Comments on: Contributors

By: openandhonest

openandhonest — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:22:53 +0000

Anyone in the London area interested in meeting to talk about some of the anti-corruption measurements Ban-Ki Moon suggested be implicit in the creation of new corporate companies. I feel that talking in person is often easier, safer and more honest than from behind a screen.
Please post again on this page with reply and details to get in touch (e-mail preferably) by the 30/4/10.

I’m particularly interested in this so called “impoverished pensioner”

Regards,
CMM

By: Impoverishedpensioner

Impoverishedpensioner — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:40:12 +0000

I think the story about the leaked directory is a total Non-event and am bored reading about it. Strongly suggest you just drop it John. There are far more important things to discuss

By: rockdude1950

rockdude1950 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:26:16 +0000

The dirty little secret of Shell’s reorganization

It comes under many guises and code words, it is hushed at the high levels, among VPs, and in the HR circles, it is not to be openly recognized, it is hidden behind a thin veneer of diversity and giving opportunities to the young. The little secret of this reorganization is blatant age discrimination. Nobody will admit to it, at least not in public, but the signs and its effects are clear: age, specifically the 55-year-old barrier, is the determining factor in appointments at the EC-1 and EC-2 levels, and it has been hinted as one of the main criteria in EC-3 decisions. The statistics are eloquent: from the over 55 population that applied to EC-1 and EC-2 positions, barely a couple people survived, and will probably be out before the middle of next year. The less experienced VP’s and HR people will admit that renewing the management ranks and giving way to youth are goals of the transition. As one review panel member put it in choosing an inexperienced younger person over a clearly more qualified but over the hill candidate for an EC-2 position, the younger person had “higher potential”. Or that people are strongly discouraged from applying to lower salary group positions to give opportunities to younger staff. In other words, over 55 need not apply. The unwritten goal of the transition seems to be to shed 10 years off the average manager’s age. I suppose that the US Equal Opportunity Commission, and its EC equivalent would take a grim view of this policy. It would be hard to find written evidence, but it can be shown that age discrimination exists by its effects, like the changes in age distribution before and after the transition, or the percentage of unsuccessful over 55 applicants. Some took early retirement, some simply gave up and sold out, but many were simply forced and eased out. I am surprised that the staff council in Holland has not picked up on this. I am surprised that the head of HR and the head of ethics and compliance would go along with this policy.

By: downunder123

downunder123 — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:23:28 +0000

First of all, welcome Ann Pickard to Australia. We anxiously await your arrival and hope you are not another of the same kind as your predecessor, the popular name that appears in this blog now and then! Time will tell….
On your successor, I never worked with Ian Craig, but I would at this stage think he is the lucky product of an outdated Shell internal selection process! To put it bluntly, he is probably the better one among the worse in the pool of Shell “talents”! But, you never know, the Nigerian may love him so much to give him the opportunity to shine……Again we will closely monitor the production situation from Nigeria in the coming months.
The bottomline is NEW or OLD Shell you may like to call it, it is the god damned SAME Shell with the same blood – nothing is changed unfortunately!