On valuing people
benscofield.com
On valuing people
1–10 of 18 posts
Re: On valuing people
#2 It is wrong to treat other people simply as a means to some end or goal.
Re: On valuing people
#3Very few firms actually just want a body. Sometimes HR acts that way, but very few hiring managers truly feel that way. If they did, they would just hire a contractor.
Re: On valuing people
#4It is wrong to treat other people simply as a means to some end or goal. I'm not sure what exactly this means. How do you interact with someone besides as a means towards an end (even if the "end" is just a fun conversation, or perhaps your own sense of altruism).
It's usually interpreted to mean that you need to respect that other people have ends of their own; they aren't just there for your benefit. I mentioned dating as a context where this sometimes happens, and I was thinking specifically of the pickup artist community.
Re: On valuing people
#5It is wrong to treat other people simply as a means to some end or goal. I'm not sure what exactly this means. How do you interact with someone besides as a means towards an end (even if the "end" is just a fun conversation, or perhaps your own sense of altruism).
I think I agree with you. Really, companies should care about the employee if for no other reason then because caring is the best way to extract value from them. A happy employee is a good employee, and there is a large hidden cost of hiring a new developer when the old one quits.
Re: On valuing people
#6I started reading it excitedly but you discuss your trip experience almost more than the subject line. Started nice, but it could have had more depth.
Re: On valuing people
#7It is wrong to treat other people simply as a means to some end or goal. I'm not sure what exactly this means. How do you interact with someone besides as a means towards an end (even if the "end" is just a fun conversation, or perhaps your own sense of altruism).
You're right - even my relationship with my fiance is based on us wanting something from each other. We want to love and be loved - to care and be cared about. Are we "using" each other? Maybe, but there's no manipulation involved. We wouldn't want any part of it if the other wasn't enjoying the relationship.
I believe what's intended is that it's wrong to use people with disregard for their feelings and desires. We have a lot to gain by treating each other as willing partners (as with my fiance) rather than as tools.
Re: On valuing people
#8Very few firms actually just want a body. Sometimes HR acts that way, but very few hiring managers truly feel that way. If they did, they would just hire a contractor.
I liked the author pointing out that the process itself is often geared to disregard what the potential employee wants. The people hiring for the firm might care what the potential employee wants, but it's easy to forget or fail to fully investigate in the course of the standard process.
Re: On valuing people
#9I started reading it excitedly but you discuss your trip experience almost more than the subject line. Started nice, but it could have had more depth.
Sorry you didn't enjoy it! In all honesty, the travel is what stuck with me more than anything else about that entire process, though, and it's what started solidifying my thoughts about all of this. Hiring has a user experience like everything else, and in a lot of cases travel will take up more time than you ever spend talking to someone.
Re: On valuing people
#10It is wrong to treat other people simply as a means to some end or goal. I'm not sure what exactly this means. How do you interact with someone besides as a means towards an end (even if the "end" is just a fun conversation, or perhaps your own sense of altruism).
The interaction is an end in itself.