academe

[Joanna Sheldon]

I'm actually the one who wrote that message (from an unsubbed address); 
Doug just forwarded it to the list.  As you don't seem to be addressing 
what I said, I have no answer to propose.

Joanna S

At 02:56 01-06-01, you wrote:


>Doug Henwood wrote:
> >
> >  You don't find that sort of rampant self-delusion in
> > R&D departments,
>
>Hah -- some years ago the R&D department at Ameritech (actually, EDS was
>contracted to do the work) spent several hundred million dollars to
>create a new billing system, then scratched the whole thing as a
>complete loss.
>
>How do you measure the efficiency of an R&D department? By luck? Would
>there be any way to collect statistics on the number of R&D projects
>that failed in the last 50 years?
>
>Luck was how post-it notes were 'invented,' an accidental by-blow of a
>failed research program.
>
>Carrol

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