• 50 Shades of Why: Random House gives its employees a 5-grand bonus for Christmas
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[quote=Leslie Kaufman]Random House had its corporate Christmas party on Wednesday night in New York, and word is that Santa likes bondage. A lot. Markus Dohle, the chief executive of Random House, promised employees — from top editors to warehouse workers — a $5,000 bonus to celebrate a profitable year. The cheering went on for minutes, according to people in attendance. Call it 5,000 shades of green. This year, Random House had the good fortune to publish E. L. James’s “Fifty Shades of Grey,” about an inexperienced college student who falls in love with an older man with a taste for trying her up and whipping her, among other delights. The book has topped the New York Times paperback best-seller list for 37 weeks and counting. The sequels “Fifty Shades Darker” and “Fifty Shades Freed” have been in the top five for a similar amount of time. The e-books have been best sellers even longer. Also, Random House has had other big best sellers including “Gone Girl,” a mystery by Gillian Flynn that has sold over one million copies; “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed; and John Grisham’s latest, “The Racketeer.” The bonuses will be issued in the next paycheck. To be eligible for the complete bonus, employees must have worked a full year at the company; everyone else will receive a prorated gift. Stuart Applebaum, a spokesman for Random House, a division of the German conglomerate Bertelsmann, confirmed that several thousand American employees would be covered. The first book in the “Grey” series was originally published by a small house in Australia. But it was acquired by Vintage, a Random House division, at the beginning of the year and has been a publishing phenomenon almost ever since. According to Random House, the book has sold more than 35 million copies in the United States.[/quote] [url=http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/at-random-house-employees-will-enjoy-5000-shades-of-green/?smid=tw-share]Source[/url] ... Jesus wept.
The fact that everyone was eligible was the coolest part
This is how holiday bonuses should work for corporations. Give all the employees a good bonus, not just the executives who barely do any work and basically just say, "Yeah do that"
[QUOTE=LordCrypto;38791041]The fact that everyone was eligible was the coolest part[/QUOTE]Not entirely, they had to have worked there for a year, but that's fair enough imo.
[QUOTE=Sgt Doom;38791094]Not entirely, they had to have worked there for a year, but that's fair enough imo.[/QUOTE] If you hadn't worked a year, you got a prorated so if you started in june, you would have gotten like 2500
As much as I dislike 50 shades, the publisher is fucking awesome for doing this.
[QUOTE=Paul McCartney;38791060]This is how holiday bonuses should work for corporations. Give all the employees a good bonus, not just the executives who barely do any work and basically just say, "Yeah do that"[/QUOTE] Everyone in my dad's company gets about 25k every year as a bonus, probably the only reason we can afford to send me and my brother to college.
On one hand, a $5k Xmas bonus for everyone in that company is amazing. But on the other hand, the money is kind of dirty when you think about the source; the money came from revenue generated by a story about some college girl getting involved in BDSM with a sugar daddy called grey, which in turn was originally derived from an abhorrent book series based around vampires and romance, which to this day is a worse love story than a LOT of other things. The bonuses are tainted by the mark of a bad book that doesn't deserve to have so many copies sold; the only way they could make it worse would be if it was 50 Shades of Clopping. On one hand good on the company for giving out such hefty bonuses, especially in such a frigid economic climate, but on the other hand this revenue should not exist for so many reasons.
[quote]trying her up[/quote] that doesn't sound nearly as kinky
[QUOTE=ironman17;38791183]On one hand, a $5k Xmas bonus for everyone in that company is amazing. But on the other hand, the money is kind of dirty when you think about the source; the money came from revenue generated by a story about some college girl getting involved in BDSM with a sugar daddy called grey, which in turn was originally derived from an abhorrent book series based around vampires and romance, which to this day is a worse love story than a LOT of other things. The bonuses are tainted by the mark of a bad book that doesn't deserve to have so many copies sold; the only way they could make it worse would be if it was 50 Shades of Clopping. On one hand good on the company for giving out such hefty bonuses, especially in such a frigid economic climate, but on the other hand this revenue should not exist for so many reasons.[/QUOTE] 'tainted bonuses' this isn't fucking drug money; it's just the result of them finding a new and extremely profitable niche that was previously not in the mainstream which just happens to be erotica people want to read the book, and while it's probably as much a bandwagon effect as people wanting to get off it's not hurting anyone involved (except possibly the woman in the book getting whipped) my only qualm is now it's so mainstream people read it in cafes and such which I find a little in bad taste since it's basically porn
[QUOTE=ironman17;38791183]On one hand, a $5k Xmas bonus for everyone in that company is amazing. But on the other hand, [B]the money is kind of dirty when you think about the source[/B]; the money came from revenue generated by a story about some college girl getting involved in BDSM with a sugar daddy called grey, which in turn was originally derived from an abhorrent book series based around vampires and romance, which to this day is a worse love story than a LOT of other things. [B]The bonuses are tainted[/B] by[I] the mark of a bad book that doesn't deserve to have so many copies sold[/I]; the only way they could make it worse would be if it was 50 Shades of Clopping. On one hand good on the company for giving out such hefty bonuses, especially in such a frigid economic climate, but on the other hand this revenue should not exist for so many reasons.[/QUOTE] Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh. Dirty/tainted money is usually related to illegal gains. Their gains weren't illegal by any stretch of the imagination. (At the italic) Just because you aren't the target audience/don't like something doesn't make it that "it shouldn't have sold so much." just because you dislike it......
It's tainted money a mom got hot to that book using that money eww mom's are not allowed to have these thoughts
Its not that uncommon. My mom gets a Christmas bonus most years from John Deere. Tbh I don't know if they give the same bonuses to factory workers, but she's only in IT it's not like shes an executive of anything. [editline]11th December 2012[/editline] She never tells me how much her bonus is, but it's definitely a couple grand.
[QUOTE=ironman17;38791183]On one hand, a $5k Xmas bonus for everyone in that company is amazing. But on the other hand, the money is kind of dirty when you think about the source; the money came from revenue generated by a story about some college girl getting involved in BDSM with a sugar daddy called grey, which in turn was originally derived from an abhorrent book series based around vampires and romance, which to this day is a worse love story than a LOT of other things. The bonuses are tainted by the mark of a bad book that doesn't deserve to have so many copies sold; the only way they could make it worse would be if it was 50 Shades of Clopping. On one hand good on the company for giving out such hefty bonuses, especially in such a frigid economic climate, but on the other hand this revenue should not exist for so many reasons.[/QUOTE] you are full of shit. The book sold well because people [b]BOUGHT[/b] it. Its not like they stole the money from people and happened to leave them with a book.
I've been with the same company for over 3 years now. My first two years at the company I was given a bonus and a raise each year. This year there have been no raises, no bonuses, and the board refuses to answer our requests as to whether or not we're receiving anything. I don't mind that I'm not getting a bonus, but I'd at least like to hear for sure if we're getting one or not. Props to Random House for actually handing out excellent bonuses and making it equal across the board.
My store sold a good 6000 copies of [i]50 shades of Grey[/i] over the past few months, we buy them at $10 a piece and they're certainly not made with the highest manufacturing standards. They must be making an incredible profit margin.
[QUOTE=ironman17;38791183]On one hand, a $5k Xmas bonus for everyone in that company is amazing. But on the other hand, the money is kind of dirty when you think about the source; the money came from revenue generated by a story about some college girl getting involved in BDSM with a sugar daddy called grey, which in turn was originally derived from an abhorrent book series based around vampires and romance, which to this day is a worse love story than a LOT of other things. The bonuses are tainted by the mark of a bad book that doesn't deserve to have so many copies sold; the only way they could make it worse would be if it was 50 Shades of Clopping. On one hand good on the company for giving out such hefty bonuses, especially in such a frigid economic climate, but on the other hand this revenue should not exist for so many reasons.[/QUOTE] uuughh they made money selling a product I don't personally enjoy, they should refuse it!
[QUOTE]The cheering went on for minutes, according to people in attendance.[/QUOTE] :v:
[QUOTE=ironman17;38791183]On one hand, a $5k Xmas bonus for everyone in that company is amazing. But on the other hand, the money is kind of dirty when you think about the source; the money came from revenue generated by a story about some college girl getting involved in BDSM with a sugar daddy called grey, which in turn was originally derived from an abhorrent book series based around vampires and romance, which to this day is a worse love story than a LOT of other things. [/QUOTE] random house is a fucking gigantic book company. 50 shades of gray isn't the only book they've ever put out
[QUOTE=Paul McCartney;38791060]This is how holiday bonuses should work for corporations. Give all the employees a good bonus, not just the executives who barely do any work and basically just say, "Yeah do that"[/QUOTE] "yeah bourgoisie pigs gettin the poor man down! those fat cats don't do nothing!!" Shut up. Talented executives AND skilled workers are both needed for a successful company, not one of the other.
[QUOTE=Wealth + Taste;38795383] Shut up. Talented executives AND skilled workers are both needed for a successful company, not one of the other.[/QUOTE] ok??? he wasn't saying otherwise at all
[QUOTE=thisispain;38795418]ok??? he wasn't saying otherwise at all[/QUOTE] [quote] not just the executives who barely do any work and basically just say, "Yeah do that"[/quote]
[QUOTE=thisispain;38795296]50 shades of gray isn't the only book they've ever put out[/QUOTE] [quote]50 shades of gray[/quote] [quote]put out[/quote] i laughed harder than i should have
[QUOTE=lavacano;38796049]i laughed harder than i should have[/QUOTE] you should read 50 shades of gray: "He takes a deep breath and swallows. 'I'm a sadist, Ana. I like to whip little brown-haired girls like you because you all look like the crack whore -- my birth mother.'" A few paragraphs later: "I'm talking about the heavy shit, Anastasia. You should see what I can do with a cane or a cat."
[QUOTE=thisispain;38796245]you should read 50 shades of gray: "He takes a deep breath and swallows. 'I'm a sadist, Ana. I like to whip little brown-haired girls like you because you all look like the crack whore -- my birth mother.'" A few paragraphs later: "I'm talking about the heavy shit, Anastasia. You should see what I can do with a cane or a cat."[/QUOTE] I'm waiting for the [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K1RcKJVbHA]Gilbert Gottfried audiobook[/url] myself.
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