-25925000356624085072014-02-09T13:07:31.594-08:002014-02-09T13:07:31.594-08:00Is there a non-paywalled news link?Is there a non-paywalled news link?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06425182901548329436noreply@blogger.com