Northrop Grumman employees got this email from Wes Bush:
April 26, 2010
MFCP 10-10
Virginia Selected for New Corporate Office
To My Colleagues:
We are pleased to have identified Virginia as the home for our new corporate office. Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia put forward compelling, competitive offers. Our final decision was driven largely by facility considerations, proximity to our customers and overall economics. Our relocation team has narrowed its search to several buildings in the Falls Church/Arlington area of northern Virginia. We expect to make the final selection in the next several weeks.
We plan to open the new corporate office by the summer of 2011, and we will keep you informed regarding our progress as we move through the design and construction phases to the official opening.
The relocation team has done a great job, not only in quickly identifying an excellent location for our new corporate office, but also for the work they are doing to assist employees in Century City and elsewhere who are making significant personal and professional changes as a result of this move.
I want to thank our Corporate Office employees for their continued effort and cooperation during a period of much change and uncertainty, and I ask for everyone’s support as we move forward in the relocation. We are creating a clear and compelling path to a better future as we position our company for higher performance and greater success.
sig:\
Wes Bush
Chief Executive Officer and President
This move affects very few of the typical Northrop Grumman employees. Few of us have actually gone to Century City for a meeting. (I've been there for meetings, and had a temporary work assignment in Century City - but that's another blog.)
Wes Bush decided that all Northrop Grumman employees to know this.
The Daily Breeze newspaper had a much more informative article at Northrop Grumman chooses Virginia for new headquarters.
In reading the Daily Breeze article, NOTICE the DOWN-SIZING that Northrop Grumman is undergoing:
- Current Century City headquarters has about 360 people
- New location will have about 300 people
OBVIOUSLY not all of the current 360 people are being asked to move to Virginia. ALSO, how many people will be hired from the "local talent"?
There will be some "retirements" as well as "re-deployments" among those not asked to move to Virginia.
Such a nice way to get rid of the "deadwood and dog-meat" (term used by a Northrop Vice-President when referring to laid-off employees).
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Enemy Lurks in Briefings on Afghan War - PowerPoint - NYTimes.com
Northrop Grumman has a fascination with PowerPoint presentations.
There are published "Northrop Grumman" standards and practices on how a Northrop Grumman PowerPoint presentation is supposed to look like.
People's presentations are sometimes judged on how well it followed Northrop Grumman PowerPoint standards and practices instead of how factual or true the information in the presentation is/is not, or whether or not it made any sense.
See Enemy Lurks in Briefings on Afghan War - PowerPoint - NYTimes.com for an interesting take on the military and PowerPoint.
See what it says about "rigid lists of bullet points", something is promoted by the Northrop Grumman PowerPoint standards.
Also note what it says about how PowerPoint ". . . stifles discussion, critical thinking and thoughtful decision-making".
Interesting is the point about PowerPoint ". . . does come in handy when the goal is not imparting information, as in briefings for reporters".
Most amusing is the assertion that PowerPoint presentations ". . . last 25 minutes, with 5 minutes left at the end for questions from anyone still awake. Those types of PowerPoint presentations, Dr. Hammes said, are known as “hypnotizing chickens."
Do any of these things apply to the PowerPoint presentations at Northrop Grumman?
I don't know if Northrop Grumman is in better shape because of PowerPoint.
MORE on PowerPoint:
Death by PowerPoint
Gettysburg PowerPoint Presentation - What if Lincoln used PowerPoint?
What do you think?
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
There are published "Northrop Grumman" standards and practices on how a Northrop Grumman PowerPoint presentation is supposed to look like.
People's presentations are sometimes judged on how well it followed Northrop Grumman PowerPoint standards and practices instead of how factual or true the information in the presentation is/is not, or whether or not it made any sense.
See Enemy Lurks in Briefings on Afghan War - PowerPoint - NYTimes.com for an interesting take on the military and PowerPoint.
See what it says about "rigid lists of bullet points", something is promoted by the Northrop Grumman PowerPoint standards.
Also note what it says about how PowerPoint ". . . stifles discussion, critical thinking and thoughtful decision-making".
Interesting is the point about PowerPoint ". . . does come in handy when the goal is not imparting information, as in briefings for reporters".
Most amusing is the assertion that PowerPoint presentations ". . . last 25 minutes, with 5 minutes left at the end for questions from anyone still awake. Those types of PowerPoint presentations, Dr. Hammes said, are known as “hypnotizing chickens."
Do any of these things apply to the PowerPoint presentations at Northrop Grumman?
I don't know if Northrop Grumman is in better shape because of PowerPoint.
MORE on PowerPoint:
Death by PowerPoint
Gettysburg PowerPoint Presentation - What if Lincoln used PowerPoint?
What do you think?
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
Friday, April 23, 2010
10 ways your organization can look unprofessional | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com
Take a look at this:
10 ways your organization can look unprofessional | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com
Think of how many times you have witnessed the 10 Things at Northrop Grumman:
1: Criticizing co-workers to outsiders
2: Passing the buck
3: Failing to supply material to a subordinate
4: Failing to test and verify your telephone menu options
5: Failing to acknowledge caller by name, if known
6: Failing to set up a personal voicemail zero out/attendant cover option
7: Overuse of cc:
8: Being clueless about the location of a principal
9: Misspelling names
10: Web site links that only Google can find
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
10 ways your organization can look unprofessional | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com
Think of how many times you have witnessed the 10 Things at Northrop Grumman:
1: Criticizing co-workers to outsiders
2: Passing the buck
3: Failing to supply material to a subordinate
4: Failing to test and verify your telephone menu options
5: Failing to acknowledge caller by name, if known
6: Failing to set up a personal voicemail zero out/attendant cover option
7: Overuse of cc:
8: Being clueless about the location of a principal
9: Misspelling names
10: Web site links that only Google can find
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Uh, I Don't Think So . . ."Poll: Is HR an advocate for the employee?"
The question today is "Poll: Is HR an advocate for the employee?"
What do YOU think?
In my humble opinion, Human Resources, aka HR, is strictly an advocate for the employer, and not for the employee.
Q. Who pays the HR employees?
A. The employer.
Q. Who does HR does its best to protected from potential lawsuits by employees?
A. The employer.
Q. What organization works to resolve any differences between the employer and employee, usually in the employer's favor?
A. HR.
In my limited experiences with HR, I notice that the typical HR person seems to be a nice enough person who is working on behalf of the company. Good people skills, talks well with the employees. (NOTHING like the typical manager at Northrop Grumman.)
Here's a "for instance". When Thomas Lee Hull was my manager in 1999, he evidently wanted me to stay around instead of looking for another job when Northrop Grumman was going through a downturn in contracts and were laying people off.
After I had received the WARN letter (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification), 60-day notification of potential layoff as required by Federal law, he assured me that "we're going to pull the lay-off notice".
OBVIOUSLY he wanted me to stay around and finish the work that I was doing instead of looking for another job as ANY REASONABLE AND SANE PERSON would.
Then I got the phone call from Payroll, asking me to come down and sign the form for my final paycheck(?!!)
I called HR.
I asked, "Did he lie to me?"
The reply was that "No, he may have mis-stated the facts based on overly-optimistic projections!"
I knew then that I was screwed, that I should not have listened to the lies of management HR is an advocate for the employer and company, and NOT an advocate for the employee.
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
What do YOU think?
In my humble opinion, Human Resources, aka HR, is strictly an advocate for the employer, and not for the employee.
Q. Who pays the HR employees?
A. The employer.
Q. Who does HR does its best to protected from potential lawsuits by employees?
A. The employer.
Q. What organization works to resolve any differences between the employer and employee, usually in the employer's favor?
A. HR.
In my limited experiences with HR, I notice that the typical HR person seems to be a nice enough person who is working on behalf of the company. Good people skills, talks well with the employees. (NOTHING like the typical manager at Northrop Grumman.)
Here's a "for instance". When Thomas Lee Hull was my manager in 1999, he evidently wanted me to stay around instead of looking for another job when Northrop Grumman was going through a downturn in contracts and were laying people off.
After I had received the WARN letter (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification), 60-day notification of potential layoff as required by Federal law, he assured me that "we're going to pull the lay-off notice".
OBVIOUSLY he wanted me to stay around and finish the work that I was doing instead of looking for another job as ANY REASONABLE AND SANE PERSON would.
Then I got the phone call from Payroll, asking me to come down and sign the form for my final paycheck(?!!)
I called HR.
I asked, "Did he lie to me?"
The reply was that "No, he may have mis-stated the facts based on overly-optimistic projections!"
I knew then that I was screwed, that I should not have listened to the lies of management HR is an advocate for the employer and company, and NOT an advocate for the employee.
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Over Budget, Way Off Schedule
See Virginia and Northrop revise and extend VITA computer contract and look how Northrop Grumman has made it profitable to go over proposed budgets and way off schedule.
Northrop Grumman is nothing like the little aircraft company, Northrop Aircraft Company, that took PRIDE in being "under budget" and "on-time" in its contractual obligations.
The original deal was a ten-year contract for $2.36 BILLION.
Northrop Grumman has been able to re-negotiate a three-year contract extension for an additional $247.2 MILLION per year.
This is in addition to $105 MILLION over the next nine years for additional hardware and services.
Northrop Grumman is also getting another $47 MILLION for "security and disaster recovery services not included in the original contract".
Northrop Grumman has come a long way.
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
Northrop Grumman is nothing like the little aircraft company, Northrop Aircraft Company, that took PRIDE in being "under budget" and "on-time" in its contractual obligations.
The original deal was a ten-year contract for $2.36 BILLION.
Northrop Grumman has been able to re-negotiate a three-year contract extension for an additional $247.2 MILLION per year.
This is in addition to $105 MILLION over the next nine years for additional hardware and services.
Northrop Grumman is also getting another $47 MILLION for "security and disaster recovery services not included in the original contract".
Northrop Grumman has come a long way.
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
Friday, April 02, 2010
Aircraft Maker Pushing Exports of Spy Drones
Northrop Grumman is in the news again.
See Aircraft Maker Pushing Exports of Spy Drones in the New York Times.
Because of the success of unmanned drones in Iraq and Afghanistan, Northrop Grumman is looking at exporting this technology to Japan and ". . . other countries considering adding the plane to their air forces are South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Britain, Spain, New Zealand and Canada. Germany has already contracted for a variant called the EuroHawk to be delivered this year."
It is NOT a problem "despite concerns that exports might send sensitive technology into the wrong hands" AND the use of such drones might "also heighten tensions with countries like China, Iran and Russia -- who could be the subject of closer observation and perceive the drones' operations as offensive threats."
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
See Aircraft Maker Pushing Exports of Spy Drones in the New York Times.
Because of the success of unmanned drones in Iraq and Afghanistan, Northrop Grumman is looking at exporting this technology to Japan and ". . . other countries considering adding the plane to their air forces are South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Britain, Spain, New Zealand and Canada. Germany has already contracted for a variant called the EuroHawk to be delivered this year."
It is NOT a problem "despite concerns that exports might send sensitive technology into the wrong hands" AND the use of such drones might "also heighten tensions with countries like China, Iran and Russia -- who could be the subject of closer observation and perceive the drones' operations as offensive threats."
Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.
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