Conference 7.286::digital

    When is it being broadcast?

Managers received a 24-page copy of the transcript via
Reader's Choice.  Ask yours to forward you a copy.

It's interesting reading.  I'm looking forward to 
seeing and listening to Bob's inflections as he
says the words.

)    When is it being broadcast?

	Wednesday, August 21, 1996 at 3:00pm EDT. In Europe:

		2:00PM BST UK/Irl/Portugal
		3:00PM CET Europe
		4:00PM Finald/Israel
		5:00PM Moscow

Larry

    We were also sent the following survey to be filled out after watching
    the DVN broadcast. Do the questions imply that management is concerned
    about employee perception of management???????????
    
            Subject: Q1 Employee Forum
    
    
              Please complete the survey for the Q1 Employee Forum,
     Wednesday, August 21, 1996 at 3:00pm EDT. The description is included
     at the end of servey.
    
              Please respond the completed survey to:
              DVN Feedback @GEO; by August 28th.
    
    
              Thank you for you cooperation.
    
                    BOB PALMER's Q1 EMPLOYEE FORUM of August 21st 1996
    
    ===========================================================================
    Please indicate your organization:
    
    O Digital Semiconductor         O ABU         O Advanced Technology Group
    O Components & Peripherals      O SBU         O CIO, OMS, Quality
    O Storage & Subsystems          O MCS         O HRO
    O Networks Components           O NBU         O Other
    O Communications                O PC BU         Please specify...........
    
    Please specify your 3 letter Location Code ... ... ...
    ==========================================================================
    
    Please circle a number:
                                                    Strongly        Strongly
    1. After viewing this broadcast, I am more      Agree           Disagree
       confident that senior management has a
       realistic understanding of the company's
       major problems:                              5,  4,  3,  2,  1
    
    2. After Viewing this broadcast, I am more
       confident that senior management is
       committed to fixing the major problems
       the company faces:                             5,  4,  3,  2,  1
    
    3. After viewing this broadcast, I am more
       confident that management is committed
       to rebuilding employee morale & trust:         5,  4,  3,  2,  1
    
    4. After viewing this broadcast, I am more
       confident that management is committed to
       taking the steps needed to improve customer
       satisfaction and loyalty:                      5,  4,  3,  2,  1
    
    5. After viewing this broadcast, I am more
       confident that Digital is positioned
       to return to profitability in FY97:            5,  4,  3,  2,  1
    
    6. After viewing this broadcast, I am more
       confident that Digital's corporate strategy
       is a solid foundation for sustained growth
       and profitability:                             5,  4,  3,  2,  1
    
    7. What I liked most/least about this program:
    
    
    8. My overall impression of this broadcast was:
    
       Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor. Why?............
    
    ===========================================================================
    Please fax this filled-in form to DTN: 821-4807
    or E-mail to: DVN Feedback @GEO, by August 28th at latest. Thank you.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
            Note:           This Broadcast is a Straight DVN.
    
    
            Program         Digital Chairman, Bob Palmer's Q1 Employee
                            Forum DVN Broadcast is scheduled for Wednesday,
                            August 21, 1996 at 3:00pm EDT.  The program is
                            expected to last approximately one hour.
                            Bob Palmer will deliver prepared remarks which
                            will last about 15 minutes, and then he will answer
                            employees questions.  The program will be taped
    			    in advance at Digital's COP facility in Greenbelt,
                            Maryland, which is the headquarters of the
                            Federal Government Region.
    

    
    this reaks of politics.......
    
    What's the problems in the world Bill?  
    
    I dunno, Let's take a poll and see if they know we don't know what 
    we are doing?
    
    If they say we don't, then we can always blame the republicans and
    go back and stick our heads in the sand or other appropriate places.
    
    cw

The sound quality here at ZK was muffled. I think the
other TV was TSFO'ed. Can someone post the 24 page
transcript.

/John

Actually I think the broadcast should be piped through
the PA system and the image should be shown on our
workstations. We have the technology!!

    it's on Livewire, please don't post it!
    
    Mark

And for the (cracked) record ...

Have a look at the sites where the DVN is broadcast, and you can
figure out that it only goes to a minority of offices in a
minority of countries. Must be great to work in New England.


Not.

    Please do keep sending the feedback form mentioned in .4
    
    It might surprise a lot of folks to know that the program was very well
    received with lots of "very Good", and "excellent" so if you did not
    get a chance to see it, do borrow or order a video copy, & see for
    yourself & send in your feedback.
    
    Referring to point .8, speaking only for Europe, all major offices are
    covered & have the capability to receive DVN Broadcasts (and Microsoft
    Interactive Distance Learning events from Seattle). The satellite cover
    allows us to reach from Galway to the west to Moscow to the east, & from 
    Helsinki up north to Tel Aviv at the southern end of the Med.
    
    We cover more countries than any other Business TV network in Europe
    and we can still expand to another half dozen countries. So where there
    is a will, there is a way.
    				:o)
     

It would be courteous to provide your name if you're noting from an
anonymous account.

___Pete

    Ooops, sorry, pardon!
    
    	DVN Feedback @GEO is looked after by Nick Meyer dtn:821-4172
    			       		    (European DVN operations)

    
    I'm not yet ready to reply about the DVN in this conference, but I do
    encourage you to read the transcript on VTX LIVEWIRE, even if you had
    the opportunity to see the DVN. That way, you will gain a better under-
    standing of what Mr. Palmer said. Then, carefully select a number on
    the form, circle it, and answer the comments. If you do this
    electronically, you have more room for comments than on the form.
    
    They ARE asking, so take this opportunity to tell them what you think.
    
    Bob

	It would be nice to see the DVN broadcast over the network. It
	could be done via MBONE or C-U-See-Me or any number of other
	technologies. Hell, even a RealAudio sound only feed would 
	have been nice. (and we have a corporate license for the server
	software.  The player is free and integrated into many newer
	web browsers)

	I'd rather not have to hang out in the cafe, listening to 
	terrible audio. I can do that at my desk :) while I get some
	work done.

						mike

My 2 cents worth about the broadcast.

If everyone in Digital has the enthusiasm and drive that Bob
Palmer has in the DVN broadcast then we'll have no problem making
a profit in Q1.

He did mention that we should get ready to see an eye-catcher
advertising campaign starting very soon.

When shares went down to $34.00 some weeks back, I bought some !!

/Mario

    
    yes, the stock certificates will make lovely bathroom wallpaper.

    I liked his comment that "those who achieve, get the opportunity to
    excel again".  

Re:

Reply about my stock certificate making lovely bathroom wallpaper,

Please, this is exactly the kind of attitude that we don't need
right now !!

/Mario

    re.10
    
    You can send a FAX with your feedback to DTN 821-4807

    The gentleman witht he beard asked a superb question concerning morale, 
    decreased customer satisfaction with our service and all the other
    issues we int he field feel everyday.  The answer was also good.  The
    difference between the question and the answer is that the question
    spoke of reality, while the answer has yet to be seen to be believed.
    Let us hope that these issues will be addressed promptly.
    
    Regards, ken Hanly

    re: .19
    
    The "gentleman with the beard" thanks you for the kind words! 
    (Actually, I usually think of myself as "the big hairy dude"  8^).
    
    My concern with Bob's reply centers around the statement that we lost
    20K people in one shot and still managed to keep customers loyal, so
    losing 7K shouldn't cause customers to flee Digital (my rough
    paraphrase).
    
    The problem (as I see it) is that we were delivering good service when
    we announced the 20K cut (and many of the cuts that followed).  Now,
    unfortunately, our customers have seen our services erode.  They are
    feeling the negative impact on THEIR business.  When they hear that 7K
    more will hit the door, they begin to panic.  OUR CUSTOMERS CANNOT 
    AFFORD TO SEE OUR SERVICE LEVELS DROP FURTHER -- AND THEY KNOW IT!
    
    We can't just "talk" our way out of this one.  If we do ANY more
    bloodletting in the near future, customer flight will do FAR more harm 
    to our bottom line than paying the salaries of those that the bigwigs
    have deemed expendable.
    
    Here's hoping we know what we're doing...
    
    -- Russ

    I work extensively and exclusively with Digital's partners
    (distributors) every day. I am not in sales but have had many years
    of sales support and customer relations experience. Right now, this is
    the worst I have seen. Specifically, our partners are frustrated beyond
    hope that they cannot justify Digital products to their customers.
    They, the distributors, want to sell our products but their customers
    just don't believe in Digital anymore. The partners are working twice
    as hard trying to keep the old customers and only rarely are able to
    penetrate new accounts. Everywhere they turn, they hear the same thing
    Digital direct salesreps hear, "Are you still going to be around? We
    don't want to buy from a company that is going out of business!" You
    know what that does? It drives our partners into selling HP or IBM,
    etc.. Add to that some of our cumbersome administrative processes, and
    we are even driving our partners away!
    
    What to do? Don't just enhance our technical capabilities and come out
    with more technical mumbo jumbo; put out a total, strong advertising
    blitz telling everyone in simple terms that Digital is here to stay,
    that it has actually grown in sales, and that it is working to improve
    it's services. Then, simplify the way we do businesses with our
    partners and direct customers. Lastly, stop the layoffs that not only
    destroy morale and productivity, it now also drives our customers away!
    It's really not that complicated!
    
    
    -Bert-

  I too had some reservations about Bob's answer to the morale question. He
said there is a whiz-bang system going on line on Oct. 14 that will make it
much easier for sales/support people to get quick answers to questions, and
that this system will enable us to get by with fewer such people. I'm not
convinced.

  I also have a comment about the instructions on the feedback form on how to
sent it in. We were given a choice between an email format (username@site) that
is very awkward to convert to the forms of email (VMS etc.) that most of us
use, or faxing it across the ocean. I expect this is going to generate a large
volume of faxes that will run up large phone bills. (Yes, DTN calls do show up
on cost center phone bills.) Faxing is a very inefficient way to send in
feedback forms. 

    the answers have to be in a databse before anyone can search for them. 
    Right now we have a 'Whiz-bang" database in STARS.  However, one of
    the "features" of the algorythym is that you can make the same query
    and come up with completely different articles each time.  It also
    assumes you know the question you want to ask in a precise form, and
    the DB appears to be maxing out on what it can handle in a reasonable
    search time.  
    
    The other problem is that a lot of these articles are unsolved
    engineering escalations, some of which are quite ancient.  (I was one
    of the "lucky" ones who got the canned "will be fixed in a future
    release" messages and called the customer only to be told he had left
    that company two years before.  The new network manager got quite a
    chuckle out of this and said he would send the information on to his
    predesessor, they were friends and maintained an internet friendship as
    well.  (The problem had been submitted two years before that, can you
    say VMS 5.0, and the problem still existed in later releases.)  Don't
    ask me, I was only the messenger, and we were at 5.4-3 by that time.  
    
    One of the problems with any database is one I see a lack of now.  We
    need resources who can ask the right questions, write a good article,
    and populate the databases with enough keywords so the articles pop up
    the first time.  I have seen a database group get gutted this summer
    and the survivor morale is lower than dirt, except that some people are
    finding out from former co-workers that there is life after Digital. 
    Also the people who use the databases have to know what queries to
    make.  A new person who hasn't dealt with the product or the answerbase
    is going to be in a very dicey position with an intellegent customer.  
    
    Just my two cents
    
    meg

algorithm

nnttm

    Thank you so much John, I wouldn't know what to do without your
    spelling corrections.
    
    

re Note 4787.21 by NEMAIL::HEINZ:

>     "Are you still going to be around? We
>     don't want to buy from a company that is going out of business!" You
...
>     Lastly, stop the layoffs that not only
>     destroy morale and productivity, it now also drives our customers away!
  
        Comparisons have been made between the earlier rounds of
        massive layoffs, and the 11% reduction planned for this
        fiscal year.  It is said that we survived and even became
        stronger after the earlier rounds, so that we should have
        little to fear (as a corporation) from this one.

        I think this comparison is flawed.  The earlier rounds came
        at a point when losses were massive and it was known that
        only drastic action was likely to save Digital.

        After a string of successful quarters, we started off this
        fiscal year by being told that 11% of us will lose our jobs
        this year.  We don't know whom.  There are few things that
        could be more demoralizing than this (well, the bonus fiasco
        comes close!).

        The historical objective of decimation is the destruction of
        morale;  decimation is very good at that.

        Bob

    ref .24 and .25 - actually, we do use the algorhythm method in the CSC to
    control database population, so Meg was correct.

    >He said there is a whiz-bang system going on line on Oct. 14 that will
    >make it much easier for sales/support people to get quick answers to 
    >questions
    
    Well after this I do hope it gets to be known as whiz-bang (by those
    who have to do the user support, anyway :-)) but what is whiz-bang's
    real name? I think we should be told now, so we can start to plan for
    lift off. Anyone know ?
    
    I can hear the questions now: "Does whiz-bang client run on Windows for
    Workgroups ?"
    
    Kevin

    We used to have something fairly decent (that works as well!)  It is
    the RSS (Remote Sales Support) group.  They got TSFO'ed a couple of
    years ago, I believe.
    
    Then we also have something useful which is the auto MTBF tool.  Send
    your partnumbers (2-5-2) to an account and it will response with the 
    MTBF details automatically.  Got killed off due to cost cutting.
    
    Talk about reinventing the wheel ...
    
    Robert 

    Audio, video and text at http://welkin.shr.dec.com:5010/dvn/index.htm

    .27:
    
        The historical objective of decimation is the destruction of
        morale;  decimation is very good at that.

    No, this is not true at all.
    
    It was one of the more grim methods the Romans used to encourage ('put
    heart into') the legionaries after particularly bad losses.  If memory
    serves, it was effective in most of the cases in which it was employed.
    
    Fortunately, this isn't the Roman military -- but by the same token,
    some things which worked for them won't work for us.
    
    Dick

re Note 4787.32 by VMSSPT::LYCEUM::CURTIS:

>     .27:
>     
>         The historical objective of decimation is the destruction of
>         morale;  decimation is very good at that.
> 
>     No, this is not true at all.
>     
>     It was one of the more grim methods the Romans used to encourage ('put
>     heart into') the legionaries after particularly bad losses.  If memory
>     serves, it was effective in most of the cases in which it was employed.
  
        Well, it's a punishment, even if it did make them feel
        better. :-)

        (So the old saw "the beatings will continue until the morale
        improves" wasn't a joke back then?)

        Bob

    Decimate comes from the Latin "decimus" which means "tenth".
    It was used when the fighting effectiveness of a unit was reduce
    to 90%. ( one soldier in ten was incapable of fighting.)
    
    The Roman army division (cohort) was an awesome organization.
    It was a well trained and disciplined group of professionals.  
    Soldiers and officers enlisted for twenty years.  During the
    Roman Republic, officers shared hardships with their men.
    
    Tactically, they fought as a unit, forming a large square 
    with shields up and spears out.  Each soldier trusted his 
    comrades to literally cover his back.  The square moved in
    formation and never left an opening for the enemy.
    
    They fought barbarians (from the Latin word for foreigner).
    The barbarians fought as individuals and without plan, so the 
    Romans almost always won and usually by a rout.  When a 
    unit lost one soldier in ten, it was considered a catastrophe.
    Thus decimation.  Barbarians were usually wiped out, which 
    was expected, so the word decimation was not applied to them.
    
    
    
    Application of this historical note is left as an exercise for the reader.
    

>                      <<< Note 4787.34 by SUBSYS::JAMES >>>
>                      -< Decimate means 1 lost out of 10 >-
>
>    Decimate comes from the Latin "decimus" which means "tenth".
>    It was used when the fighting effectiveness of a unit was reduce
>    to 90%. ( one soldier in ten was incapable of fighting.)

Yes, but sometimes the fighting unit, typically a cohort, was "decimated"
by the army for lack of discipline (typically running away) in an engagement,
rather than by the enemy. It wasn't typically a problem in the early days
of the army, when it was a citizen force fighting for existence, but over
time, fewer and fewer in the army were Roman, drawing on forces from Britain,
North Africa, Turkey etc. etc. Most officers were still Roman however.

Method was simple and apparently effective. Draw the unit up in parade ground
formation, walk round and execute every tenth soldier.
    
>    They fought barbarians (from the Latin word for foreigner).

	From the greek oi barbaroi (pardon my approximation of phonetic
	spelling) for blokes with beards    

>    Application of this historical note is left as an exercise for the reader.
    
Only application I can think of would be to shave off my beard if I had one :-)

    >>Only application I can think of would be to shave off my beard 
    >>if I had one :-)
    
    Or perhaps : move down a couple of cubicles so you're not at the
    modulo-10 position during roll call??
    
    /Chris/
    

    >   Yes, but sometimes the fighting unit, typically a cohort, was
    >   "decimated" by the army for lack of discipline (typically running away)
    >   in an engagement,rather than by the enemy. Method was simple and
    >   apparently effective.
    
        o Definite attention getter.  Might hurt morale in the near term.
    
    >    They fought barbarians (from the Latin word for foreigner).
    >>        From the greek oi barbaroi (pardon my approximation of phonetic
    >>      spelling) for blokes with beard

       o  My dictionary says Latin.  The Romans probably got it from the
          Greeks.  I took Latin after ancient Greek was dropped as a core 
          course and before Latin became a dead language.  Pax vobiscum.
          :O}     
    
    

    Re: .34
    
>    Decimate comes from the Latin "decimus" which means "tenth".
>    It was used when the fighting effectiveness of a unit was reduce
>    to 90%. ( one soldier in ten was incapable of fighting.)
    
    Hmm, right (back to the Greek even) root, but I believe (from a recent
    history dicsussion with my son among others) that it's possibly the wrong
    context.
    
    What came out of the discusson was that the pactice of decimating
    something, a village for instance, was to punish the population for
    resisting by killing one in 10. The basic practice was to line the
    population up (male?) and then walk along and each time you reach 10,
    hack and slash.  The other 90% generally go the message, but there were
    enough people left for a repeat "lesson" if needed while still keeping
    enough production capacity to serve the empire, or other governing
    model.
    
    Bill
    

re Note 4787.38 by STAR::PARKE:

>     The other 90% generally go the message, but there were
>     enough people left for a repeat "lesson" if needed while still keeping
>     enough production capacity to serve the empire, or other governing
>     model.
  
        Sounds like TFSO.

        Bob

	DECimate

Larry

> Or perhaps : move down a couple of cubicles so you're not at the
> modulo-10 position during roll call??

  Yeah, but is that 10 octal, decimal, or hex? :-)

                                   Atlant

    Depends on how many digits remained after the previous battle.
    

        �  Yeah, but is that 10 octal, decimal, or hex? :-)
        
        Taking the number of employees when I started here 8 years ago
        against the number now, it appears to be binary.
        
        Ian.

    .35:
    
    Hm.  Don't have a Hellenic lexicon in the office, don't you know, but I
    recall some speculation about the origin of  `oi barbaroi  being that it
    was actually onomatopoeic:  *we* speak language, *they* bleat like
    sheep.  If I ever learned the Greek word for a beard, I've long since
    forgotten it.  The Latin etymology is spot on, though.
    
    .34:
    
    You didn't mention one of their commonly used tactics, which worked
    nicely most of the time:
    
    The front line each gives his foeman a blow or two, and then they (and
    the rest of the formation) steps back and to the left (hm, I think it
    was the left).  Repeat until there's nobody left to stab.
    
    The effect was that the whole unit would march in a sort of crabwise
    fashion towards the back of the theatre;  more to the point is what
    this sets up for the opposing soldiers attempting to close with the
    legionaries.
    
    
    Oh, and as for the beards (wrt. barbari):
    
    There were some periods (e.g. the reign of Hadrian) during which it was
    fashionable to wear beards;  I'm not sure if there was any period
    before that in which beards were commonly adopted.  You see, the
    legionaries were clean-shaven... and one tactic they used was that
    if their left hand was unencumbered, it could be used to grip the
    barbarus' beard while stabbing with the gladius held in the right.
    
    Dick