4 Microsoft Hypocrisies
4 Microsoft Hypocrisies
Date: Tuesday, May 23, 2006 9:24 PM
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Microsoft says different things depending on who their audience is.
Apparently truth at Microsoft is relative and it's designed for whatever
needs to be said to increase profits by decreasing labor costs. Their
hypocrisy and out and out lying only becomes obvious by reading and
comparing several articles simultaneously.
***** Hypocrisy #1 *****
Microsoft is holding a big pow-wow in Silicon Valley on Diversity. The top
complaint of everyone including Microsoft is that the U.S. isn't
competitive because our workforce isn't diverse enough.
Every speaker - from the federal government, industry, think thanks,
non-profits and academia - cited the lack of diversity in IT as a
major competitive and innovative problem for the U.S.
Sen. Obama really jumped on the bandwagon:
"Locking women out of information technology is like having one hand
tied behind our competitive backs," Senator Barack Obama (D - IL)
said.
For Microsoft, diversity only seems to be a problem in the USA and not
India. When in India, Microsoft doesn't seem very interested in diversity.
MS announced that they are only interested in hiring people of "Indian
origin".
The company was also working at reversing the brain drain and
recruiting people of Indian origin to work here.
If you think that's preposterous it gets worse. Microsoft says that they
are hiring people in the U.S. to go to India to work, but they are only
interested in hiring those people again, yeah know, the Indians:
Microsoft India will double its workforce at Hyderabad and is
recruiting people of Indian origin in the US to work here,
according to Ms Rebecca DuBose Ward, Director, Intellectual
Property & Licensing, Microsoft India (R&D) Pvt Ltd.
***** Hypocrisy #2 *****
According to Rashid at MS there are going to be millions of new IT jobs
created. Of course the implication is that there won't be enough Americans
to fill these jobs. I don't want to stereotype, but it seems to me that if
MS is really interested in diversity, perhaps they should hire a few more
Smiths or Browns instead of Rashids.
In his Innovation Town hall opening speech Nick Rashid, Senior
Vice President and in charge of all Microsoft's research,
commented that by 2012 the Department of Labor has estimated
that there will be 1.5 million new jobs in IT.
So according the MS, there are lots and lots and lots of IT jobs being
created. If that's true, why is MS benching their contractors?
Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos said Monday that Microsoft told
vendors who supply the contractors that about 1,000 workers
globally would not be needed this week. The vendors, whose
workers do software development for Microsoft, also were told
to schedule two other days off, Gellos said.
***** Hypocrisy #3 *****
Today's corporations always seem to announce layoffs in a politically
correct way that would indicate that their U.S. employees won't be the only
ones to suffer. Perhaps they think that helps the morale of their U.S.
workforce as their jobs are being offshored:
The vendors were informed of the decision at the beginning of
the month. It affects workers in Redmond, India and elsewhere,
he said.
Meanwhile MS is saying that employees from "elsewhere" are losing jobs
while announcing that they will double the number of employees in
Hyderabad. It seems as though "elsewhere" means somewhere else in the USA.
Addressing an Indo-US seminar and workshop on IPR enforcement,
she said that the company was planning to double the numbers of
employees at its software development centre in , where it employs
over 800 people.
***** Hypocrisy #4 *****
Bill Gates and his MS shills are all over the media ranting about the
shortage of highly qualified Americans. The argument always goes something
like this: "Since there aren't enough Americans with high-tech educations,
we must import them by using H-1B visas".
"We believe it is in the best interests of our industry, to have
a continuing stream of high-quality, well-educated students in the
sciences and technology. Software is a people-intensive business.
Microsoft is committed to technical innovation, research is a
primary arm of that, and we, therefore, want to continue to hire
technically innovative people," Roy Levin said.
Microsoft is very demanding when it comes to the skills of their American
employees. They often say they only want to hire Americans that have
advanced graduate degrees in Computer Science. In India however MS and
their corporate brethern seem to have much lower standards:
To add to the demand, global technology giants IBM, Microsoft and Dell
are set to double staff numbers in India. That means the industry will
be forced to hire non-engineering graduates.
Articles Used for this Newsletter
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/002118.html
Microsoft Marching For More Engineering Students
http://news.moneycontrol.com/india/news/business/microsoftindiaworkforce/microsofttodoublehyderabadworkforce/market/stocks/article/213214
Microsoft to double Hyderabad workforce
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8HP41U80.htm?campaign_id=apn_tech_down
Microsoft contractors to take 7 days off
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/002118.html
Microsoft Marching For More Engineering Students
Posted by Erika Ingvald
Monday, May 22, 2006, 04:30 PM (PST)
Microsoft has identified engineering students, as well as trained IT
engineers, as commodities in short supply. And now the company is aiming
for women and minorities -- not least to improve and diversify its
products.
Microsoft Research invited the press to its Silicon Valley Roadshow in
early May. We were promised cool new stuff from the lab. But the keynote
speech by Roy Levin, Director of Microsoft Research, Silicon Valley,
focused entirely on the lack of engineers and on the education pipeline as
did the following panel discussion.
"We believe it is in the best interests of our industry, to have a
continuing stream of high-quality, well-educated students in the sciences
and technology. Software is a people-intensive business. Microsoft is
committed to technical innovation, research is a primary arm of that, and
we, therefore, want to continue to hire technically innovative people," Roy
Levin said.
That this is a burning issue for Microsoft is proven by the company's
presence in Washington, at the first-ever Innovation Town Hall, sponsored
by the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) and the
National Science Foundation (NSF). Every speaker -- from the federal
government, industry, think thanks, non-profits and academia -- cited the
lack of diversity in IT as a major competitive and innovative problem for
the U.S.
"Locking women out of information technology is like having one hand tied
behind our competitive backs," Senator Barack Obama (D - IL) said.
The logic goes as follows:
Innovation is presently considered to be the key driver of the U.S.
(actually any) economy. And for a company to survive it needs to repeatedly
be able of taking new products -- Vistas, iPods, or Blackberries of the
world -- to the market. Innovation is key, whether you're in Seattle,
Silicon Valley or Washington D.C. But to be innovative a company needs
people with the right training and thinking.
In his Innovation Town hall opening speech Rick Rashid, Senior Vice
President and in charge of all Microsoft's research, commented that by 2012
the Department of Labor has estimated that there will be 1.5 million new
jobs in IT.
"But as we stand here the number of students that are going into computer
science are going down. One problem is that less than 20 percent of those
who graduate in computer sciences are women and the numbers decline,"
Rashid said. "But this is also an opportunity. By engaging women and
underrepresented minorities we can enroll a collection of smart people.
Diversity is also an issue of what kind of products you want to build; it
gives you a workforce that let you reach a broader field of consumers with
products of higher quality."
Remains to be seen what this initiative will lead to. One thing is probably
for sure; it won't be the last we here about shortage of computer
engineers.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://news.moneycontrol.com/india/news/business/microsoftindiaworkforce/microsofttodoublehyderabadworkforce/market/stocks/article/213214
2006-05-05 09:07
Microsoft to double Hyderabad workforce
Microsoft India will double its workforce at Hyderabad and is recruiting
people of Indian origin in the US to work here, according to Ms Rebecca
DuBose Ward, Director, Intellectual Property & Licensing, Microsoft India
(R&D) Pvt Ltd.
Addressing an Indo-US seminar and workshop on IPR enforcement, she said
that the company was planning to double the numbers of employees at its
software development centre in Hyderabad, where it employs over 800 people.
The company was also working at reversing the brain drain and recruiting
people of Indian origin to work here.
India is in a transition phase and moving from a "renter of intellectual
property to producer of intellectual property."
Microsoft's employees tend to strike out on their own and that could happen
in India too. This would mean that they would expect protection for their
intellectual property. India would need strong intellectual property regime
under such conditions, she said.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8HP41U80.htm?campaign_id=apn_tech_down
The Associated Press/SEATTLE
By ALLISON LINN
AP Business Writer
Microsoft contractors to take 7 days off
MAY. 22 6:52 P.M. ET Microsoft Corp. has told about 1,000 technology
contract workers to take seven days off the job, without Microsoft pay, in
a cost-saving move that came as the company unveiled a series of new perks
for its internal staff.
Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos said Monday that Microsoft told vendors who
supply the contractors that about 1,000 workers globally would not be
needed this week. The vendors, whose workers do software development for
Microsoft, also were told to schedule two other days off, Gellos said.
Gellos said this was one of the first times that Microsoft has scheduled a
short period of time off for its contractors. He said the company made the
decision because it was running over budget in some areas as it headed
toward the end of its fiscal year on June 30.
He stressed that the contractors' work was being delayed, not canceled.
"We want to be fiscally responsible here," Gellos said.
The vendors were informed of the decision at the beginning of the month. It
affects workers in Redmond, India and elsewhere, he said.
Gellos also said the decision was unrelated to a move, announced late last
week, to offer new perks to its Redmond employees such as enhanced
child-care benefits, access to dry cleaning and grocery delivery services,
and better cafeteria food.
"I can understand why people might think that there is a connection, but
there is not," Gellos said.
Along with the new perks, Microsoft said it was rejiggering its
compensation and evaluation system. The moves were widely seen as efforts
to improve morale and keep up with competitors such as Google Inc. who also
offer enticing benefits. Microsoft executives have said that one key to
battling companies such as Google effectively is being able to get -- and
keep -- talented workers.
In a memo to employees, Lisa Brummel, senior vice president of human
resources, called the plan "a broad set of investments we are making to
ensure that Microsoft continues as one of the world's best places to work,
with great opportunities, great leadership and a great working
environment."
Marcus Courtney, president of the Washington Alliance of Technology
Workers, a tech worker advocacy group, said he thinks the two moves
illustrate there is an unequal system for those who work at -- but not for
-- Microsoft.
"It shows the unfair relationship that they have between Microsoft and
these contractors," he said.
In addition to its tens of thousands of internal employees, Microsoft
relies heavily on contractors for all manner of tasks. The company was
involved in a long-running legal battle, beginning in the early 1990s, over
its use of temporary workers, but it has since changed its practices.
Bill Wilson, a software engineer who has worked as a contractor at
Microsoft for about six months, said he was surprised when he found out
last week that he wouldn't be working -- or getting paid -- for seven
working days beginning Monday. Wilson, 57, said he might have made
different financial plans if he'd known about the time off. But he was more
concerned about some of his colleagues with younger kids and lower
salaries.
"It's gotta be quite a shock," he said.
Although Microsoft said it would not pay the workers, Gellos said the
companies that provide the workers were free to schedule them at other jobs
during that time. But Courtney said it he thought it was unlikely that
workers could line up something else so quickly.
Gellos would not name the companies providing the workers.
But Plano, Texas-based EDS Corp. confirmed that it contracted fewer than 25
of the workers. Companies often ask EDS to make changes like this and such
flexibility is one reason they use contract workers, spokesman Travis
Jacobson said.
"To us, this is just business as usual," he said.
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