"Elizabeth Moon. The Speed of Dark " - читать интересную книгу автора

Today the topic was the negative spirit in the workplace, which seemed
to mean anyone who questioned Crenshaw in any way. Instead, they were
supposed to "catch the vision"-Crenshaw's vision-and concentrate on that to
the exclusion of everything else. Anything that didn't fit the vision
was... suspect if not bad. Democracy wasn't in it: this was a business, not
a party. Crenshaw said that several times. Then he pointed to Aldrin's
unit, Section A as it was known in-house, as an example of what was wrong.
Aldrin's stomach burned; a sour taste came into his mouth. Section A
had remarkable productivity; he had a string of commendations in his record
because of it. How could Crenshaw possibly think there was anything wrong
with it?
Before he could jump in, Madge Demont spoke up. "You know, Gene, we've
always worked as a team in this department. Now you come in here and pay no
attention to our established, and successful, ways of working together-"
"I'm a natural leader," Crenshaw said. "My personality profile shows
that I'm cut out to be a captain, not crew."
"Teamwork is important for anyone," Aldrin said. "Leaders have to
learn how to work with others-"
"That's not my gift," Crenshaw said. "My gift is inspiring others and
giving a strong lead."
His gift, Aldrin thought, was being bossy without having earned the
right, but Crenshaw came highly recommended by higher management. They
would all be fired before he was.
"These people," Crenshaw went on, "have to realize that they are not
the be-all and end-all of this company. They have to fit in; it's their
responsibility to do the job they were hired to do-"
"And if some of them are also natural leaders?" Aldrin asked.
Crenshaw snorted. "Autistics? Leaders? You must be kidding. They don't
have what it takes; they don't understand the first thing about how society
works."
"We have a contractual obligation..." Aldrin said, shifting ground
before he got too angry to be coherent. "Under the terms of the contract,
we must provide them with working conditions suitable to them."
"Well, we certainly do that, don't we?" Crenshaw almost quivered with
indignation, "At enormous expense, too. Their own private gym, sound
system, parking lot, all kinds of toys."
Upper management also had a private gym, sound system, parking lot,
and such useful toys as stock options. Saying so wouldn't help.
Crenshaw went on. "I'm sure our other hardworking employees would like
the chance to play in that sandbox-but they do their jobs."
"So does Section A," Aldrin said. "Their productivity figures-"
"Are adequate, I agree. But if they spent the time working that they
waste on playtime, it would be a lot better."
Aldrin felt his neck getting hot. "Their productivity is not just
adequate , Gene. It's outstanding. Section A is, person for person, more
productive than any other department. Maybe what we should do is let other
people have the same kinds of supportive resources that we give Section A-"
"And drop the profit margin to zero? Our stockholders would love that.
Pete, I admire you for sticking up for your people, but that's exactly why
you didn't make VP and why you won't rise any higher until you learn to see