Tech giants have as much money and influence as nations
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Tech giants have as much money and influence as nations
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Re: Tech giants have as much money and influence as nations
#2This made me laugh ...
> “Many employees don’t like Apple Park [the company’s new headquarters] because it has very few private offices.
... nice one Jony ... design a brave and “beautiful” open plan workspace for a paranoiacally secretive organisation.
Says it all really.
Re: Tech giants have as much money and influence as nations
#3[deleted]
Re: Tech giants have as much money and influence as nations
#4This made me laugh ... > “Many employees don’t like Apple Park [the company’s new headquarters] because it has very few private offices. ... nice one Jony ... design a brave and “beautiful” open plan workspace for a paranoiacally secretive organisation. Says it all really.
And then leave a few years after that office building is opened. Solid exit.
Re: Tech giants have as much money and influence as nations
#5I think it’s supposed to be a joke, but it’s still a bit contrived. The governance models of countries and companies are very different. Just about every company would end up being like some sort of socialist regime. No democracy, central planning. Perhaps you could argue they’re more like oligarchies or plutocracies (governed by capital).
Re: Tech giants have as much money and influence as nations
#6Another way to think about this topic is that China's CEO is Xi Jingpin.
There are a few distinctions between calling China a company and calling Apple a nation:
- A nation uphelds the law whereas a company uses proxies (lobbying) to make laws
- A nation has diplomatic rights, a company has to abide by export controls
- A nation has a treasury, has control over interest rates and can prosecute violators, it ensures a level playing field. A company has equity and can fire employees, but has to maximize profits (shareholder interest) and eliminate/beat competition.
- A nation has hard physical military and ability to go to war, a company has office security and HR
- A nation can prosecute criminals, a company can layoff people.
I don't think this analogy provides any interesting insight into Apple besides drawing loose connection between secrecy and censorship.
Re: Tech giants have as much money and influence as nations
#7I think it’s supposed to be a joke, but it’s still a bit contrived. The governance models of countries and companies are very different. Just about every company would end up being like some sort of socialist regime. No democracy, central planning. Perhaps you could argue they’re more like oligarchies or plutocracies (governed by capital).
And yet we think it's absolutely normal for companies to be run like oppressive regimes.
Re: Tech giants have as much money and influence as nations
#8I think it’s supposed to be a joke, but it’s still a bit contrived. The governance models of countries and companies are very different. Just about every company would end up being like some sort of socialist regime. No democracy, central planning. Perhaps you could argue they’re more like oligarchies or plutocracies (governed by capital).
And yet we think it's absolutely normal for companies to be run like oppressive regimes.
Just how meritocratic is the selection of corporate leadership anyway?
Re: Tech giants have as much money and influence as nations
#9Doesn't Apple need the secrecy to survive? Imagine Nokia getting hold of the specs of the original iPhone early before its release, how would the world be today?
Re: Tech giants have as much money and influence as nations
#10This made me laugh ... > “Many employees don’t like Apple Park [the company’s new headquarters] because it has very few private offices. ... nice one Jony ... design a brave and “beautiful” open plan workspace for a paranoiacally secretive organisation. Says it all really.
> ... nice one Jony ... design a brave and “beautiful” open plan workspace for a paranoiacally secretive organisation.
I feel like it's worth pointing out that Steve Jobs was still running Apple when this building was designed. I don't work for Norman Foster so I have no way to know how much changed internally after he died, but I doubt the balance shifted too wildly given the logistical constraints of massive construction projects.
As an aside - and I don't mean this in reference to office layouts - were I in charge of a global consumer products company that competes in multiple cutthroat markets, I'd want to foster a corporate culture of extreme openness and collaboration inside the walls but absolute silence outside. That's not exactly what Apple is today, obviously, but it's within the realm of possibility that it's their goal.