Jobsworth
A jobsworth is a person who uses the (typically small) authority of their job in a deliberately uncooperative way, or who seemingly delights in acting in an obstructive or unhelpful manner. It characterises one who upholds petty rules even at the expense of effectiveness or efficiency. Related concepts include malicious compliance, passive-aggressive behaviour, and micromanagement, which can impair progress through excessive focus on details and obsessive control over those one has authority over. Origin "Jobsworth" is a British colloquialism derived from the notion that something being asked of one in a work environment is too great to risk their job over, as in, "I can't do that; it's more than my job's worth." The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines it as "A person in authority (esp. a minor official) who insists on adhering to rules and regulations or bureaucratic procedures even at the expense of common sense."2nd Edition, Oxford University Press Jonathon Green similar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Paarse Krokodil
Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The earliest remains of Persepolis date back to 515 BC. The city, acting as a major center for the empire, housed a palace complex and citadel designed to serve as the focal point for governance and ceremonial activities. It exemplifies the Achaemenid architecture, Achaemenid style of architecture. The complex was taken by the army of Alexander the Great in 330 BC, and soon after, its wooden parts were completely destroyed by fire, likely deliberately. The function of Persepolis remains unclear. It was not one of the largest cities in ancient Iran, let alone the rest of the empire, but appears to have been a grand ceremonial complex that was only occupied seasonally; the complex was raised high on a walled plat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Roy Kinnear
Roy Mitchell Kinnear (8 January 1934 – 20 September 1988) was an English character actor and comedian. He was known for his acting roles in movies such as Henry Salt in the 1971 film ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'', Algernon in The Beatles' ''Help! (film), Help!'' (1965), Clapper in ''How I Won the War'' (1967) and Planchet in ''The Three Musketeers (1973 live-action film), The Three Musketeers'' (1973). He reprised the role of Planchet in the 1974 and 1989 sequels, and died following an accident during filming of the latter. He also played Private Monty Bartlett in ''The Hill (1965 film), The Hill'' (1965), and cruise director Curtain in ''Juggernaut (1974 film), Juggernaut'' (1974). On television, Kinnear was in ''Dick Emery, The Dick Emery Show'' (1979–1981), ''Man About the House'' (1974–1975), ''George and Mildred'' (1976–1979), and ''Cowboys (TV series), Cowboys'' (1980–1981). Early life Kinnear was born on 8 January 1934 in Wigan, Lancashire, the son of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Quiet Quitting
Work-to-rule, also known as an Italian strike or a slowdown in United States usage, called in Italian a ''sciopero bianco'' meaning "white strike", is a job action in which employees do no more than the minimum required by the rules of their contract or job, and strictly follow time-consuming rules normally not enforced. It is a passive-aggressive form of labor opposition. This may cause a slowdown or decrease in productivity if the employer does not hire enough employees or pay the appropriate salary and consequently does not have the requirements needed to run normally. It is a form of protest against low pay and poor working conditions, and is considered less disruptive than a strike; obeying the rules is not susceptible to disciplinary action or loss of pay. It can also highlight rules that are technically in place but impractical and thus hamper the organization, if they were to be followed as written. In practice, there may be ambiguous conditions – for example, a contr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Malicious Compliance
Malicious compliance (also known as malicious obedience) is the behavior of strictly following the orders of a superior despite knowing that compliance with the orders will have an unintended or negative result. It usually implies following an order in such a way that ignores or otherwise undermines the order's intent, but follows it to the letter. It can also describe a willful act of regulatory interference, for example when a corporation releases a compliant but inferior version of a product in response to new legislation. A form of passive-aggressive behavior,"What is malicious compliance?" John Staughton, ''ScienceABC'', scienceabc.com, January 22, 2022 it is often associated with poor management-labor relationships, [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Computer Says No
"Computer says no" is a catchphrase widely believed to have been first used in the British sketch comedy television programme '' Little Britain'' in 2004. There are previous instances, most notably in the American TV series ''Hill Street Blues'' in 1981. In British culture, the phrase is used to criticise public-facing organisations and customer service staff who rely on information stored on or generated by a computer to make decisions and respond to customers' requests, often in a manner which goes against common sense. It may also refer to a deliberately unhelpful attitude towards customers and service-users commonly experienced within British society, whereby more could be done to reach a mutually satisfactory outcome, but is not. ''Little Britain'' In ''Little Britain'', "Computer says no" is the catchphrase of Carol Beer (played by David Walliams), a bank worker and later holiday rep and hospital receptionist, who always responds to a customer's enquiry by typing it into ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Apparatchik
__NOTOC__ An '' apparatchik'' () was a full-time, professional functionary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union or the government of the Soviet Union, Soviet government ''apparat'' (Wiktionary:аппарат#Russian, аппарат, apparatus), someone who held any position of bureaucracy, bureaucratic or political responsibility, with the exception of the higher ranks of management called nomenklatura. James H. Billington, James Billington describes an ''apparatchik'' as "a man not of grand plans, but of a hundred carefully executed details." The term is often considered derogatory, with negative connotations in terms of the quality, competence, and attitude of a person thus described. Members of the apparat (''apparatchiks'' or ''apparatchiki'') were frequently transferred between different areas of responsibility, usually with little or no actual training for their new areas of responsibility. Thus, the term apparatchik, or "agent of the apparatus" was usually the best ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming Chancellor of Germany#Nazi Germany (1933–1945), the chancellor in 1933 and then taking the title of in 1934. His invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 marked the start of the Second World War. He was closely involved in military operations throughout the war and was central to the perpetration of the Holocaust: the genocide of Holocaust victims, about six million Jews and millions of other victims. Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn in Austria-Hungary and moved to German Empire, Germany in 1913. He was decorated during his service in the German Army in the First World War, receiving the Iron Cross. In 1919 he joined the German Workers' Party (DAP), the precursor of the Nazi Party, and in 1921 was app ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Consumerism
Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the purchase and the consumption of products have evolved beyond the mere satisfaction of basic human needs, Stearns, Peter (2006). ''Consumerism in World History''. 2nd ed. Routledge. p. vii–viii. transforming into an activity that is not only economic but also cultural, social, and even identity-forming. It emerged in Western Europe and the United States during the Industrial Revolution and became widespread around the 20th century. In economics, consumerism refers to policies that emphasize consumption. It is the consideration that the free choice of consumers should strongly inform the choice by manufacturers of what is produced and how, and therefore influence the economic organization of a society. Consumerism has been criticized b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Human Interest
In journalism, a human-interest story is a feature story that discusses people or pets in an emotional way. It presents people and their problems, concerns, or achievements in a way that brings about interest, sympathy or motivation in the reader or viewer. Human-interest stories are a type of soft news.Hughes, Helen. (Ed.). (1980). News and the Human Interest Story. New York: Routledge. Human-interest stories may be "the story behind the story" about an event, organization, or otherwise faceless historical happening, such as about the life of an individual soldier during wartime, an interview with a survivor of a natural disaster, a random act of kindness, or profile of someone known for a career achievement. A study published in the ''American Behavioral Scientist'' illustrates that human-interest stories are furthermore often used in the news coverage of irregular immigration, although the frequency differs from country to country. Human-interest features are frequently ever ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Esther Rantzen
Dame Esther Louise Rantzen (born 22 June 1940) is an English journalist and television presenter who presented the BBC television series ''That's Life!'' for 21 years, from 1973 until 1994. She works with various charitable causes and founded the charities Childline, a helpline for children, which she set up in 1986, and The Silver Line, designed to combat loneliness in older people's lives, which she set up in November 2012. Rantzen has been recognised for her contribution to television and society. She was awarded an OBE for services to broadcasting in 1991 and a CBE for services to children in 2006, and in the 2015 New Year Honours was made a Dame for services to children and older people through Childline and The Silver Line. She is patron for a number of charities, including the charity Operation Encompass, and is a trustee for the charity Silver Stories. Early life and family Rantzen was born in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England, to Katherine Flora Rantzen (''née' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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That's Life!
''That's Life!'' was a satirical consumer affairs programme on the BBC, at its height regularly reaching audiences of fifteen to twenty million, and receiving between 10,000 and 15,000 letters a week. The series was broadcast on BBC1 for 21 years, from 26 May 1973 until 19 June 1994. Format ''That's Life!'' was a magazine programme that blended light-hearted observations on everyday life, reports on consumer affairs (often blended with satire), and hard-hitting investigations in a studio-based format, with film inserts. Devised by Peter Chafer, John Lloyd and Esther Rantzen, it was presented and produced by Esther Rantzen with various teams of reporters and contributors. Special spin-off programmes concentrated on serious topics that were first aired on ''That's Life!'', such as childbirth, mental health and child abuse. The programme's journalism relied on the skills of researchers many of whom went on to hold senior jobs both inside and outside the media industry. The large ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, entertainment, news, and sports. The medium is capable of more than "radio broadcasting", which refers to an audio signal sent to radio receivers. Television became available in crude experimental forms in the 1920s, but only after several years of further development was the new technology marketed to consumers. After World War II, an improved form of black-and-white television broadcasting became popular in the United Kingdom and the United States, and television sets became commonplace in homes, businesses, and institutions. During the 1950s, television was the primary medium for influencing public opinion.Diggs-Brown, Barbara (2011''Strategic Public Relations: Audience Focused Practice''p. 48 In the mid-1960s, color broadcasting was ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |