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Volume 6, #8______________________________________________________________
December, 1987
Digital’s
Strengths
In The Wake Of The Stock Market Decline
DECWORLD
Thanks
And Future Plans
Corporate
Identity
Standards Ready For Distribution
New
Focus
On Software In High Performance Systems
Why
Should
Managers Learn About AIDS? by Dr. Richard Porter,
Corporate Medical Director
Digital's
Guidelines
For Dealing With AIDS-Related Issues
New
U.S.
Immigration Law Affects Digital's Relocation Practices
At the Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Ken
Olsen, President, answered questions about the "turmoil in the
financial world." He noted that the recent drop in the stock price
has no immediate or direct influence on Digital. He observed that
Digital is not expecting a recession, but is taking precautions.
"We want to slow down our expenditures and our hiring until we see
what's happening. We have to balance this, however, with the fact
that we've been growing roughly 25% a year. And, like most other
companies, we have not seen any meaningful effect, thus far, in
our order rate. Demand is still growing. So we're very carefully
watching this balance."
In interviews, Jim Osterhoff, vice president,
Finance, and Mark Steinkrauss, director, Investor Relations, put
recent events into perspective and explaiÂned Digital's position.
"We are on an aggressive growth plan for good
reasons — we have product leadership, and we have good momentum in
the marketplace. Nothing has happened that would cause us to
deviate from that plan," notes Jim OsterÂhoff. "However, the
unstable stock market conditions could have an impact on customer
buying intentions. So we are prudently deferring some hiring and
taking a close look at discretionary spending. The company
continues to hire additional people for specific Field
revenue-generating positions, but the headcount elsewhere in the
company will stay level for now.
"The price of Digital's stock does not have an
immediate and direct effect on the operations of the company," he
observes. "There would be an effect if we were in the midst of
raising equity capital. But our balance sheet is strong, and our
cash position is adequate for our present level of operaÂtions.
Cash gives us the utmost flexibility to adapt to what the future
holds, and we are protecting that flexibility.
"Basically, while financial markets have been
topsy-turvy, most of the other leading economic indicators are
positive. These include interest rates, capacity utilization,
number of people employed, net disposable wealth, etc. The main factor that
we watch is not the stock market, but rather the trend in capital
spending by our customers," explains Jim.
"The volatility and uncertainty in the
financial markets is causing some business people to pause," adds
Mark Steinkrauss. "Not that they would take drastic measures
immediately. But the credibility of the financial markets has been
called into question by the mid-October crisis, and credibility
will probably be a long-lasting issue. The October market drop
took less than five days. That was an incredibly fast downward
spiral, compared to the last real major bear market, which was
spread out over a year and a half (1973-75). At that time, prices
declined a little bit every day, day after day.
"The use of computers seems to have
inadvertently led to increased volatilÂity of the stock market,"
notes Mark. "Computers gave rise to some of the new trading
instruments such as 'program trading' and 'portfolio insurance,'
which tend to exacerbate trends in the market. I don't believe
these instruments were responsible for initiating the market
collapse. However, everyone agrees that they had some dramatic
effect.
"As a result of the stock market drop off, we
expect our customers will take a close look at their expenditures,
as we are doing. But what we have observed in past economic
downturns is that they use computers to improve their
productivity, which leads to cost savings. So computer sales have
been less affected than other capital goods.
"In general, corporate America has gone through
half a dozen years of resÂtructuring, improving its profitability,
lowering its cost of doing busiÂness, essentially improving its
financial health," observes Mark. "As a result, U.S. companies are
better positioned to deal with the present uncerÂtainty ."
"Companies that are in need of raising equity
capital -- for instance, for a major expansion or renovation — are
likely to defer such action until they feel stock prices have
settled down," Jim Osterhoff points out. "But other sources of
capital are readily available. Bond markets are reasonably stable.
The prime interest rate is down so the cost of debt financing is
reasonable. And banks, in general, have the cash to lend. In other
words, there are alternative means of financing to equity.
"For most of our customers, the fiscal year
ends in December," Jim notes. "So they are probably focusing on
next fiscal year. If there is going to be a change, we would
expect it to begin to show up next quarter. A consumer- led
recession typically takes a few months to ripple through the
economv.
"Digital's business continues to experience
excellent growth," concludes Jim. "The company sees expanding
demand for its products and services, and expects that to
continue. However, economic uncertainty which has been brought to
light by unstable stock market conditions calls for prudent,
immediate measures to assure the long-term stability of the
company."
"DECWORLD '87 was much more than the world's
largest single-company technoÂlogy conference," notes Jack
Shields, senior vice president. "It was also the greatest display
of corporate pride and achievement the computer indusÂtry has ever
witnessed.
"Consider what was accomplished:
o We brought together more than 30,000
customers from around the world with our employees and
complementary solutions organizations in an emphatic demonstration
of true partnership.
o We connected hundreds of computer systems and
terminals, a score of Boston-area hotels, and two cruise ships in
one of the largest local area networks ever assembled.
o And, we showcased our elegant style of
computing and networking as only Digital can — in real, working
solutions that meet today's customer needs.
"Equally important, as Ken Olsen has stated,
DECWORLD '87 demonstrated that the 'Digital Difference' is more
than just our products -- it's our people. Everyone at Digital has
contributed to this difference, and we will continue to depend on
your efforts to maintain and expand that difference in the years
ahead."
Plans are now under way for future DECWORLDs
and a permanent staff to set up and coordinate these events on an
on-going basis,
DECWORLD '88 will be held in September in
Cannes, France. Digital is planning to connect by two-way video
and audio to Application Centers for Technology (ACTs) in the U.S.
So, for instance, people who go to the Financial ACT in New York
will feel they are part of the larger event.
A permanent DECWORLD
staff is being organized to manage the on-going procÂesses:
planning, facilities procurement, information systems, communicaÂ
tions, getting equipment from Manufacturing,
dealing with exhibitors, staffing, training, etc. They will test
their ideas continuously with a steering committee of geography
and marketing line managers.
As in the past, there will be a yearly DECWORLD
management staff focusing on the individual event. For instance,
the vice president responsible for DECWORLD '88 will appoint a
manager for that event, who will build a team and work with
industry marketing teams to determine the content. Then closer to
the event itself, they will build the requisite support
organizaÂtions .
"We are all proud of the teamwork that made
DECWORD a reality," Jack Shields reiterates. "Thanks to all of you
who were involved, both directly and indirectly, we made an
impression the industry won't soon forget. Let's continue to
maintain the strong momentum we've created -- by continuing to
focus on providing our customers with the solutions they need adn
the quality and service they've come to depend on. Our future
remains in our own hands."
In recent years, sales to customers outside the
U.S. have represented an increasingly larger percentage of
Digital's total sales. In FY87, they represented 47% of total
operating revenues, up from 42% in FY86 and 40% in FY85. Also,
many of our largest customers are international firms, looking for
enterprise-wide networking and computing solutions and making
purchasing decisions on a global basis.
As our international operations become an ever
more important part of the e total business, we have to pay close
attention to the needs of the countries of Europe and GIA so that
we build our company-wide strategies in all functions based on
those needs. We have to become truly international, rather than
just a U.S. company that does business around the world.
An important step in meeting that objective was
the formation of Digital's European Board. Created two years ago,
the Board meets twice a year to review long-range strategies and
plans of the European organization as well as the individual
countries and functions.
Europe is managed by Pier Carlo Falotti — the
chief executive officer for Europe. The Board is advisory to Pier
Carlo and has no legal or operational role. It provides an
opportunity for U.S.-based Board members to influence the
activities, plans and strategies for the countries and functions
in Europe. It also gives our European managers, who attend the
Board meetings, an opportunity to give U.S.-based managers better
appreciation of the needs of overseas operations and insight into
the problems and opportunities of doing business in other
countries. It is one of the mechanisms that we use to make our
entire organization more international.
The European board members are Pier Carlo
Falotti, president of Digital Europe; Bill Hanson, vice president,
Manufacturing Operations; Peter Smith, vice president,
Product/Applications Marketing; Jim Osterhoff, vice presiÂdent,
Finance; Don Busiek, vice president, Software Services,
Educational Services and CSS; John Sims, vice president,
Personnel/Strategic Resources; and Bill (B.J.) Johnson, vice
president, Distributed Systems. Beat Stiefel, European legal
counsel, serves as Secretary and I serve as Chairman.
As Digital grows, country managers experience
significant pressure from their governments for Digital to do more
engineering, manufacturing and purchasing in their countries. We
spend quite a bit of our time in European Board meetings reviewing
Engineering and Manufacturing strategies — such as where our
various facilities should be located. Overall, the Board seems to
have been useful in bringing about better understanding between
European managers and U.S.-based managers. The opportunities for
Digital in internaÂtional markets are enormous, and the European
Board has been one way of stimulating both mutual understanding
and profitable growth.
Digital is changing the way it "looks" — from
stationery to fleet graphics. The new appearance is part of a
global plan to develop a consistent company identity through
standardized design. The new standards are published in a Company
Identity Manual now being distributed.
"Having a consistent company identity — in
appearances of the company's
name, logo, products, literature, etc. — is important for
getting maximum selling impact in a given marketplace," explains
John Sims, vice president, Personnel/Strategic Resources. "It is
particularly important as the company enters new markets where it
is relatively unknown. So the Company Identity Committee, a
subcommittee of the Executive Committee, was chartered to help
operating groups do away with a fragmented Digital image and
replace it with a unified presence in all marketplaces. John
serves as chair of that subcommittee.
"As Digital grows and changes, moves into new
activities, develops new products, the company image and identity
guidelines must be used appropriatÂely, managed judiciously,
followed religiously and modified when necessary," says Peter
Phillips, manager, Corporate Identity and Design Group. "Our
expectation is that through guidelines that are clearly
communicated, supported by top management throughout the company
and adhered to uniformly, we can enhance the image of the company.
This will support similar objectÂives being established in our
advertising and public relations programs."
The new Company Identity Manual covers:
o the proper use of the Digital logo,
o typography, including when to use what
typeface and why,
o the new corporate stationery system,
o promotional literature (a standard which was
developed a few years ago and is already used worldwide),
o packaging and product identity standards,
o signage,
o site newsletters,
o proper usage of Digital and third-party
trademarks, and
o the new process for naming products.
Future updates will include:
o direct mail and telemarketing,
o public relations (press kits, press releases,
press conferences),
o events and exhibits,
o employee magazines, tabloids and brochures,
o books (from Digital Press) and magazines
intended for customers,
o audiovisual (slides and videotape),
o fleet graphics (markings on vehicles),
o technical documentation,
o facilities (for instance, the layout of
lobbies),
o Applications Centers for Technology (ACTs),
which serve as customer demonstration centers, and
o standards regarding internal electronic
publication of reports.
"The contents of the manual have been developed
by work groups all over the world, not by any one person or one
department," emphasizes Peter. "They are the result of
participation by many people who perform related jobs throughout
Digital. Over time, conditions will change, and people will raise
new issues; so we will continually review these standards and
update them. But the appeal process will be closely monitored so
we end up with a good consistent look to all the things we do."
Each section of the manual includes the name of
the person who should be contacted for further information on that
particular topic. The manual also has a list of the individuals
from each geography and country who are the primary contacts for
company identity questions.
The initial distribution list includes people
whose jobs require this information: all people involved in
communications, purchasing managers and facilities managers. In
addition, one is being sent to each Digital library and each sales
office. Other people can request the manual and future updates (at
no charge) or followup education and consultation on how to
implement these standards by contacting: Judy Steul, DTN 251-1490,
(617) 264-1490, DECMAIL @CFO, CFO1-1/M37.
The Corporate Systems Development Process
(CSDP) Group, managed by John Manzo, and High Performance Systems
Software Engineering, for which Fernando Colon Osorio has been the
acting manager, have been merged into a single organization to be
managed by John.
"This change highlights the increasingly
important role of software in a systems engineering group,"
explains Bob Glorioso, vice president, High Performance Systems.
"Software efforts, which had been scattered, have reached the
critical mass where they can and should be consolidated into a
single organization. High Performance Systems Engineering is now
more than just a hardware group developing central processors. I
think this is a portent of things to come."
John reports to Bob and also to Bill Heffner,
vice president, Software Systems. Fernando continues in his
principal role of managing Systems Research and Engineering and
also continues as acting manager of the Clus- ters/Fault Tolerant
Group.
In addition, John continues to run the
Corporate Process Task Force (CPT), which is chartered to look at
process tools and technologies used in EnginÂeering and
Manufacturing across the company.
A major part of the CSDP activity is
development of the DATABUS — software that helps the Engineering
community efficiently transmit design data to Manufacturing, using
the company's computer networking capabilities, rather than paper.
Major releases of DATABUS software are now being used in test mode
around the company. And project management tools developed by the
same group are being used by more than a dozen engineering groups.
"The goals of CSDP and Software Engineering are
different," notes Bob. "The Software Engineering people develop
discrete software products, such as the VAXcluster Console, which
we sell to customers. CSDP develops software tools for use
internally by Digital's Engineering community, although there is
growing interest in marketing some of these tools as Digital
products. But they both use similar methodologies. We want the new
group to provide a focal point for those rapidly evolving software
methodologies, and to provide leadership in that area for the
other software activities in HPS, such as Computer Aided Design
(CAD) and Information Services."
Preparing
To Deal With Societal Problems In A Business Context
by Erline
Belton, manager, Corporate Employee Relations
Just as alcoholism, drug abuse, smoking, AIDS
and other health issues affect society as a whole, they also
affect the well-being and productivity of substantial numbers of
employees and their families. And, the larger a company becomes,
the more it comes to reflect the strengths and weaknesses, the
proclivities and the problems of society as a whole. Societal
issues become business issues that we cannot afford to ignore.
As a recognized business leader, Digital is the
focus for expert opinion not only on issues related to the
computer industry, but also on employee-relatÂed policies and
programs and management philosophies. This attention makes it
important for us to be clear about our corporate responsibilities
and our corporate positions on social issues.
Over the years, Digital has developed policies
that address many of these issues, and has published information
and conducted seminars on topics of general concern. In addition,
staff professionals in Health Services and Employee Assistance
Programs have been available to help individual employÂees cope
with personal and health-related problems. Those continue to be
valuable resources. But, in some cases, we need to deal with
health and societal concerns on a broader basis.
Sometimes, it is not just the employee's
well-being as an individual that is at issue, but, rather, the
well-being of his or her family as a whole. For instance, the
changing composition of the work force — with increasing numbers
of dual-career families -- has made child care an important
employee concern. Many families are also faced with the
responsibility of caring for elderly, chronically ill or disabled
family members. Drugs and alcohol can pose problems both directly,
if an employee becomes dependent on or abuses such substances, and
indirectly through the problems of family members or lost
productivity on the job.
How we understand and deal with these issues
affects our ability to attract and retain a high-quality work
force. What employees need and want today is different from what
it was ten years ago. We have to adjust so we can continue to be
successful.
Meanwhile, advances in medical knowledge and
recent court decisions have led to a review of the hazards of
passive smoke to non-smokers. In other cases, such as AIDS,
misinformation about medical facts can lead to volatile emotional
situations and unnecessary anxiety both at work and at home.
Sometimes, to properly deal with social and
health issues in a business context, we must anticipate
difficulties and educate large numbers of managers and employees
so they are prepared to answer questions and cope with situations
that sooner or later will probably arise. For instance, in the
case of AIDS, Digital in the U.S. is undertaking an education
effort, using internal and external resources, and has established
an AIDS Program Office as part of Corporate Employee Relations.
For all society-driven issues, we must ensure
that our policies and programs reflect our corporate philosophies
and values as well as legal consideraÂtions and business
realities. And we must also remember that Digital, as a leader, by
"doing the right thing," can have a positive influence on other
companies and on society as a whole.
[This edition of MGMT MEMO includes two
articles on AIDS.]
Since Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS) was first recognized in 1981, the number of cases in the
U.S. has doubled every 12-18 months. At that rate, by 1991 some
300,000 people will have contracted AIDS, resulting in
approximately 180,000 deaths. These statistics indicate that in
the near future most people in the U.S. will know someone with
AIDS -- a co-worker, friend or family member of a co-worker will
either have the disease or be suspected of having it.
Misunderstanding of the way AIDS is transmitted
can promote fear of people who have AIDS, although such people
actually pose no medical threat to their co-workers and neighbors
and are in great need of compassion and support.
AIDS is caused by the HIV virus (Human
Immunodeficiency Virus), which attacks the body's immune system.
As a result, the body is susceptible to infections by a variety of
bacteria and viruses usually harmless to healthy individuals.
Infection with the HIV virus is known to occur in three ways:
o sexual contact with an infected person,
through semen or vaginal secreÂtions ;
o direct transmission from human blood to human
blood, usually from needle sharing by intravenous drug users or by
transfusion or injection of AIDS-infected blood products;
o direct transmission from mother to fetus
across the placenta, during pregnancy or to the newborn during
delivery.
This means that AIDS is not restricted to any
"high risk" group. It is spread through heterosexual as well as
homosexual intercourse. Women and men, infants and grandparents,
people of all races and religious beliefs and from all walks of
life now have the virus. Despite that fact, fortunately, AIDS is
very hard to contract.
Current medical evidence indicates that AIDS is
not transmitted by tears, saliva, mosquito bites, or casual
contact. Even in situations where family members are in close
contact with persons with AIDS, there is no evidence of
transmission in any other way than those mentioned above. Because
of the limited ways the virus is transmitted, employees with AIDS
do not present a hazard to fellow employees, and their illness is
handled by the company like other serious diseases, such as cancer
or heart disease.
The illness itself varies in degree. At one end
of the spectrum are indiviÂduals with the severe, usually fatal
form of AIDS. At the other extreme are "carriers," individuals who
have the virus in their bodies, show no evidence of illness but
can transmit the virus to others, in the ways indicated above.
Intermediate forms of the disease have been called ARC (AIDS
Related Complex). Many carriers and people with ARC eventually
develop the most severe forms of AIDS.
No cure is available, nor is one expected to be
found in the immediate future. Development of a safe, effective
vaccine is likely to take several years. But one drug,
azothymidine (also called AZT) has been found to prolong life
expectancy and improve the quality of life in persons with AIDS.
Thanks to AZT and other medical research efforts now under way,
increasingly more people with the HIV virus will be able to
continue to lead productive lives for increasingly longer periods
of time.
Continuing a normal work life among supportive
and compassionate friends and colleagues can help people with the
virus live longer and stay healthier and happier. On the other
hand, the fear and anger aroused by misinformation regarding AIDS
can lead to much anguish for those who have the disease and those
who know and care for them, and can also cause severe and
unnecessary disruption in the work place. So the potential cost of
misinformation about AIDS to Digital, and other companies, is high
in terms of productivity loss, emotional problems and the legal
consequences of discriminatory behavior. For those reasons there
is a great need for education about how AIDS is transmitted and
how people with this condition should be treated in the work
place.
Managers must be aware of the extreme
sensitivity of the AIDS issue in the work place and react
appropriately.
AIDS
education
Digital has developed a strategy and education
plan to help managers and employees become informed and better
able to deal with the possible impact of the AIDS epidemic. This
strategy has been refined for the U.S., where an AIDS Program
Office has been established by Corporate Employee Relations.
International implementation will be decided by the appropriate
managers.
The goals of AIDS education are to help people
manage fear and to encourage behavior which will prevent spread of
the disease. In September, 25 senior Personnel people were trained
to be members of AIDS Education Teams (AETs). These teams are
prepared to assist sites in dealing with work-place problems
related to AIDS or employee fears about the disease, as well as
serve as leaders to assist in development of education for
"front-line" Personnel, line managers, EAP and occupational health
professionals. There have also been presentations to various
management teams since the summer. These will continue; and, next,
a customized education process will be delivered to sites and
organizations.
In addition, a manager's handbook, containing
medical facts, guidelines and internal and external resources is
being developed. The AIDS Program Office is coordinating these
activities.
For further medical information on AIDS,
contact Dr. Richard Porter (DTN 251-1314) or your site medical
office. For further information on the AIDS education and
communication strategy, contact Laurie Margolies (DTN 251- 1370) .
Digital expects employees to treat one another
with compassion and to manage the work place in keeping with
medical facts and the company’s policy and philosophy. It is
Digital’s philosophy to recognize that employees with serious
illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and AIDS may wish to
contiÂnue as many of their normal activities as their condition
allows, including work.
In particular, managers do not need to know the
nature of a disabling condition and, in fact, should not know it.
Such information is private, and its disclosure could lead to
significant liability for Digital.
As long as these employees are able to meet
acceptable performance standards and medical evidence indicates
that their conditions do not pose problems to them or others in
doing their jobs, we want to be sure they are treated consistently
with other employees and that their rights to confidentiality are
observed.
In the U.S., the most pertinent piece of
federal employment legislation which is broadly applicable to AIDS
and to Digital is the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It prohibits
employment practices which are based on an employee’s handicap,
record of handicap or perceived handicap unless the employee
cannot perform the requirements of his or her job. A number of
state laws have been modeled on this Act, and have been
interpreted to cover AIDS as a handicap, e.g. Massachusetts, New
York, Illinois, California and Michigan.
In many major cities there are specific
ordinances against discriminatory practices based on AIDS, e.g.
New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Boston. Some prohibit
discrimination on the basis of AIDS and some prohibit testing for
the AIDS antibody as a condition of employment. The ordinances
differ significantly.
The following AIDS-related guidelines,
developed for Digital in the U.S., are in accord with our basic
values as well as with legal requirements. Other countries are
responsible for developing similar approaches, in accord with the
local culture and laws:
Continuing to work and returning to the work
place: An employee with AIDS can continue to work in the company
if both the attending physician and Digital's Health Services
agree that the individual can perform his or her job. The rules on
return to work are applicable as outlined in Digital's Personnel
Policy 6.17. Thus an employee returning to work from a disability
of less than six months is entitled to his or her current job.
Those returning from a disability of more than six months are to
be given a comparable position. If the employee is unwilling to
accept the comparable position, the employee is subject to company
release.
Testing for AIDS antibodies: Digital does not
request or use the results of AIDS blood tests as conditions for
hiring or continued employment. In fact, such use is illegal in
Massachusetts and some other states. In addition, Digital will not
make such testing a prerequisite for medical, disability or life
insurance coverage. The company will not ask for the results of
any prior testing of the employee or prospective employee. The
only exception would be Digital nurses and/or physicians who may
require this information to determine medical qualifications for
job placement. Such information would be privileged and not shared
with management.
Employee privacy and medical Tecords: Only
Health Services staff are entitled to know the contents of an
employee's medical records (as outlined in the Employee Privacy
Policy, U.S. Policies and Procedures Manual, Policy 6.18).
Information concerning AIDS or ARC is considered private, and any
Digital employee who has access to such information, regardless of
source, should exercise extreme caution in using and disseminating
it. Questions regarding anyone's right of access to information in
an employee's medical record shall be resolved by Corporate Health
Services and the Law DepartÂment .
AIDS and hiring: A prospective employee who
indicates he or she has AIDS, ARC or a positive test for the
virus, will not be prohibited from employment at Digital if
otherwise medically qualified to perform the job.
Customer sites: Employees who are concerned
about contact with AIDS at a customer site (for example, a
laboratory where blood products are utilized) should talk with
their managers. If required, a site evaluation will be done by
Digital management in consultation with qualified health,
industrial hygiene and safety specialists.
Benefits for employees with AIDS: Any employee
suffering from AIDS or ARC is entitled to medical, disability and
life insurance coverage on the same basis as an employee suffering
from any other disease. There are no excluÂsions for pre-existing
conditions in Digital's medical, disability and life insurance
policies. Employees who choose medical protection from a Health
Maintenance Organization (HMO), rather than the John Hancock
Medical plan, are advised to contact their HMO to learn about any
coverage limitations that may apply to them (e.g., service area or
doctors).
Medical Case Management: John Hancock offers
this confidential program to assist employees and their families
in exploring benefit coverage for special treatment options. If
this program is appropriate for an AIDS or ARC patient, a
consultant from John Hancock will be assigned to help a patient
deal effectively with health care organizations and community
programs by acting as a liaison between all parties, providing
ongoing information on care alternatives for all concerned, and
helping to ease the transition between out-patient, chronic and
acute care.
The Simpson-Rodino Immigration Reform and
Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) is altering Digital's procedures in
selecting and hiring employees in the U.S.
The statute is intended to eliminate the
employment of illegal and unauthorÂized aliens in the U.S. and, at
the same time, prevent employment discriminÂation on the basis of
national origin against citizens and certain authorizÂed aliens.
As an unexpected side effect of this legislation, Digital and
other international employers are experiencing new problems when
applying for visas for foreign employees seeking jobs in the U.S.
Although IRCA has not imposed new immigration
laws specifically addressing the visa application process, it has
refocused the attention of the ImmigraÂtion and Naturalization
Service (INS) on employers who are applying for temporary visas
for their overseas employees seeking temporary employment in the
U.S. INS is now applying stricter interpretation of the
immigration law. A process that was only a formality has become
serious, difficult and complex. Applications that would have been
processed smoothly last year are now being returned and delayed
for further information.
As a result, managers need to have a better
understanding of the responsibiÂlities they must meet to obtain
the visas necessary to offer non-U.S. employees jobs in the U.S.
They must identify the needed job skills for the positions and be
able to explain why these skills are unique to the candidÂate and
not available locally in the U.S. With management involvement and
understanding at the outset of the visa application process,
untimely delays and disappointments can be avoided.
International Relocation has all the pertinent
data regarding immigration laws and the implications of these laws
as they impact Digital's ability to relocate foreign employees to
the U.S. Any manager contemplating the relocation of a Digital
employee to the U.S. should contact Immigration Specialist Jeanne
Maloney of International Relocation, CFO2-3/A98, 150 Coulter
Drive, Concord, Mass. 01742 or call DTN 251-1483 or (617)
264-1483.
Mike Eaton has been appointed Corporate
Purchasing manager for ManufacturÂing, reporting to Kevin Melia,
vice president, Manufacturing Materials and Corporate
Distribution. Mike joined Digital in 1966 in Carleton Place,
CanÂada, and has held responsibilities in Inventory, Purchasing,
and ManufacturÂing. For the past six years, he served as the plant
manager for Augusta, Maine.
Don Gaubatz has been appointed the new Micro
Systems Development(MSD) group manager, reporting to Dorn LaCava,
group manager, Low End Systems. He has been a manager in the
Corporate Research Group as well as a group manager for MSD
Advanced Development. Don recently returned from a two-year Ph.D.
program at Cambridge University in England, and is now finishing
his thesis research in the application of logic programming to the
verification of hardware and systems. Since his return to Maynard,
he has served on the Research and Advanced Development Committee
and on the Graduate Engineering Education Program Ph.D. Advisory
Board, as well as working within MSD.
Albert Johns has been appointed group manager,
Video Products Engineering, reporting to Larry Cabrinety, group
manager, Terminals Business Unit. Al is now responsible for
managing video products and video subsystem strategies in support
of Digital's interconnect and systems product plans. He joined
Digital in 1966, and for the last several years has been manager
of Product Support Engineering for the Terminals Business Unit.
Rich Witek has been named Senior Consulting
Engineer, reporting to Dan Dobberpuhl, manager, Microprocessor
Advanced Development in the SemiconducÂtor Engineering Group
(SEG). In this position, Rich will continue to be responsible for
high performance processor architectures in SEG, and will consult
on hardware and software issues throughout the corporation. Rich
joined Digital in 1977 with the DECnet/E Development group. Most
recently, he was the chief architect for high performance
microprocessor development projects in SEG. Before that, he played
a major role in the design of the MicroVAX II CPU chip. He also
was involved in software development for VLSI/CAD, kernel software
for the OFIS System, and implementation of DECnet VI.0, VI.1, and
V2.0.