Hi Brian, all, First, a confession: the incident never occurred. I thought that an unlikely name like "Glum Australia" would have been sufficient tip-off that I was kidding. Still, it was a bit off colour and I apologise to those who responded in earnest. At the risk of making things worse ;-o A remark of yours (BC) on the market testing thread was, in a convoluted way, at the back of my ruse. You said: "Market testing activity falls under two rubrics in the public service, viz, Value for Money, and Equity. Unfortunately, most people applying these rubrics don't understand that they are contradictory. Value for Money is meant to achieve economic rationalism, ie, maximum output for minimum outlay. Equity is meant to achieve a spreading around of the jam, so that anyone who applies has an equal chance of getting the job, provided they meet certain minimum criteria." I think you overstate the case when you say they are contradictory. At most there is a tension between them which means that one has to be prioritised over the other in the making of some decisions. But isn't equity served by the mere conduct of the exercise, i.e. throwing the positions open periodically? (I'm talking "in principle" here - as some of the APS people have pointed out, nothing happens in practice.) Market testing is designed to alleviate some of the ill effects of long term contracting, such as too cosy/costly relationships between contractors and APS managers, and locking up work in de facto permanency. Such ventilation spreads the opportunity more evenly through the population (again, 'in theory'). In defence of agents: a few days ago a Canberra agent called me about a position that I had expressed interest in. She volunteered that "it could be market testing cause there's quite a lot of that going on at the moment". This was the first I'd heard of it. She said that an agent would not necessarily know whether a particular position was being tested. The APS person placing the brief may spill the beans, but generally they are obliged to avoid doing that because to do so would be to undermine the exercise. The idea of inconsistent "rubrics" rubbing up against each other reminded me of a noteworthy instance in the context of the gender wars, and from that flowed my UnPC post. Several years ago a bus shelter advertisement for Chivas Regal was widely condemned for being sexist. It was. The image captured a very elegant Lorenesque leg poised 'just so' as its owner disembarked from the passenger's side of a Ferrari open top (or similar). Underneath was the text "God is a man". The thing that nobody seemed to click to - at least in the letters to editor that I read - was that the ad contained what I thought was a very witty reference to Michelangelo's "God creating Adam". The 'just so' positioning of the leg with the big toe pointing straight down closely mimicked God's arm and forefinger in the painting. So I guess the moral is "if you're going to be rude at least try to be funny". Elizabeth Fullerton adverted to this when she said: "I don't think it's sexist or racist, just plain rude! (also funny, but still rude)." Spot on. For the record I too doubt that it would have been sexist or racist - owing to the incidental way in which the remark was made. rgds, Tony. _____ From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Clarke, Brian Sent: Wednesday, 17 May 2006 5:18 PM To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: atw: Re: Un PC language? Hi Tony, Interesting problem. I can feel your frustration - but I suspect that has to do with her interpersonal skills - or the lack thereof - rather than her appearance. Nowadays, criticising people for their appearance is non-PC. So, your appellation may have been directed at an unrelated part of her baggage - and confused your audience. Perhaps you could have used a more directed metaphor? Eg, interpersonal skills of a cobra? A viper in diapers? Brian. Tony asked: there is a somewhat unpopular senior female and ethnically Indian manager here at Glum Australia. The other day in a meeting I momentarily forgot her name and referred to her as "the eyesore from Mysore". There was a mixed but muted reaction at the time. But now I'm worried that I might have been sexist or racist. Perhaps I'm just being alarmist. What do you think? **************************************************************************** ** The information contained in this e-mail and any attachment/s may be privileged and confidential and are intended for the recipient designated only. If you have received this e-mail in error, do not use, disseminate, distribute, or copy this e-mail and any attachment/s. 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