GURPS Social Engineering

[Langy]

Originally Posted by Social Engineering, On Getting Promotions

High Job Skill: A bonus equal to the amount by which your skill exceeds the minimum required for your current position.

Heh, I like this detail - the bonus is based on how much your skill exceeds your current job's minimum, not on how much it exceeds your new job's minimum. Further, you apparently don't need to meet the minimum requirements for your new job!

The Peter Principle, embodied in GURPS rules.

Suffice to say, I don't see anything at all unrealistic about this rule:)

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Langy

The Peter Principle, embodied in GURPS rules.

Today I realised that the natural human reluctance to hire people smarter than oneself explains both the Peter Principle and its stronger version, the Dilbert Principle.

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by johndallman

Today I realised that the natural human reluctance to hire people smarter than oneself explains both the Peter Principle and its stronger version, the Dilbert Principle.

Huh. Thinking about my group, there are at least two who I hired explicitly because they're probably smarter than me. The third I promoted to a grade higher than myself, 'cause he's just that good.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

... there are at least two who I hired explicitly because they're probably smarter than me.

You're doing it right. What sort of business are you in?

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by johndallman

You're doing it right. What sort of business are you in?

I manage the clean room development for a major hard-disc-drive company. Group of about ten; seven engineers and three techs. Five PhDs, one MS, one BS.

[dcarson]

First rate people hire first rate people. Second rate people hire third rate people. Forget who that's a quote from.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

I manage the clean room development for a major hard-disc-drive company.

Sounds good. I formed the theory after a long time dealing with UK branches of US software companies. When those are formed from scratch, rather than by buying an existing company, the people sent from the USA to set up tend to be salesmen. They hire more salesmen, become established as the head of the operation, and then need to hire more technical staff. And they don't like to hire ones who know more than them about the technical stuff. In a hierarchical, competitive organisation, there's motivation not to hire people who will out-compete you.

[PK]

Originally Posted by Rasputin

Go on Second Life sometime with a default avatar, then go on some other time with one on which someone spent time and money. There is a difference in reactions, believe me.

Right, and that's covered -- a sufficiently attractive avatar may be worth as much as +1 to reactions. But it would be a mistake to transpose the whole range of Appearance to digital avatars. As Bill says, when it comes to avatars, the difference between "default" and "attractive custom job" is far greater than that between "attractive custom job" and "amazingly beautiful custom job." In the latter case, people looking at both are impressed with the artistic work that went into the avatar, but they won't react to a transcendentally beautiful avatar the same as they would to a transcendentally beautiful person -- just like they wouldn't react to (e.g.) a minotaur avatar the same as they would to a living minotaur walking down the street. It's hard to be anything but blase about online avatars, hence capping the reaction bonus at +1.

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by Rev. Pee Kitty

Right, and that's covered -- a sufficiently attractive avatar may be worth as much as +1 to reactions. But it would be a mistake to transpose the whole range of Appearance to digital avatars.

I looked, and it is not covered other than Fashion Sense, which I already acknowledged; my analogy is closer to Makeup. I guess I put an Advantage on my personal character sheet instead of my super skill. (And there's some roll to not look like a noob on WoW or SL for the first time, but that's more Acting. Experienced folks on the virtual worlds can spot the noobs.) I don't see anyone trying to transpose the Appearance range at all, so I don't understand why you said this.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Rasputin

I looked, and it is not covered other than Fashion Sense, which I already acknowledged; my analogy is closer to Makeup. I guess I put an Advantage on my personal character sheet instead of my super skill. (And there's some roll to not look like a noob on WoW or SL for the first time, but that's more Acting. Experienced folks on the virtual worlds can spot the noobs.) I don't see anyone trying to transpose the Appearance range at all, so I don't understand why you said this.

Perhaps because in your reply to my comment to you, you said, Yes, it does, but it deliberately sidesteps Avatar Appearance. Including using the capital A.

Bill Stoddard