Teams at a large bank face a yearly ritual called 'the headcount challenge'. In simple terms, the ritual involves the head of HR handing out new headcount targets to each division on the basis of cost reductions. The joke is of course that no manager can actually do anything: it is impossible to fire people … Continue reading Headcount Tactics
A man who desperately wants to solve a problem that will make customers happy, has a been told to clock off at 1700 sharp because there are not enough hours available on the booking code. Meanwhile, his employer has hired an extra 1000 staff to control the spend of each department. They are called 'financial controllers'. The … Continue reading Man Who Wants To Solve Problems Told To Go Home
Frank Dengler, who is the head of a small engineering department in a big engineering company, claims that he just makes the budget up; and that's the joke. Frank was threatened with disciplinary action after he was overheard joking with colleagues about the "yearly farce" called the 'FOP' (Financial Operating Plan). Frank said:"We just count … Continue reading Yearly Finance Process A Mixture of Comedy and Perversion
Managing Spaghetti 