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Theranos Low on Cash After Settlement with Walgreens

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Re: Theranos Low on Cash After Settlement with Walgreens

#71

Post by trizzump »

jackmott wrote: post #17
frgtpsswrdlame wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you looked at their board? It's basically the ultra-elite. How would you even go after James Mattis? It's kind of sad but a brilliant illustration of how much money can protect you. Theranos the company will fail but Theranos the people will be fine, except for the whistleblower that is.

All we have to do is elect people who don't care about that crap.

We have. And the sewer/swamp is being drained as we speak. It's a slow process, but it's happening regardless of how you feel emotionally.

Re: Theranos Low on Cash After Settlement with Walgreens

#72

Post by trizzump »

chongli wrote: post #59
heythere124 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since when is discrimination based on IQ illegal?

Since Griggs . [0] You can't do broad-based testing such as IQ or IQ-proxies (SAT or ACT). This is why companies have shifted to hiring based on degrees. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griggs_v._Duke_Power_Co .

How do the cops get away with it? https://www.google.com/amp/abcnews.go.com/amp/US/court-oks-b...

Re: Theranos Low on Cash After Settlement with Walgreens

#73

Post by mrDmrTmrJ »

sliverstorm wrote: post #54
chongli wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a decent future for business schools? Yes, as long as you understand their purpose. They exist as a form of class signalling. [0] Many of the older forms of nepotism/cronyism have been made illegal. Racial and IQ discrimination are also illegal. Therefore, business schools and law schools fill the gap. They exist to tell an employer that the applicant is either a member of their class or an ally. [0] http://…

I'm not a fan of floods of MBAs, but surely the degree serves some purpose other than class signalling. It seems like an exercise in typical engineer hubris to think is a trivial pursuit could learn in a week. Suppose you take a veteran engineer heading into management, and send him/her to get an MBA. Will they come back no better for it?

I love your skepticism about 'intellectual hubris'!

Business schools can serve a very productive education service when students take the finance/accounting tracks if they don't have those backgrounds. This allows people without those backgrounds to either transition into new careers or get the underlying knowledge they need to take on new responsibilities/roles in their existing careers.

A lot of work in both finance and accounting are 'complex' so daily practice require detailed knowledge. Even if they may not be 'sophisticated', (e.g. PhD level mathematics). Some areas, like derivatives, are both complex and sophisticated.

Sources: 1. My Mom got an MBA to change fields and then used her learned knowledge in finance+accounting constantly working for a state municipal agency. 2. Our CEO got an MBA to learn the knowledge he needed to move forward in his career/transition into different roles.

I agree with the other responses to you question that in some areas of the US (e.g. Silicon Valley, East Coast) a 'name brand' MBAs may be used as a signaling requirement for certain jobs or to advance in a career - more so than for eduction. This gets more silly when a personal already has the necessary skills! And part of the value these schools supply to their graduates a network of similarly interested business contacts.

So would the veteran engineer moving into management be helped... perhaps/but probably not. But can a person looking to change fields or areas benefit hugely by doing an MBA? Yes. Absolutely.

Re: Theranos Low on Cash After Settlement with Walgreens

#74

Post by Qub3d »

jonwachob91 wrote: post #65
Qub3d wrote: post #6

Non-paywalled Article (Vanity Fair): https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/08/theranos-walgreens-s... It seems this whole thing was a "build hype now, invent the actual stuff later" policy taken to the extreme. Elizabeth Holmes has done a disservice to the tech community's reputation.

No she hasn't. She just signaled to the world all the VC funds staffed by idiots that think they are the smartest peeps in the room. All the science and life-science funds passed on Theranos b/c they could smell the bullshit from Holmes a mile away. No one in the life-sciences or science industry was harmed by Holmes lies. The only ones hurt were the patients, un-knowing employees, and the inept vc funds.

> No one in the life-sciences or science industry was harmed by Holmes lies. The only ones hurt were the patients, un-knowing employees, and the inept vc funds.

None of these things fall under the category of Tech Industry, much less its reputation, which is what I was speaking to. In the case of the patients, they were rarely direct customers of Theranos and their actual provider (like Walgreens) has the responsibility of arbitrage. Walgreens, of course, is doing so via suing Theranos.

For the VC funds, risk is a necessary condition to "sit at the table", so if Theranos bankrupts a VC, the blame rests only on the VC itself.

The only group I agree may have been hurt are the lower employees of Theranos. Sadly, that seems to be part of the new American status quo. $company plays fast and loose with the rules, and the grunts (or taxpayers) suffer the consequences.

Re: Theranos Low on Cash After Settlement with Walgreens

#75

Post by Qub3d »

k1lly wrote: post #28

That pretty much sums it up: https://medium.com/multiple-personalities-order/how-to-be-th...

These sentiments are essentially a rough paraphrasing of One Up on Wall Street (published 17 years ago) [0] with crass language added "for the fucking effect!"

[0]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/762462.One_Up_On_Wall_St...

Re: Theranos Low on Cash After Settlement with Walgreens

#76

Post by jackvalentine »

bpodgursky wrote: post #42
jackmott wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, why isn't the entire board, and upper management in jail?

Why would the board be in jail? They are the ones who invested and may be losing money. Who did they defraud? Prison isn't a random card you can play to threaten people who you don't like, unless you want to go back to the USSR.

The Board of Directors is charged with overseeing the conduct of the business.

Whilst I've only held board memberships in Australia I expect it's a concept that translates somewhat to other countries.

Board members can be held personally responsible for the misconduct of a company (criminally as well as civilly).

Re: Theranos Low on Cash After Settlement with Walgreens

#77

Post by aamar »

chongli wrote: post #59
heythere124 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since when is discrimination based on IQ illegal?

Since Griggs . [0] You can't do broad-based testing such as IQ or IQ-proxies (SAT or ACT). This is why companies have shifted to hiring based on degrees. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griggs_v._Duke_Power_Co .

I'm seeing this claim everywhere recently. By any chance, did you see it fairly recently, maybe on a SlateStarCodex-related community?

As indicated in your link, IQ tests and diplomas are treated the same way by Griggs: they are okay when they are a reasonable measure of job performance and not okay when they're not.

Re: Theranos Low on Cash After Settlement with Walgreens

#78

Post by ante_annum »

trizzump wrote: post #72
chongli wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since Griggs . [0] You can't do broad-based testing such as IQ or IQ-proxies (SAT or ACT). This is why companies have shifted to hiring based on degrees. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griggs_v._Duke_Power_Co .

How do the cops get away with it? https://www.google.com/amp/abcnews.go.com/amp/US/court-oks-b...

The argument they cops used is that people who score to highly on the qualifying exams are likely to become bored with the work they do faster, leading to a lot of turnover and the costs that go with replacing them.
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