How the cubicle was born
Few office furnishings define the modern workplace more than the cubicle. But it may surprise you to know that Robert Propst, who has the rather dubious distinction of being the "father of the cubicle," came to view his creation as a "monolithic insanity," according to Fortune magazine.
A new article, which ran under the headline "Cubicles: The great mistake," calls the ubiquitous structure "the Fidel Castro of office furniture" and said its eventual use bore little resemblance to the original intent of its inventor. Not surprisingly, many in the blogosphere agree--probably having posted their opinions from their own utilitarian workstations.
Blog community response:
"I've lived in more than a few cubicle farms, and I have to say that the fact that one person--one man--designed it is surprising. Surprising because I would have expected it to have been a committee sort of thing. The fact that it's not being used as it was originally designed? Well, that's not very surprising at all."
--a life less interesting
"Talk about an invention gone amok. This can rank up there with the Chinese Snake Head fish that is destroying the ecosystem in the local rivers in the U.S. gobbling up everything in its sight. Dilbert on, baby."
--Blog of Joong
"Nobody likes cubicles. That's fine. But simply changing your organization to have beautiful offices with doors that look out over panoramic vistas will not let you create wonderful products if you keep the same people. Look around you. Would you rather have a door to keep the bozos out, or would you rather get rid of the bozos?"
--Less is better
