Louis Gerstner wore a blue shirt (rather than white) on his first day as IBM CEO. Gerstner is getting paid $2M/year. The NYT says that retired chairman John Akers will get $1.2M/year for life. [CPU, 5/1/93. Steven J. Masover (emma @uclink.berkeley.edu), m.j.o.]

Andersen Consulting, an AI-aware operations and systems service, has been expanding into management consulting. One problem for their corporate culture is that top management consultants -- often from McKinsey, Boston Consulting, or Booz Allen -- bill out at $500 per hour. Andersen's technical consultants bill at only $200 per hour, and are unhappy with the implied shift in status. [BW, 4/12/93, p. 86.] Competing management consulting firms include IBM, Computer Sciences Corp., EDS, DEC, Cap Gemini Sogeti, and Unisys.

Information systems managers are often parodied in computer cartoons, but only 6% seem to fit the cliche of Defenders guarding their eroding power bases. 24% are Visionaries -- CIOs and IS champions with a high-level approach to corporate competitiveness and end-user effectiveness. 42% are Warriors -- internal entrepreneurs leading the downsizing charge (to better serve their users). 21% are Overseers -- nine-to-five people looking for easier ways to provide current services. The remaining 7% are Technocrats -- comparison shoppers and tire kickers who are cautiously excited by the latest chip or mainframe. [Gary Beach, Computerworld Candle insert, 11/16/92.]

Nice idea: Carol Kennedy's "Instant Management: The Best Ideas from the People Who Have Made a Difference in How We Manage" is a 201-page synopsis of 34 management gurus' contributions. Unfortunately, the writing is shallow and dull. Tom Peters' "Thriving on Chaos" is reduced to a list of 45 one-line precepts. [Keith Hammonds, BW, 5/3/93, p. 17.]

Many Japanese universities offer 1-year (non-degree) MBA-level programs. Three schools offer degree programs: Keio University (Yokohama), (045)562-3502 Fax; International University of Japan (Nigata); and Nagoya University of Commerce and Business Administration (Aichi), (05617)3-1202 Fax. Keio is the oldest and largest, and uses a case method. A third of the courses are in English, and Keio exchanges students with Wharton and other foreign business schools. IUJ is lecture-oriented and has close ties with Dartmouth. All courses are in English. The school's rural setting reduces cost of living. Nagoya is the newest, and emphasizes international business and information systems. [Shigefumi Makino ([email protected]), AJBS-L, 5/13/93.] IUJ at Nigata accepts only 30 Japanese and 30 non-Japanese each year. Scholarships for the lucky pay tuition plus Y100K living expenses. Courses are similar to those at Dartmouth, but you can take Japanese for credit. 0257-79-1500, 0257-79-4443 Fax. In the US, contact the IUJ Program Office at (603) 646-3422, (603) 646-1308 Fax. [Peter McColgan ([email protected]).] Sangyo Noritsu Daigaku (Sanno College) in Isehara, Kanagawa, also has a new MBA program. Sophia University's MA in Comparative Culture (international business emphasis) is also well-respected. Courses are in English, and are often attended by many business people. [Allan Bird ([email protected]).]

Why hasn't Japan's software industry prospered? Michael Schrage says it's because Japanese corporations have few computers, prefer custom solutions, and have not been concerned with white-collar productivity. Also, Japanese talk to one another instead of writing memos and preparing presentations. Recent price cuts in US software will make it even harder for Japan to compete. [SJM, 5/17/93.]

Laid-off Boeing engineers are not expected to find work at their old salaries, and even those still employed are not happy with their pay. (The engineers held a one-day strike, but with little effect. Boeing has strictly limited assignment to the engineering job title, so most computer scientists aren't entitled to join the engineering union.) Applied Voice Technology in Seattle recently advertised one programming position and received 350 resumes. [CPU, 5/1/93. Steven J. Masover ([email protected]), m.j.o.]

Since Momenta Corp. collapsed, founder Kamran Elahian has been touring places like Russia, Turkmenistan, and a quiet island near Fiji. Waking up to the drums every morning, he began to ask "Why do we need all this technology anyway?" [Rory J. O'Connor, SJM, 2/17/93.]

Civil engineers Scott Taylor and John Biver quit their jobs in 1983 to sell small engineering programs they had written. Sales grew slowly from $45K the first year to $750K the fifth year. They had a great product but weren't getting the word out, so in 1990 they hired Rodney Blum to run the company. Their telemarketing force now numbers almost 145 employees, and sales have reached $11M. 20 civil engineers and land surveyors field toll-free customer calls. Their Engineering Data Systems Corp. has reached 2nd place among 90 competitors in an $800M niche. The founders have more free, creative time and feel more in control than previously. [Damon Darlin, Forbes, 3/29/93, p. 88.]

Russian programmers can be hired through AURIGA, Inc. (8401 Washington Place, NE Albuquerque, New Mexico 87113), (505) 828-9100, (505) 828-9115 Fax. Their Russian contact at Moscow State University Research Computer Center is Igor Pochinok ([email protected]), (095) 939-1784, (095) 939-0300 Fax. Lisp, Prolog, C++, C, Pascal, Fortran, Assembler for Unix, MS DOS, or Windows. Visas for on-site programming can be arranged. [m.j.o, 5/20/93.] (If you've dreamed of making and selling your own software, perhaps you should let others make it. You can then spend full time on the marketing and on design of your next product.)