Ireland should be run by a company like Google!

Eoin247

I was having a discussion with some friends a while back about what the best system for a country was. We've been brought up to believe that our version of democracy is the best. However, recent economic problems have shown otherwise.

What is Ireland were to be run by a company like Google? Think about it:

-Employees have some of the best (many say the best) working conditions in the world.

-The work performance difference between current public sector workers and google employees is huge.

-Far more efficient, and more motivation to get things done correctly.

-Highly profitable

-Recession resistant

-When politicians face a problem they usualy state what should/shouldn't be done based on old methods, while google and it's engineers innovate to get through a problem. E.g, There's an energy shortage. Energy curfews may be imposed in a normal country. Google on the other hand would innovate to get through this problem. At the 2008 world economic forum the google founders proposed invention and investment to solve energy problems. Al gore on the other hand proposed more taxation and regulation to solve the problems.


-More shiny google buildings in dublin! (:pac:)

pebbles21

Ireland is already been run by Google!

wazky

Suppose it could work, it runs like Internet Explorer at the moment.

cantdecide

What role will the current corrupt elite be given in your socialist paradise?

Nodin

wazky wrote: »

Suppose it could work, it runs like Internet Explorer at the moment.

More DOS/Windows 3.1.

FTA69

Is this the Google that engages in massive tax avoidance?

losthorizon

Google is only 15!

I used to work for Kodak which was a highly successful company and hugely thought of. Now its regarded as a joke. Come back in 100 years time and start the thread again. They don't even trade Kodak shares on the stock exchange anymore when they used to be one of the Top 100 Dow Jones American Companies.

DeVore

I dunno how much I fancy being at the bottom of the ladder in Googleland...

http://gizmodo.com/5797022/googles-secret-class-system

KyussBishop

So our government can secretly spy on us and reveal our information, at the request of the US? (probably not that different to now in that regard though)

Smiles35

Tell me you and your friends aren't connected to google or eyeing up jobs there op and I'll take this serious.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Run by a company that avoids tax and keeps all that data on people? Spying on citizens as well?
Is that not what we have at present.
They also would only work for profit at the expense of the poor and unemployed surely.

Pushtrak

Google also has a very rigorous application process. I think that's the important lesson from Google.

DeVore

Google are, to be fair, unlikely to hire a secondary school teacher to be CEO.




So I guess the idea has that going for it...

Ruu

Would prefer someone more like Mozilla.

D1stant

Google have done a remarkable creating this cool image that the public has swallowed - for what is fundamentally a very uncool company. These guys monitor everyones daily activity, profile and formulate what to sell to you. They have more knowledge of Internet activity than anyone else - including the NSA. And they use every trick in the book to pay as little taxes as possible and maximise revenue

Big Brother is here.

Fighting Irish

Kate Ancient Wolverine wrote: »

Run by a company that avoids tax and keeps all that data on people? Spying on citizens as well?
Is that not what we have at present.
They also would only work for profit at the expense of the poor and unemployed surely.

:rolleyes:

Why pay money you don't have to?

Fox_In_Socks

Fighting Irish wrote: »

:rolleyes:

Why pay money you don't have to?

cough we're Irish cough

cml387

Ruubot2 wrote: »

Would prefer someone more like Mozilla.

Godzilla, shurely?

TelePaul

DeVore wrote: »

I dunno how much I fancy being at the bottom of the ladder in Googleland...

http://gizmodo.com/5797022/googles-secret-class-system

They were really scraping the barrel with that one, it's a terrible article.

FTA69

Fighting Irish wrote: »

:rolleyes:

Why pay money you don't have to?

Yeah. Tax should only be for the ordinary worker. Perish the thought multi-billion dollar companies should have to pay anything toward society.

theblaqueguy

No thanks I wouldn't want the country being run by a big corporation like google because all they care about is profit and they wouldn't care about the irish people
I'd prefer if bertie was running the country again over google any day

Annasopra

FTA69 wrote: »

Yeah. Tax should only be for the ordinary worker. Perish the thought multi-billion dollar companies should have to pay anything toward society.

Of course not!

Pushtrak

theblaqueguy wrote: »

No thanks I wouldn't want the country being run by a big corporation like google because all they care about is profit and they wouldn't care about the irish people
I'd prefer if bertie was running the country again over google any day

He was clearly talking about the work culture rather than corporate culture, as such.

DonkeyStyle \o/

I suppose in a company, if you were making a balls of everything, you'd have a harder time talking your way out of it, brushing off criticisms and giving non-answers to direct questions... it'd probably get you nicely sacked.

Kettleson

I'd get someone like Michael O'Leary in on a consultancy basis to sort out all the waste and corruption in the running of Ireland.

But then of course after the clean up, it would be left in the hands of greedy, corrupt idiots, again.

hfallada

Or Ireland could be run by people who can actual run a business or have ran one. We tend to elect teachers and expect them to have the skills to run a country. I cringe when I hear politicians who have no idea how a business runs talking about what good for business. Every business person tells you rates are killing them and so are up ward rent reviews. But the current government has done nothing about them

Cody Pomeray

Eoin247 wrote: »

I was having a discussion with some friends a while back about what the best system for a country was. We've been brought up to believe that our version of democracy is the best. However, recent economic problems have shown otherwise.

What is Ireland were to be run by a company like Google?

A society is not a commercial enterprise.

Google has one fundamental objective: sell internet services at a profit.

"Ireland", i.e. the society of human beings that is based on this island, has a wide variety of objectives, pertinent to each individual member, some more widely shared than others.

The role of the Government is merely to enhance the overall welfare of the community of human beings on the island, not to "sell" a product, nor even to balance the bottom line on the accounts.

You just cannot compare Google to a society. I do not believe Irish people want a society that only undertakes financially profitable projects, and which neglects activities that are un-profitable.

I'm sorry OP but it's just a really naive idea. It lacks any understanding of the difference between a society, and a corporation.

Im not Miley Cyrus

We need a shrewd, intelligent and effective man as Minster for Finance.


Michael O' Leary.

Cienciano

DeVore wrote: »

I dunno how much I fancy being at the bottom of the ladder in Googleland...

http://gizmodo.com/5797022/googles-secret-class-system

TelePaul wrote: »

They were really scraping the barrel with that one, it's a terrible article.

A colour for interns, a colour for contractors, and one for full timers? Have to agree with Telepaul, not exactly apartheid

Kettleson

hfallada wrote: »

Or Ireland could be run by people who can actual run a business or have ran one. We tend to elect teachers and expect them to have the skills to run a country. I cringe when I hear politicians who have no idea how a business runs talking about what good for business. Every business person tells you rates are killing them and so are up ward rent reviews. But the current government has done nothing about them

...

...and how lacking in foresight or intelligence to not pay self employed people any social welfare for 6 months if their business goes bust...not much incentive there for new business start-up there. Sheer madness.

April O Neill

I may be going against the grain, but working for Google would give me the heebie jeebies.

They're a business, and making money is their bottom line. So all this touchy feely stuff they go on with with their employee is highly disingenuous to me or something.

I'd be very mistrustful of them, TBH.

Kettleson

April O Neill wrote: »

I may be going against the grain, but working for Google would give me the heebie jeebies.

They're a business, and making money is their bottom line. So all this touchy feely stuff they go on with with their employee is highly disingenuous to me or something.

I'd be very mistrustful of them, TBH.

I'd say they are trying to keep their workforce happy, healthy and motivated and to stay with them. That makes good business sense to me.

megaten

Kettleson wrote: »

I'd say they are trying to keep their workforce happy, healthy and motivated and to stay with them. That makes good business sense to me.

It so you're more likely to stay in the office building and work more hours overall. There not doing nice things out of the goodness of their hearts.

Teyla Emmagan

F7ck no. From what I know about the place it's a highly competitive working environment where people are nearly afraid to go home in case someone else gets ahead of them. And most of the people it employs are hipster w&nkers. All of those companies that go on with the 'our staff work in jeans and we have a playstation lounge!!!' are just sucking in the weak minded, that's corporate codswallop. They exist to make a PROFIT!!! And they employ the young, well educated and articulate - where would most of the population fit into this new Utopia?

And I would HATE all that enthusiasm - all those articles you see with smiling young Googlians with their lovely Italian skin and bright Danish smiles, gushing about how wonderful the place is, like Benetton models on crack. Gives me willies.

You can keep your poxy Google.

tomdempsey200

google hires all the best and smartest people

what'll they do with all the fools and scumbags here?

they'd be losing money and share price nosediving

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I'm often amazed how people think the likes of Google, with their fun and games in the workplace nonsense, are the bee's knees. The " we're all one happy fun family" palarvour. The whole thing smacks of hoodwinking young people in to working harder for less. It's too sweet to be wholesome for me. I have seen american companies in Ireland back in the 70s who went on with stunts like family picnics and Easter eggs or Christmas hams for the staff - all unheard off in Irish businesses at the time. But they underpaid and drove staff hard. The biggest problem was they closed shop overnight and set up elsewhere when it became more profitable to do so.
I would have hated to work in the regime that seems to persist in Google and I most certainly couldn't live in a country run that way. But maybe I'm just too old for this Google world they have created and maybe it is the greatest place on earth to work outside of Disneyland.

ednwireland

our houses would look like this

http://www.home-designing.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/google-495x567.jpg

nooooooooooo

hansfrei

Great idea OP. Lets have more foreigners come bleed us dry.


Great.

Kettleson

megaten wrote: »

It so you're more likely to stay in the office building and work more hours overall. There not doing nice things out of the goodness of their hearts.

I didn't say they were.

Cienciano

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

F7ck no. From what I know about the place it's a highly competitive working environment where people are nearly afraid to go home in case someone else gets ahead of them. And most of the people it employs are hipster w&nkers. All of those companies that go on with the 'our staff work in jeans and we have a playstation lounge!!!' are just sucking in the weak minded, that's corporate codswallop. They exist to make a PROFIT!!! And they employ the young, well educated and articulate - where would most of the population fit into this new Utopia?

And I would HATE all that enthusiasm - all those articles you see with smiling young Googlians with their lovely Italian skin and bright Danish smiles, gushing about how wonderful the place is, like Benetton models on crack. Gives me willies.

You can keep your poxy Google.

TBH, that sounds like a far far better way to run a country than the way we're doing it atm.

skinny90

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/anonymous-employees-reveal-the-worst-thing-about-working-for-google-8921216.html
interesting article

Fighting Irish

FTA69 wrote: »

Yeah. Tax should only be for the ordinary worker. Perish the thought multi-billion dollar companies should have to pay anything toward society.

Ye that's right, all big corporations pay nothing towards society. I'm willing to bet google pay more towards irish society than you ever will

Eoin247

hansfrei wrote: »

Great idea OP. Lets have more foreigners come bleed us dry.


Great.

This makes no sense. Did you even read the first post? Care to expand on where this comment is coming from?

And anyway foreigners have contributed far more to this country than a huge amount of irish people have. 146,000 jobs by IDA client companies tells me that we'd be in a hell of a worse situation without foreigners.

Rabelais

Google are increasingly giving me the creeps. Give me an old-fashioned first generation evil tech company like Microsoft. I know which one I'd rather work for if based in Dublin.

who_me

hfallada wrote: »

Or Ireland could be run by people who can actual run a business or have ran one. We tend to elect teachers and expect them to have the skills to run a country. I cringe when I hear politicians who have no idea how a business runs talking about what good for business. Every business person tells you rates are killing them and so are up ward rent reviews. But the current government has done nothing about them

Often thought the same. The economy should be hired by a CEO, with a big fat salary, but with aggressive short, medium and long - term goals set for him. If he gets the economy to exceed those goals, he even gets a fat bonus (he deserves it, if we're all benefitting).

Rather pay a CEO who knows what he's doing, than ridiculous TD/minister salaries & pensions who don't have the skills.

Mint Aero

2 14
the programme for government
five point plan
budgetary measures
fiscal policy
adjustments & amendments
Pre budget
Tally up the figures
Advisory committee
That's a matter for 'x' to decide

Copy & Paste into your speech and you too could be a politician of a real live country in 2 16

Fat Nav

Like him or hate him, I reckon Micheal o leary would do a good job of running the country.

hardCopy

You can't fire unproductive citizens from a country, this makes it hard to compare a country to a meritocratic company with queues of job applicants waiting to swap in for anyone who fails to meet targets.

Mardy Bum

National and international democratic politics is completely different to running a private business. The idea that Michael O Leary or some other famous CAO are automatically going to make excellent politicians is ill thought outout and naive. Politics will eat you up and spit you out, see George Lee therefore most of these CAOs would not last in the current set up. What you are calling for would need much greater reform.

I would not like to see Michael O Leary running the country anyway.

Fat Nav

Mardy Bum wrote: »

National and international democratic politics is completely different to running a private business. The idea that Michael O Leary or some other famous CAO are automatically going to make excellent politicians is ill thought outout and naive. Politics will eat you up and spit you out, see George Lee therefore most of these CAOs would not last in the current set up. What you are calling for would need much greater reform.

I would not like to see Michael O Leary running the country anyway.

In all fairness my point is Micheal O Leary is not a politician and that's a good thing.
We need change not the same old politicians talkin sh*te while the country goes down the tubes.

Kettleson

Mardy Bum wrote: »

National and international democratic politics is completely different to running a private business. The idea that Michael O Leary or some other famous CAO are automatically going to make excellent politicians is ill thought outout and naive. Politics will eat you up and spit you out, see George Lee therefore most of these CAOs would not last in the current set up. What you are calling for would need much greater reform.

I would not like to see Michael O Leary running the country anyway.

I had suggested Michael O'Leary to come in on a consultancy basis to sort the
inefficiencies and corruption out, mostly in government and the public sector and then get the hell out.. That does not involve acting in a political capacity.

Leaving clueless idiots for politicians to sort the business end of Irelands' economy is equally madness. Sure they cant even write a simple letter between them FFS.