Here’s the classic industry excuse for offering meager pay scales (which certainly doesn’t help employee retention) “This is a cut-throat, hyper-competitive, low-service-rate industry and we just can’t pay a decent wage. This owner says the largest problem is the mandated increase in the minimum wage! Another owner has a well thought-out, documented punishment procedure for giving people time off from work for non-performance or “bad attitude”. Another owner has indicated to me that staff turnover is not the largest problem in their service (although it is the number two problem). I know of a service in which the owner says “we always have someone in training.” This is a relatively small service. Okay, why is there such turnover? Among ourselves, why are we constantly trading tips and secrets in an attempt t o stem the tide of constant turnover and training? Why do we agonize over this issue? Why do we endlessly berate ourselves, and the telecom industry in general, for this predicament? According to Sir Ockham, the solution will be simple. We need a philosophy and a system that naturally produces a long-term, high-quality staff. Instead, it’s the owner/manager’s inability to address real problems and needs and then produce a system that works over the long haul. It’s my personal perception that it’s not unqualified people or poor training that is the problem. ![]() In our industry, it’s an accepted fact of life that secretaries come and go too rapidly. Employee turnover and training are the major topics in our get-togethers, both in general sessions at association meetings and in one-on-one discussions between owners. What do telemessaging and call center owners and managers want from their telephone secretaries? The short list includes high quality performance and long-term service (needless to say, we would also do just about anything for cheerful and constructive attitudes). It states that entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity, or that one should choose the simplest explanation, the one requiring the fewest assumptions and principles. Jumping to conclusions is not the same as relying on an explanation that makes the fewest assumptions.Ockham’s Razor is a principle, attributed to the 14th-century English philosopher William of Ockham. The doctor made several assumptions about the patient's supposed cold without examining all the evidence. Occam's razor is a good rule of thumb if you remember that it depends on making fewer assumptions based on as much evidence as possible. However, with more evidence, the more complex heliocentric model is the correct one. It was much easier to believe that the sun revolved around the Earth and seemed to require fewer assumptions. Astronomers Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei had very difficult times convincing their Renaissance contemporaries that the Earth was not actually the center of the universe. But without examining all the evidence, the doctor may miss other symptoms that reveal possible infections, allergic reactions or other life-threatening conditions.Īnother example is heliocentrism, or the understanding that the sun is positioned at the center of the solar system. However, relying on a simplified version of Occam's razor could potentially lead to oversimplifying a situation.įor example, if a doctor is examining a patient with a high fever and cough, they may settle on the simplest explanation: the patient has a cold. Occam's razor is a very helpful heuristic tool for deciding between theories. It merely suggests that, among all possible answers to a question, the best bet is generally the one that requires the fewest assumptions. It does not claim that the simplest answer is always correct. Occam's razor makes no absolute assertions. ![]() It has been referenced as far back as Aristotle, who wrote "the more limited, if adequate, is always preferable." Ptolomy also used the principle to guide his explanations: "it is a good principle to explain phenomena by the simplest hypothesis available." Occam's razor was first attributed to Ockham in 1852 by philosopher Sir William Hamilton as he referenced the works of Ockham. Ockham was not the first to discover this principle. Fourteenth-century Franciscan friar William of Ockham gave the world a rule: Non sunt multiplicanda entia sine necessitate, or “entities must not be multiplied without necessity.” In other words, the simplest answer - that is, the answer that requires the fewest assumptions - is generally the correct one.
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