[odd] IAmA StellviaCorp Shareholder, AMA

[robkelk]

OOC: http://drunkardswalkforums.yuku.com/topic/9467]Dartz did one of these a year and a half ago; it's high time we had another. I'm not (purposefully) going to telegraph which character is answering the questions, though; let's see who can figure that out first.

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I Am A StellviaCorp Shareholder, Ask Me Anything. self.IAmA
Submitted (06/06/2016) by "A StellviaCorp Shareholder (ASCS)"

I am a shareholder in Stellvia Corporation, which means I am one of the higher-ups in that company.

While I have to be careful about trade secrets, I should be able to answer in general terms questions about how we operate, what life is like for those of us in the "inner circle" of one of the top three companies in space, the president's recent decisions to distance the company from politics and active military activities, and how we're dealing with in-system and interstellar exploration. Personal questions might or might not be answered. I have promised the moderators that this will not be a platform to promote StellviaCorp, but I trust you understand I'm not going to bad-mouth the company I work for, either.

Proof of my identity has been provided to the moderators, including the origin IP of my posts.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Dartz]

Submitted 23 minutes ago by "WibblyWobblyWonder"

How does democracy work at Stellvia? Is it just the shareholders, or does everyone have some sort of say? If that's the case, who exactly represents the workers or ordinary workers, or residents and their families? What rights do they have?

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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[robkelk]

WibblyWobblyWonder,

Taking your last question first: Employees have all the rights guaranteed by the Rules of Convention signed at KandorCon. Yes, we play at being completely independent, but we're still part of the Convention. Employees also have the right to be paid for their work, the right to refuse dangerous work that wasn't spelled out in their contract, the right to medical care for themselves and their families while employed (and after if they're injured on the job), the right to take time off (at least two weeks a year and usually more), and the right to seek other employment - in or out of StellviaCorp - whenever they want.

Shareholders aren't guaranteed vacation time. We get the rest of that package, though.

The shareholders are the only ones who get to vote, but anyone can make suggestions. Most ideas never get to the Board - they're acted on (or not) by lower and middle management. It's like petitioning your Mayor, Governor, or President - Noah Scott isn't the one you would ask if you wanted to re-zone the cubic you live in on your station from residential to commercial.

As to who represents the employees ... well, we don't have unions - yet - so it's up to management to do that. Noah's told me that we also have some "undercover" auditors who pose as temps. Sometimes they recommend a manager be transferred or fired because he isn't following the rules about how to treat the people he supervises.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Dartz]

Submitted 72 secons ago by "WibblyWobblyWonder"

Employees have all the rights guaranteed by the Rules of Convention signed at KandorCon.

In fairness, I've always been of the opinion that Kandorcon didn't go far enough, but that's a digression for another time....

As to who represents the employees ... well, we don't have unions - yet - so it's up to management to do that. Sometimes they recommend a manager be transferred or fired because he isn't following the rules about how to treat the people he supervises.

While I can at least partly respect the second half of this, ultimately I find the idea of management representing their employees to ring somewhat hollow. Ultimately, even those rules are imposed by one man, and those subject to them have no direct say in what they are, or for that matter who actually makes them. You'll forgive me if I don't trust in the benevolence of Mr. Scott, but being wealthy doesn't automatically make one more concerned for the wellbeing of one's fellow human beings. There needs to be some form of check on any form of government, external to the running of that government. The people subject to the law need to have some say in how those laws are created, even if it's only to elect the lawmaker responsible. Anything else is the equivalent to feudalism at best where people rely solely on the benevolence of one's Lords for their status and wellbeing. Whether Mr. Scott has good intentions or not is irrelevant.... his intentions, or those of his decendants may change at any moment, or may be changed by any external force.

A proper Union - not just a workers council, but genuine representation - for Stellvia would be a good thing, IMHO. It would give people a true voice that would ensure they were heard, and the political muscle to back their feelings up. Those in the Office will always say that a business is at it's strongest when all employees work together with each other, and when management and employees take each others concerns onboard, but in practice this has often proven to be little more than hot air. Collective bargaining acts as an important check on the power of Capital, one that has time and again been proven necessary inspite of the best 'benevolent' intentions of management.

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OOC: I don't mean to be dickish, I just thought I'd give a challenge. Or even encourage other people to step in in some way. Even just to ask the traditional duck-sized-horses question...
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[robkelk]

WibblyWobblyWonder, I didn't see a question in there. If you're just here to pontificate, I'll have to go on to someone else's questions.

Evidence does support a correlation between wealth and concern for others. Look at the Carnegie libraries, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Bloomberg Philanthropies Foundation, and the Nikaido Foundation, just to name four. Noah has told me that more than a hundred billionaires have signed The Giving Pledge. And Yomiko suggests you read the book Ralph Nader wrote in 2009. Being wealthy might not automatically make one more concerned for the wellbeing of one's fellow human beings, but it certainly doesn't make you less concerned for others' wellbeing.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[M Fnord]

Submitted 43 minutes ago by "AGloriousDawn"

One of the big controversial things Stellvia's been involved in over the years has been the development and production of subcritical nuclear weapons. Now, I understand that Stellvia no longer makes these things, and that's to be commended, but I guess the big question I have is why did you start in the first place?

Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[robkelk]

AGloriousDawn, that was before my time. I don't have an answer for you, sorry.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Dartz]

...it's not that we don't want to participate. It's just that I'm struggling to come up with more questions that are both 'interesting', but don't seem threatening from a meta standpoint. I could pull more out of WibblyWobblyWonder, but I figured carrying that line on would be obnoxious to everyone here, and might devolve into parody. I've made that mistake much too often.

Here's a simple one:

"How does someone actually become a Stellvia shareholder? Is it open to anyone who flashes the cash, or is there some arcane ritual involved? "
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[robkelk]

Now that is an excellent question, and I think the answer might surprise you. As far as I know, nobody has actually ever purchased StellviaCorp stock.

Noah incorporated the company and kept all the stock for himself back in the First Fen days. He's given almost everyone in his immediate family in space shares (one person refused the offer) because Noah wants this to be a family business. Most of us have been working for or with the company in some senior position, so the stock transfers were acknowledgements of our value to the company - or at least that's what Noah says. We all know that Yuu got her share because Noah felt sorry for her - even Yuu says taht - and Helen and I got our shares for reasons that should be obvious.

Jake, Patty, Kelly, Micheline, Jerry, Lea, and Sergy were voted their shares in exchange for long-time services rendered - in every case, one of the minority shareholders made the motion and we all agreed.

So, basically, you get a share if Noah likes you enough.

Because Noah gave his shares away as gifts, there's no real "fair market value" for a StellviaCorp share. The rumor that you could trade one for a palace on Pallas is just a rumor - but it made for a good estimate for how much we had to pay Sora for her share when the VVS pooled all their possessions in common earlier this year.

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OOC: If you were paying attention, the shareholder just gave away her ID.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012