NationStates Jolt Archive

So, this bugs me now and then...

You know when you see a movie, and it's at an office and there are rows and rows of cubicles? And they are all full of people sitting in front of computers or whatever else, they have headsets for their phones, or some other variations...

What is those guy's jobs? What do they do, and why so many of them? What goes in thier 'in' box and what do they do to it to make it go in the 'out' box?

Whats in a 'report,' and what would a flow chart indicate? (I know what a flow chart is, I just can't imagine what a report you hand to a boss covers)

Why-what-why, why is that? What are they doing? Why-did they go to college for that? What is it? It's driving me nuts...

Phones.. headphones... headsets.. computers.. hmm sounds like call center or phone customer support.

Ein Deutscher']Phones.. headphones... headsets.. computers.. hmm sounds like call center or phone customer support.
Alright, but what about the ones with all the reports, and in boxes and out boxes, what are those cats doing?

Alright, but what about the ones with all the reports, and in boxes and out boxes, what are those cats doing?
don't question the cats! they might tell the mice...


and in answer to your question, *shrugs*

When they recieve work to do it goes in the in box and when they finish it they put into the out box. They do the work on their computers and get help and assitance as well as giving it via communication systems like their headsets. What is so puzzling about it?

Probably MHR or Business majors, responsible for a few data-entry guys below them.. they compile excel documents or statistics and things like that, working their way to mid-level. That's common.

Hmm have you seen the Office or Office space?...........

Alright, but what about the ones with all the reports, and in boxes and out boxes, what are those cats doing?In prety much any company there's a need to extract meanng from raw data, and a corresponding need for people to perform that analysis and present the results in a comprehensible format. As a sales manager, for instance, you might want find out:

- Which set of customers in Holland bought the least number of Widgets in the first quarter of last year;

- Which of those customers has increased its purchase of Widget A by the greatest amount in the last twelve months;

- Which of your sales force are responsible for achieving that increase.

Since your typical sales manager doesn't have the time or the technical knowledge to compile that data himself, he'll have a team of people to do it for him.

So, this bugs me now and then...
...
Why-what-why, why is that? What are they doing? Why-did they go to college for that? What is it? It's driving me nuts...

It's yet another example of how Hollywood fails to understand the rest of the world. But in a movie like Office Space, it's pretty funny.

So, this bugs me now and then...

You know when you see a movie, and it's at an office and there are rows and rows of cubicles? And they are all full of people sitting in front of computers or whatever else, they have headsets for their phones, or some other variations...

What is those guy's jobs? What do they do, and why so many of them? What goes in thier 'in' box and what do they do to it to make it go in the 'out' box?

Whats in a 'report,' and what would a flow chart indicate? (I know what a flow chart is, I just can't imagine what a report you hand to a boss covers)

Why-what-why, why is that? What are they doing? Why-did they go to college for that? What is it? It's driving me nuts...All I know is that they're probably working for some kind of major corporation. Reports (I think) basically contain information about how the company is working, how many products the company sold last quarter, how well the company is doing as opposed to its competitors, etc.

Although I don't know. I don't work for a corporation myself. (Cut out the last four words, I don't work period!)

Hmm have you seen the Office or Office space?...........

Yeaah, I'm going to need you to go ahead and come in tommorow. So if you could be here around 9 that would be greaat...

Whats in a 'report,' and what would a flow chart indicate? (I know what a flow chart is, I just can't imagine what a report you hand to a boss covers) Hah ha! I can answer this (Business communications paper...)

A report is always commisioned by someone of higher rank.

It is defined as "an investigation into a given topic which produces information and ideas and sometimes a solution to a problem"

Three types:

Informative report (example: sales report, weather report, traffic report)
Process report (example: laboratory report detailing method & results)
Investigative report (example: Inquiry into the reasons for increasing accidents in the workplace)

So basically you ask for a report when you want to know something about something. As well as the findings, each report has conclusions and reccomendations, so if you are lazy you don't have the read the whole thing (better trust your staff tho!)

When they recieve work to do it goes in the in box and when they finish it they put into the out box. They do the work on their computers and get help and assitance as well as giving it via communication systems like their headsets. What is so puzzling about it?
Whats that work!?!?!??!?!

Hah ha! I can answer this (Business communications paper...)

A report is always commisioned by someone of higher rank.

It is defined as "an investigation into a given topic which produces information and ideas and sometimes a solution to a problem"

Three types:

Informative report (example: sales report, weather report, traffic report)
Process report (example: laboratory report detailing method & results)
Investigative report (example: Inquiry into the reasons for increasing accidents in the workplace)

So basically you ask for a report when you want to know something about something. As well as the findings, each report has conclusions and reccomendations, so if you are lazy you don't have the read the whole thing (better trust your staff tho!)
This and Calricstan makes a degree of sense, but I still can't wrap my head around so many people doing that in all those cubicles. Do they do that all day? Why? How many reports can they need, whos going to read them?

Sounds like an office full of customer no-service people. Like when you call your insurance company because they screwed up a claim. You go thru a finger tiring 20 minutes of phone key pushing, and then are placed on hold for another 20 minutes before a human voice comes on the line. You tell the human voice what the problem is and they can't find any record of what you are talking about in the computer so they put you on hold for 30 minutes while they "check it out." When they do finally come back, on the phone, they say something like, "Oh we made a little error and should have paid the hospital bill, so we will reprocess the claim and they should get paid sometime within the next 12 months."

Yep, that's what they are, customer no-service people. :D

This and Calricstan makes a degree of sense, but I still can't wrap my head around so many people doing that in all those cubicles. Do they do that all day? Why? How many reports can they need, whos going to read them?

Office Space answers all of these.

Tom Smykowski: Cubicle worker who has no actual job, only gets paid.

TPS Reports: The more of them, the better (with the new cover sheet, of course)

Bill Lumbergh: Collects and hassles people about TPS reports, doesn't actually read them.

This and Calricstan makes a degree of sense, but I still can't wrap my head around so many people doing that in all those cubicles. Do they do that all day? Why? How many reports can they need, whos going to read them?I suppose at the Head Office of a large firm they have a LOT of information coming in from thier branches.

There will be people to sort and collate sales information, prepare and complete market reseach, order goods for the warehouse, ensure these goods are distributed, prepare marketing campaigns, analyse branch/business performance, write policy, deal with contracts, hire, fire, play with pay, make strategic decisions, invent products.

That's only generic stuff too. Obviously a computer graphics company would have a fair amount to do on the computer ;)

I suppose at the Head Office of a large firm they have a LOT of information coming in from thier branches.

There will be people to sort and collate sales information, prepare and complete market reseach, order goods for the warehouse, ensure these goods are distributed, prepare marketing campaigns, analyse branch/business performance, write policy, deal with contracts, hire, fire, play with pay, make strategic decisions, invent products.

That's only generic stuff too. Obviously a computer graphics company would have a fair amount to do on the computer ;)
That sounds horrible-I can't believe people go to college to do that, that they aspire to that-it seems like something you'd have to get people to do after shanghaing them in a bar or something...

I'm still having a hard time understanding a room full of people doing those things, but I think its like trying to concieve of a black hole...gives me the shivers, dammit...

That sounds horrible-I can't believe people go to college to do that, that they aspire to that-it seems like something you'd have to get people to do after shanghaing them in a bar or something...

I'm still having a hard time understanding a room full of people doing those things, but I think its like trying to concieve of a black hole...gives me the shivers, dammit...Lol, I'm studying business at the moment.

Depends on your position really. It can vary from entering in a 5 digit code 10,000 times a day or scanning barcodes on boxes to designing your own marketing plan or running your own business.

Like anything probably, entry level tedious, once you get higher you can be a bit more creative & strategic.

Whats that work!?!?!??!?!
Claims processing for an insurance company? What you describe, with all the cubicles and people with headsets on sitting at computers, could be any sort of claims processing center, call center, billing organization, etc.

Hah ha! I can answer this (Business communications paper...)

A report is always commisioned by someone of higher rank.

It is defined as "an investigation into a given topic which produces information and ideas and sometimes a solution to a problem"

Three types:

Informative report (example: sales report, weather report, traffic report)
Process report (example: laboratory report detailing method & results)
Investigative report (example: Inquiry into the reasons for increasing accidents in the workplace)

So basically you ask for a report when you want to know something about something. As well as the findings, each report has conclusions and reccomendations, so if you are lazy you don't have the read the whole thing (better trust your staff tho!)
Or the Vice President of the Division could just stop by and ask 'Why are you still working on that thing? We have a schedule and a budget to meet!'