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Madison SectionNewsletter
Volume 9, Number 5 May 2006Serving IEEE Members of South Central Wisconsin
Building IceCube, A Neutrino Telescope at the South PoleDate/Time: Thursday,May18,2006,11:45AM-1:00PMSpeaker: JeffCherwinka,IceCube-EHWDLocation: RockyRococo’sPizza,7952TreeLane(Madison
BeltlineHwy.atMineralPt.Rd.),608.829.1444Menu: Pizzabuffet,saladandsoftdrinks(cost$10.00,free
forstudentmembers)RSVP: byMay15thtoLesSchroederviae-mail
([email protected])orcall608.444.9144
Non-member guests are always welcome!
IceCubeisthelargestneutrinotelescopeintheworldaftertwosea-sonsofconstructionattheSouthPole.Thistalkwillpresentabriefintroductiontowhatneutrinosare,whattheymighttellusabouttheuniverse,andhowIceCubeisdesignedtogatherthisinformation.TheconstructionofIceCuberequiresdrilling2.5kmdeepholesintheiceattheSouthPoletoallowinstallationofsophisticatedlightdetectionequipmentinthedeepclearice.Someofthedetailsandchallengesofthelogistics,drilling,andinstrumentdeploymentwillalsobediscussedMoreinformationabouttheIceCubeprojectcanbefoundonlineat<http://icecube.wisc.edu/>.
IEEE Region 4 – Expanding Teacher In-Service Program ParticipationAsanengineer,areyouinterestedinworkingwithyourlocalpre-universityschools,schooldistrictsorteachers?Doyouwanttohelpimprovetheleveloftechnologicalliteracyofteachersandtheirstudentsinyourcommunity?ThenyoushouldattendIEEE’supcomingTeacherIn-ServiceProgram(TISP)TrainingWorkshopinIndianapolison16-17June!
Startedin2001,TISPfeaturesIEEEvolunteersdevelopingandpresent-ingtechnologicallyorientedsubjectmattertoeducatorsinaprofessionaldevelopment(or“in-service”)setting.Inthelastfouryears,IEEEvolunteershavemademorethan35presentationstoover675pre-universityeducatorswithintheUnitedStatesandSouthAfrica–theseeducatorsreachmorethan70,000students.
NowyoucanbeaTISPchampion!TheIEEEEducationalActivitiesDepartmentandtheCentralIndianaIEEESectionarehostingaTISPTrainingWorkshopforRegion4volunteerson16-17JuneatUniversityPlaceConferenceCenterandHotelinIndianapolis,IN.
TheworkshopwillcoverhowtoorganizevolunteersforTISPandhowtobringtheprogramtoyourlocalschooldistricts.ThankstothesupportofIEEEUSAtheeventisfreeforallIEEEmembers.Therewillbea$75feefornon-IEEEmembers.IEEEwillreimbursemembersforanytraining-relatedtravelcostsincurred.Fundingisalsoavailabletocoverthecostforsuppliesandmaterialsneededforpresentationstoeducators.
Toregisterfortheworkshopvisithttp://www.ieee.org/web/education/preuniversity/tispindy.html.
TheeventwillbeginonFriday16Juneat4:30PMwitha2hourpresentationfollowedbydinnerat7:00PM.
OnSaturday17Junetheeventwillrunfrom9:00AMto3:00PMandwillincludehands-onpresentations,aquestionandanswerperiod,anddiscussiononnumeroustopics,suchas:programbackgroundandscope,gettingstarted,potentialcoststosectionsandeduca-tors,suggestionsonmakingcontactwithyourlocalpre-universitycommunity,andthealignmentofanactivitywitheducationstandards.
IEEE Madison Section Newsletter
Published9timesperyear( Jan.-May&Sep.-Dec.)bytheMadison,WisconsinSectionoftheInstituteofElectricalandElectronicEngineers(IEEE),asaservicetoitsmembersinsouth-centralWisconsin.
Printingandmailingby: SprintPrint 2790S.FishHatcheryRd. Madison,WI53711
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Online at <http://www.bugsoft.com/ieee/>
Foraddresschanges:notifyIEEEheadquarters,[email protected]<http://www.ieee.org>
Foradvertisinginformation:contactJohnHicks,[email protected],608.233.4875
Foreditorialcomment:contactCraigHeilman,[email protected],608.424.6860
Permissiontocopywithoutfeeallorpartofanymaterialwithoutacopyrightnoticeisgrantedprovidedthatthecopiesarenotmadeordistributedfordirectcommercialadvantage,andthetitleofthepublicationanditsdateappearoneachcopy.Tocopyma-terialwithacopyrightnoticerequiresspecificpermission.PleasedirectallinquiriesorrequeststoIEEECopyrightsOffice.
BreakfastandLunchwillbeprovidedforattendees.
Thegoalofthetrainingsessionistoimpactatleast1000pre-univer-sityeducatorsinRegion4throughthisprogramandtohelpIEEEvolunteersimplementTISPintheirlocalpre-universityeducationcommunities.
DuringanactualTeacherIn-ServicePresentation,IEEEvolunteersprovideteacherswithactivitymaterialsandthenhelptheteachersastheyworktheirwaythroughtheactivity.Byhelpingtheteachersastheyworktheirwaythroughatechnicalactivity,theteachersgettothepointwheretheyfeelcomfortableenoughtopresentitontheirown.Theideaisfortheteacherstoreturntotheirschoolsandleadthesameactivityintheirclassrooms.
FormoreinformationontheupcomingTISPtrainingsessionorTISPparticipation,pleasecontact:DougGorham,DirectorofEducationalOutreach,+17325625483,[email protected],orAllisonIckowicz,AssociateProjectCoordinator,+17325625496,[email protected].
Picking a Good BossBy Donald Christiansen
Mostexperiencedengineersagreethathavingagoodbossisoneofthemostimportantaspectsofone’sjob.Yourbosscanservenotonlyasaprofessionalcolleague,mentorandleader,butoftenasashieldfromthewhimsofanoppressivebureaucracy.
Buthowtofindagoodboss?Theoddsseeminyourfavoratacompanyknownbyitsemployeesasagoodplacetowork.Thelikeli-hoodisenhancedifitsculture(policiesandpractices)appealstoyoupersonally.
Overthepastfewdecades,severallistsof“100BestCompaniestoWorkFor”havebeenpublished.Compiledbyateamofbusinessjournalistsandresearchersin1983,oneversionincluded17high-techcompanies,amongthemIntel,IBM,GeneralElectric,Hewlett-Pack-ardandAppleComputer.Thisyear,usingsimilarbutnotidenticalcriteria,Fortunemagazine’slistincludedonlyoneoftheaforemen-tioned17—Intel.Fivenotonthe1983listwereQualcomm,CiscoSystems,Microsoft,NationalInstruments,andTexasInstruments.AmongtheplusescitedbyFortuneforthebest-to-work-forcompa-nieswerethese:generousfringes(Microsoft);neveralayoff(NationalInstruments);stockfornewemployees(Qualcomm);andafriendlyconfrontationalculture(Intel).
Buttheselistsmustbetakenwithagrainofsalt.Infairness,itshouldbenotedthatthesurveysandinterviewsundertakentocompiletheFortunelistsincludearandomselectionofemployees,notjustengi-neers,andthatthecompanies’cooperationisneededtocompletetheexhaustiveratingprocess(e.g.,Appledeclinedtoparticipate).
Themostsuccessfulcompaniesarenotnecessarilythoseratedthebesttoworkfor.In2005,GeneralElectric,IBM,Hewlett-Packard,Motorola,Verizon,Dell,BellSouth,Intel,CiscoSystems,andMicro-softwereamongFortune’stop100inrevenues,butofthoseonlyIn-tel,Cisco,andMicrosoftmadethecurrentFortunebest-to-work-forlist.Andifbest-to-work-forandmost-successfullistsareinsufficient,thereisstillathird—Fortune’s“mostadmired.”Forthislist,ajuryofcorporatedirectors,topexecutives,andfinancialanalystsinvokeadif-ferentmeasureforratingcompanies.Forexample,inFortune’s2006ratings,againstcriteriathatincludedinvestmentvalueandfinancial
soundness,this“juryofpeers”putGeneralElectricfirst.Alsoamongthetop20wereDell,Microsoft,AppleandIBM.
Big BossesWhencorporateCEOsaremorethanfigureheads,theirstylesofleadershipcanpermeatetheentireorganization,andlower-levelmanagementandstaffmayreactwellorbadlytotheomnipresenthandofthetopdog.Severalcompaniesfoundedbyengineersbecamenotedfortheircollegialworkenvironmentandenlightenedcorporatecultures.
FoundersBillHewlettandDavePackardsetthetonefortheHewlett-Packard(HP)culturethatlastedthroughouttheirtenureasactiveheadsofthecompany.Asurveyofmorethan7,900HPemployeesin1979showedsuchhighregardforthecompanythatthemanagementsurveygroupplacedHPinthetop0.5percentof1,000companiessurveyed.
FoundedbyengineerHowardVollum,TektronixfollowedtheHPstyleofmanagementclosely.FromvisitstoTek,Irecallthelow-walled,carpetlessspacesofitsdepartmentheadsthatmadeforquickandeasycommunicationwithallemployees,whowereonafirst-namebasiswiththeirbosses.
Ontheotherhand,anewCEOarrivingonthescenecansometimessendshockwavesthroughthemanagementpatternofanestablishedorganization.
UponsucceedingReginaldJonesasCEOofGeneralElectric,JackWelchradicallychangedtheconservativenatureofthecompany,disruptingtheingrainedmanagementstyleofmanyGEveterans.AmongWelch’sreformswastherequirementthatGEbusinessleadersearmark10percentoftheirmanagersaspoorperform-ersduringtheannualevaluationprocess.Thosesodesignatedgotnoraiseand“generallyhadtogo,”accordingtoWelch.Theyknewwhotheywere,andthattheyhadbettershapeuporshipout.Butexecutiveswhohadbuiltamanagementteamwithwhichtheywerecompletelysatisfiedrebelled.Somewouldevenlistmanagersabouttoretire,or,inonecase,amanagerwhohaddied.Welchmadeitclearthatexecutiveswhofailedtocomplywouldfindthemselvesonthebottomrung.Inhismemoir,Jack:StraightfromtheGut,WelchboastedthatfindingorcreatingGEmanagersinhisownaggressiveleadershipimagevastlyimprovedGE’sbottomline.
Hot ProjectsAtthetopofthelistofimportantjobcharacteristics,engineersputthetechnicalsophisticationoftheprojecttowhichtheyareassigned.Butthosechosentotakepartinachallengingprojectmaynotalwaysfindthebosstobethemostpersonableleader.Nevertheless,aleader’sidiosyncrasiesmaybeoutweighedbytheexcitementand,perhaps,thegloryofworkingontheproject.InOrganizingGenius,WarrenBen-nisgivesthefollowingexamples.
FamedastheinspirationalleaderoftheAppleMacintoshcom-puterproject,SteveJobswasnotedforhisarrogantandacerbic“walkingaround”managementstyle,inwhichhewouldoftenblindsidetechnicalstaffmemberswithscathingcommentsaboutsomethingtheyweredeveloping,butaboutwhichhehimselfoftenhadnorelevantexpertise.
XeroxPARC’sBobTaylorwasabletoshieldPARCstafffromtheconventionalthinkingoftheXeroxbureaucracy.Yet,accordingto
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oneofhisstaffmembers(asreportedbyBennis),Taylorratedmostofthosehedealtwithona“binaryscale”—aseither“thegreatestthingthatwalkedtheearth”or“beneathconsideration,”toputitkindly.
ClarenceKellyJohnson,whoheadedLockheed’sAdvancedDe-velopmentProjects(thefamous“SkunkWorks”),wasaneminentaeronauticalengineernotedforhisbullyingstubbornnessandhair-triggertemper.Hissuccessor,BenRich(selectedbyJohnson),calledhimthetoughestbosswestoftheMississippi.Johnsonneverthelesswasrespectedandadmiredforhisaeronauticalgenius.(RichdidnotcontinueJohnson’spracticeofcallingalltheshots,tellingtheSkunkWorksteam“I’llbedecisiveintellingyouwhatIwant,thenstepoutofthewayandletyoudoit.”)
TomWestwasaloofanduncommunicativewiththetalentedmem-bersofhisEaglecomputer(SoulofaNewMachine)developmentteam,buthefoughtDataGeneral’suppermanagementtogetthemtheresourcestheyneeded.
No Silver BulletIntheend,althoughyoumaycarefullystudyacompany’scultureandthenatureofitsproductsandprojects,agooddealofluckisinvolvedinselectingagoodboss.
Myadviceisthis:Ifyouhappentopickabossyoudon’tlike,don’tblameitonhim(orher).Moveon.Findanewboss.
Unless,ofcourse,youelecttobecomesubversive,instigateacabal,enjoysleeplessnights,upsetyourintestinaltract,andaggravateyourfamily—andpossiblybecomepresidentofthecompany.
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What’s InsIde
Meeting Notices
Expanding Teacher In-Service Program Par-ticipation
Picking a Good Boss
ResourcesFormoreon“good”companies,projects,andbosses:
R.Levering,M.Moskowitz,andM.Katz,The100BestCompaniestoWorkforinAmerica,Addison-Wesley,1984.
“The100BestCompaniestoWorkFor:2006,”Fortunemagazine,23January2006.
“TheFortune500:2005,”Fortunemagazine,18April2005.
W.BennisandP.W.Biederman,OrganizingGenius:TheSecretsofCreativeCollaboration,Addison-Wesley,1997.
J.Welch,Jack:StraightfromtheGut,WarnerBusinessBooks,2001.
B.RichandL.Janos,SkunkWorks,Little,Brown,1994.
T.Kidder,TheSoulofaNewMachine,Atlantic(Little,Brown),1981.
InsideOut:Microsoft—InOurOwnWords,WarnerBusinessBooks,2000(25thAnniversaryinterviewswithMicrosoftmanagersandexecutives).
F.A.Maxwell,BadBoyBallmer:TheManWhoRulesMicrosoft,William
Morrow,2002.
R.Slater,MicrosoftRebooted,Portfolio,2004.
J.Young,CiscoUnauthorized,Forum,2001.
G.Dorsey,SiliconSky,Perseus,1999(aboutOrbitalSciencesCorpo-ration).
D.Packard,TheHPWay,HarperCollins,1995.
“America’sMostAdmiredCompanies”,Fortunemagazine,6March2006.
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