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How Surveillance Changes Behavior: A Restaurant Workers Case Study

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Re: How Surveillance Changes Behavior: A Restaurant Workers Case Study

#61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trust, but verify. Same reason contracts are written down.

Ah yes, the old "I want it both ways" statement. Trust is the belief that you don't need to verify.

No, without trust there is nothing to verify since that means you don't take those risks.

"Trust but verify" means that people will be able to do bad things, but will be found out afterwards.

Re: How Surveillance Changes Behavior: A Restaurant Workers Case Study

#63
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is funny. I worked close to minimum wage at a restaurant before. There was no wage negotiation. We had people coming in every single day looking for a job to work minimum wage. I would have been replaced in an hour, there was no leverage. What was I going to do?

Reading your post closely, I infer a couple of things. First off, you were being paid more than minimum wage, and could be replaced at an hour's notice with someone willing to work at minimum wage. So at some point you successfully demonstrated a higher value than those others, thereby getting a higher wage. Secondly, you are no longer there at that wage. So you did something to demonstrate even higher value and a hi…

Minimum wage, as I recall (it was a long time ago) was around maybe $7 an hour, I was being paid around $7.80. Whooooooooo.... Yeah, the reason for that is because you get a nickel and dime raises when you learn a job. That is pretty much the highest any non-manager employee got in the restaurant.

I was simply shocked as to how many people came in every day looking for an application. Every single day. It was amazing. These weren't teenagers either.

Yeah, I'm not working in the restaurant business anymore because I'm a software engineer now. However, not everyone can become software engineers, and there is still a market for restaurants. I know I enjoy them myself. There is also a latency between age of employment and age that one usually acquires skills to be hired as a software engineer and not everyone has rich [read: middle class] parents to support them through that time.

I also don't need your career advice.

I would like to also point out I would never steal from my employer, or anyone else, it still goes against my morals.

Re: How Surveillance Changes Behavior: A Restaurant Workers Case Study

#64
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have yet to sign a contract that would mandate that I be watched by cameras at all times.

I don't believe that that was his point. I think that his point was that a healthy attitude to take on in life is to generally take other people's words as true (thus trust), but to have mechanisms to ensure that (thus verify). The key point is that unless you have specific reasons not to trust them, then you do not set up an antagonistic relationship. For this to work, both parties must believe that 'trust, but veri…

but to have mechanisms to ensure that (thus verify)

Actually, that's not a mechanism to ensure anything, that's a mechanism to remediate the consequences of failure. Actually ensuring the compliance would, again, require for you to be under close observation.

Re: How Surveillance Changes Behavior: A Restaurant Workers Case Study

#65
If they went back and looked at business theory from the 20s and 30s they might have come across a famous phenomenon called the Hawthorne/Observer effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_effect

Basically, when employees are being observed (which you could read as under surveillance) their productivity improves.

Rather than suggest we turn into a panopticon loving society, it speaks to me that restaurant owners should in fact be paying more attention to their staff, and creating a workplace where they feel valued. This should improve productivity, and reduce turnover - but maybe my perspective is skewed because of the differences in being a restaurant waiter/ress vs a software dev.

In any case, if you want better profitability then why not incentivise staff? If they have a share of profits, then you can be sure they will be trying to maximise profits - including reducing wastage, up-selling and reporting other members of staff not pulling their weight/stealing.

Re: How Surveillance Changes Behavior: A Restaurant Workers Case Study

#66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah yes, the old "I want it both ways" statement. Trust is the belief that you don't need to verify.

Actually, there's a fairly sensible way to view the statement "trust, but verify" -- think of it as a policy of entering agreements without doing the necessary vetting / clearing / what have you in advance. You still do that, but afterwards. As long as the people you're working with are trustworthy, things will run much more smoothly, but if they're not, you'll still find out. That "verify" step is important to maint…

That's a reasonable interpretation. "Trust now, verify later" would be a bit clearer.

Re: How Surveillance Changes Behavior: A Restaurant Workers Case Study

#67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah yes, the old "I want it both ways" statement. Trust is the belief that you don't need to verify.

If you don't trust someone, there's no point in verifying. Verification is for when you're wrong about being trusting.

Interesting, I think we mean something different when we say trust.

In cryptography, you're trusting an entity when you don't verify that it's doing the right thing. Typically, the goal is to minimize or eliminate trust (otherwise attackers can exploit the system).

Re: How Surveillance Changes Behavior: A Restaurant Workers Case Study

#68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> few readers here will have been at the poverty line, where it might appear a little more ambiguous whether taking a small cut from a very successful business which pays minimum wage is so clearly immoral. WalterBright's comment indicates some confusion with this, so I'll help explain. There's a basic notion of fairness that what you've contracted to do (your job) in return for money (your wages) is fair. But a lot…

I don't agree with it, nor do I understand it. I see the same behaviour in corporate bankers are are earning many millions per year. It's OK to steal because I deserve more. People like this are common thieves - and nothing more. Growing up, my family went from poor to middle class. We did the hard yards. We never stole. Why? Because its about principals and ethics. Never, never excuse a thief. If your statement were…

I think there is room to understand the actions of another without condoning or excusing those actions.

Re: How Surveillance Changes Behavior: A Restaurant Workers Case Study

#69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you don't trust someone, there's no point in verifying. Verification is for when you're wrong about being trusting.

Interesting, I think we mean something different when we say trust. In cryptography, you're trusting an entity when you don't verify that it's doing the right thing. Typically, the goal is to minimize or eliminate trust (otherwise attackers can exploit the system).

The phrase is a Russian saying popularized by Reagan for diplomatic purposes. He wasn't talking about cryptography.

Re: How Surveillance Changes Behavior: A Restaurant Workers Case Study

#70
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reading your post closely, I infer a couple of things. First off, you were being paid more than minimum wage, and could be replaced at an hour's notice with someone willing to work at minimum wage. So at some point you successfully demonstrated a higher value than those others, thereby getting a higher wage. Secondly, you are no longer there at that wage. So you did something to demonstrate even higher value and a hi…

Minimum wage, as I recall (it was a long time ago) was around maybe $7 an hour, I was being paid around $7.80. Whooooooooo.... Yeah, the reason for that is because you get a nickel and dime raises when you learn a job. That is pretty much the highest any non-manager employee got in the restaurant. I was simply shocked as to how many people came in every day looking for an application. Every single day. It was amazing…

> I also don't need your career advice.

That's cool, but you asked and I answered, and I correctly inferred that you didn't need the advice.

Glad to see you doing well, and Peace, dude!

(I started out at min wage jobs, too.)

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