Bonus Plans of Mice and Men – VI

May 18th, 2009

The last post in this series, this one exposes the extreme cases both in allowing and in denying bonuses, and their implications. Both the options imply our acceptance of certain economic idea. And, as with most things in life, it is not quite clear which is right, once you think long enough about it. A happy and stable middle ground is what we should seek and find.

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Bonus Plans of Mice and Men – V

May 16th, 2009

If you generate profit, don’t you deserve a share of it? Profit generation and increasing shareholder value — these are the hallmarks of top talent in our capitalistic world view now. What is good for the shareholder is certainly good for the talent as well.

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Bonus Plans of Mice and Men – IV

May 14th, 2009

Another common argument is that bonuses are necessary to retail the so-called “talent.” Are they?

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Bonus Plans of Mice and Men – III

May 12th, 2009

If hard work does not entitle us to fat bonuses, perhaps our “talent” does? This is the third in the series of posts based on an upcoming column of mine in the Wilmott Magazine.

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Bonus Plans of Mice and Men – II

May 10th, 2009

The second in the series of posts based on an upcoming column of mine in the Wilmott Magazine, here is the common argument about hard work and the perceived entitlements.

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Bonus Plans of Mice and Men – I

May 8th, 2009

This is another series of posts based on an upcoming column of mine in the Wilmott Magazine. In this series, I will examine at the arguments for and against huge bonuses and golden parachutes. The first in the series, this post merely sets the stage for the next half a dozen. The starting point of this series is the public resignation letter by Jake DeSantis, ex-EVP at AIG, and his reasons for believing in the fairness of the huge bonus packages. And my arguments against them, with the personal suspicion that my views are perhaps more a case of sour grapes than of moral high horse.

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How Much is Your Time Worth?

April 12th, 2009

Time and money represent the basic conflict of work-life balance. Here is an unreal look at the old problem.

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Little Materialists

March 27th, 2009

Do you think kids are more materialistic these days? I think so. And I think I know why.

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Blank Screen after Hibernate/Sleep?

March 26th, 2009

Have a problem of your laptop or PC staying blank after waking up from hibernation or the sleep mode? Here is how to fix it.

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Gurus of a Disturbing Kind

March 23rd, 2009

A word of caution on charismatic gurus and shortcuts to salvation.

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A New Kind of Binomial Tree

March 20th, 2009

How does a binomial tree pricing model look in a functional language? The last excerpt from my next column for the Wilmott Magazine (May 2009 iessu), this post may be a bit technical for those who are not practitioners in the field of quantitative finance.

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Functional Programming

March 18th, 2009

Another excerpt from my next column in a quantitative finance magazine, here is an explanation of why functional language looks interesting to a mathematician.

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Magic of Object Oriented Languages

March 16th, 2009

Another excerpt from my next column in the Wilmott magazine to appear in May 2009, this post takes a high level look at object oriented languages and introduces the concept of functional programming. The next two posts in this series may get a bit technical.

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Paradigms All the Way

March 11th, 2009

The power of paradigms in computing, and how it aids in the seemingly endless march of the Moore’s Law. An excerpt from my next column in the Wilmott magazine to appear in May 2009.

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Zeros and Ones

March 9th, 2009

Ever marvel at the ability of computers to obey your wishes, while completely screwing up what you really wanted to do? Here is an insight into this computer mind, from a quantitative finance professional’s point of view. From my next column to appear in the Wilmott Magazine. This post is the first of a short series of posts on this subject.

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Change the Facts

February 23rd, 2009

Of truth and beauty — in physics and philosophy

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Global Warming and the Flu

February 19th, 2009

An unreal look at global warming. Are we a virus on the earth? And is the global warming a bout of fever? Published in the Singaporean newspaper, Today, on 1 Dec 2008.

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Easy Information

February 17th, 2009

Don’t be fooled by the easy access to information on the Internet. It is still difficult to generate knowledge.

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Unreal Stress Reduction Techniques

February 14th, 2009

Stressed out at work? Try these stress-reduction techniques. Well, musings, really…

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An Office Survival Guide

February 12th, 2009

It is a jungle out there. Do you have what it takes to survive? If not, don’t worry, I’m here to help.

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