Corporate Gift Idea

Maybe a well done rendition of light passing through a prism? Done in a sculptural way that captures the essence of light and its analysis/measurement. I don't know what off-the-shelf possibilities might be available.

Give everyone a copy of Pink Floyds Dark Side?

Storm Thorgerson prints are nice, but costly (£595). Lots of other interesting ones, too.

How about a solar phone charger thingy....

http://www.ignitionmarketing.co.za/shop/corporate-gifts/corporate-gifts-xd-design-nab-solar-charger/

I have a bunch of these smallest solar powered cars I give away to kids....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/221138276259?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true

Solar powered keychains

You can always go with T-shirts....

Maybe laser cut crystal for management...

It's not a paperweight... It's art!

.. I like your idea .. There are great lumps of glass art available available

I think it's always a mistake to choose art for somebody else, it's so subjective in nature...What one person may find charming, another may find hideous....

"What one person may find charming, another may find hideous...."

That is the crux of the problem, trying to please everybody. There have been some suggestions here that I would like but I can imagine others consigning to the nearest rubbish bin.

How about a commemorative coin, everybody likes money....?

Nice idea, I've had a search for 1991 UK coins but not found anything interesting so far.

Well you could go another way, how about the charge of the Light Brigade...?

http://www.westernsydneystampsandcoins.com.au/products/The-Battle-of-Balaklava-1854-1oz-Silver-Proof-Coin-.html

I'm not sure that's an event we're particularly proud of.

Nothing says thank you like money.

I've gotten wall plaques, gold pend sets, brief cases, golf clubs, watches and other trinkets over the years.

I've also gotten monetary awards for technical accomplishments, speeches and presentations.

Money says it better.

Money is appreciated... The trinkets and the like are collecting dust.

The company where I currently am at, give me a choice for a 5 year anniversary gift.. Golf club cover, briefcase, and a number of desk ornaments such as clocks pencil holders... I normally may have went with the golf club cover or the brief case... But instead I went without Wentworth vase.

just because it was something I normally don't do. So, I kept every thing including the box it came in and it's collecting dust somewhere in storage...... Maybe in a hundred year, it'll be on 'Antiques Roadshow'

I actually used the leather briefcase for years.

That was my first choice, but I have 2, with one I never used yet. I think that's what prompted me to get the vase...

I check Amazon for the price of the brief case. 119.00 and the vase was 127.00... The vase was pewter... When I received it... Art is in the eye of the beholder I guess.... But now I can say, I own a Wentworth.... What ever that means...

E-bay.

A choice of gift might be a good idea.

Worst Christmas gift I ever got was a $100 bill followed by a $110 deduction on my next check for the 'Cash advance'.

Worst outright crook I ever worked for.

Wow, never knew you worked for Trump.

(Considering all we've been hearing from stiffed vendors, this would be perfectly in line with his personality.)

Oh now, here we go....
That paint brush you are using is about a mile wide.

You mean to tell me you never had a contractor you wanted to put the screws to?

Once, I thought I was wrong, but I was mistaken.

My payroll advice slip did not show any overtime hours, and I got all hot and bothered until I realized I had taken 8 hours holiday time the week in question, and not only that, there were no OT hours marked in the fields for that on my time sheet. So, who's problem was it?

By the way, I used to be considered a professional and ineligible for overtime, then somehow they figured out I was not really supervising anyone, and I lost about 140 hours worth of comp time (that I was never going to see anyway). But now, at least, I am OT eligible.

Well screw the sentiments. Id say 50k per head should suffice

Place that I dealt with did the following.

• Sourced some vintage wines from the year of foundation. (Fortified, reds and some spirit to suit staff "Taste") Select one when leaving the celebration.
• Commissioned some metal clad coasters (Actually FR4 circuit board) that was decorated with company logo, "25 years" and some other details.
• Provided each person with "new" business cards, personalised with recognition of the 25 years.
• Invited each staff member to invite a couple of representatives from their favourite supplier/customer/delivery company, .... to the celebration. (These also got coasters, presented by their staff sponsor.)
• Individually said "THANK YOU" by taking each to lunch or dinner. Not as a group, but individually and socially recognising the efforts of that person. Took a few weeks with around 45 staff.

Note that the remnant bottles and coasters were used as gifts for other visitors and contacts through the following year.

How about a Crookes Radiometer? I'm sure someone must be able to customize these.

Something simple (plaque etc.) to commemorate the occasion, and $$$ to reward the employees!

Yes, I've been thinking of a plaque, but still the problem of how to please everyone. Not sure how they would feel about giving cash, or perhaps a gift certificate of some sort.

I worked at a company, that was growing phenomenally. In the earlier years, They gave their workers with 5 years or more at the company a trip to Florida.

How about a donation to the charity of their choice? The company shows their appreciation, the employees get to feel recognition for their work - along with giving to something they support.

That's a good idea for more than one reason.

1. as you said, the employee gets to make the decision about how the money is spent.

2. no income tax liability for the employee.

3. a tax deduction for the corporation.

4. a PR opportunity for the company.

We already make charitable donations, for instance, we save up the scrap pieces of foil brazing material (copper/silver/palladium). When that is sold the several thousands of pounds raised goes to charity.

Which charity - the one chosen by the company, or the ones chosen by each individual? Do they give the money to John's charity this month, and then Susan's charity next month...? Or is it always to the charity chosen by the top person.

This is a twist of what I experienced.

Where I'm working now,... before the company was sold last December.

The employees, always got together and ponied up what they could and gave each of the owners (there was 3) money. And then this money to given to charities of their each owners choice. what was interesting, it even though it was under the owners name, it was understood the employees did it. Which also reflected how the owners treated their employees.

Keeping in mind this was already set before our bonuses.... And none is tied with the other. Because the employees just signed a Christmas card.

Give everybody the car of their dreams.....@1/24th scale....

http://www.diecastmodelswholesale.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwztG8BRCJgseTvZLctr8BEiQAA_kBD1NCiuyJByFd5CwZ36fCZOCjRmNU0LpLjUw7KKxcI5MaAm478P8HAQ

What about the cyclists?

How about a Waka Waka light ? Useful, doesn't take up a lot of room, and the company donates a lamp to someone "living through a humanitarian crisis," as their website says, for each lamp sold. I first heard about them when that terrible earthquake struck Nepal. I'm not sure if the person who makes the purchase gets to decide where the freebie lamp goes, but if your company bought a bunch perhaps you (plural) could ask that the donations go to a particular place or cause. The donation would be a much-appreciated legacy for recipients.

I am voting with the majority on this one. Money talks, bullsheite walks! Also gift the employees with extra stock in the company if traded, and if stock contributions are already part of the compensation package.

The thing about money: If you pile it up it starts to smell like bullsheite. If you spread it around it makes things grow (also like bullsheite).

Or give everyone an Amazing gift card (not necessarily Amazon).

Political contributions generally tend to carry a certain taint with them, so avoid that.

I like the stock idea. If stock isn't a possibility there could be some other way to give employees a piece of the company they've helped build.

Before the bS really starts flying.

It doesn't sound like any of you owned a business. There are already employee stock options that becoming in favor. It's called ESOP

You don't have to own a business to know about ESOP.

I can tell you from experience that ESOPs and stock options are fine right up until the day the company folds.

I found out the hard way. I was an owner investor in one that failed. We burnt through $11 million USD and still couldn't outlast Bose, David Clark and some other companies with much deeper pockets than we had.

But it was a great experience, none the less.

Nothing to do with knowing about ESOP, just some people think they know how to spend the money businesses make. ESOP is a great set up if turning a niche business ownership over that would otherwise be difficult. BUT you still need great management.

Its just that these armchair business managers when the business folds as you experience. A lot of the armchair warriors blame the business. I'm glad you saw it as a great experience, THAT is how people should look at it, also a learning experience.

i have found that the worse experience, can be your best. But not at the time.

i had employees that went off on their own. And when I meet them a few years later, they told me, they never thought starting a business was so stressful. But you have to put the business first before your own interest until get over the hump.

once over the hump, then everyone has their hand out, or tells you how the business should be run. That I find amusing.

What no strategic short position....?

Hey,... that's insider trading......

Usually the company is a 'S' Corp who have ESOP, they have stock but necessarily isn't traded (publicly) on the stock market.

^{if you didn't already know}

This is a private company so stock is not available. A gift card is a possibility, I wonder if you can get them printed with a company message?

In Australia, some hardware chains and music stores offer "personalised" gift cards where you provide the image.

I'm guessing that your HomeDepot, Sanity music, Costco and so on would have that option in the USA.

GB should also have similar options.

There are also available "pre-charged" cards for whatever amount you wish to include. These are also handy as one-off gratuity for a job well done.

There does appear to be a customisable card available to businesses which can be redeemed in a large number of major outlets.

There have been many pragmatic comments urging money or gift cards. In the long term, cash or cash like gifts can be problematic.

Cash gifts often get lumped in mentally with compensation. It will be considered insufficient, by a few, in relation to the self evaluation of work/dedication they provide. Next year, the employees will be expecting at least that amount...." what , no cost of living increase?" Some employees may be disgruntled about the amount relative to other employees who have been with the company for a different period of time or may not do the same job.

It is highly unlikely that any employee with think they should have received two desk clocks, not will anyone feel entitled to receive another Crookes Radiometer next year. (By the way, you really should consider a customized Crooke's Radiometer. Seems like it fits the theme well.)

What about lumping the money together and getting a gift for the group, like a grill and/or a cappuccino machine...or an upgraded break room (maybe disco music, a mirrored ball, and a table top Ms Pacman).

How can you possibly equate a cost of living increase with a gift?

Sometimes I wonder about you!

Gifts become expected. Gifts quickly are equated to compensation. People expect to get a small raise in pay each year.

I'm not suggesting that is a good way to look at it. I am suggesting that is a common way it is looked at.

Try to understand, Lyn, that I myself and not personally espousing a belief, merely because I point out the belief is prevalent.

And what, exactly, makes you think that you are an expert on what people think??????????

You are suggesting that because you type words, they are facts?

Merely because you THINK a belief is prevalent, certainly does not make it so!!

You don't provide support for every statement you make even though it could be done, it would be far too cumbersome. I also free myself from the burden of referencing every statement I make.

There are also things that are observed repeatedly across very different circumstance that allow an understanding that may be very difficult to provide exact references to support. This, like other types of knowledge has some uncertainty, which should be kept in mind. Better to keep the uncertainty in mind rather than miss that huge block of knowledge.

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I know you love Googling, but hopefully you realize Google does not actually have every answer. There is so much truth outside Google searches. There is still value in experience. The people around you are much more than flawed collections of facts you could look up on Google.

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If it makes you feel better. Just mentally add ''I think' before every sentence I write. It is understood that the comments I write are the things I think. You can certainly believe I am not correct. You certainly have a right to be wrong.

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No one suggested the truth of any comment of mine is cause somehow by my typing. Correlation is not causation.

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I freely admit I am sometimes wrong. I do my best to correct the my wrongs. It is also true that I do not know everything....but in all fairness, most of the things I don't know, aren't true. (I don't mind providing a proof for that claim should you be interested).

He does have a point. and that's when a gift turns into something that is expected.

Especially when you see it happen. First company I worked for fresh out of college, I experienced that. They (the company) changed it up so it wouldn't happen and to handed out a small cash bonus (Ben Franklins) and that was random, so that employees would be asking about 'Where's our ______ ^{Spring, summer, Winter} Cash Bonus?

And then they would mix it up and instead cash they'd have food catered in or have a small picnic with activities at the company park (They also had a small park.) It'll be themed, Mexican, Indian, Western....Pig roast was one time..... They would hire the local college Band, to play... they'd even set up games with prizes.... All the employees were still on the clock.

Sometimes it becomes a circus atmosphere... And for a guy, whose last job was milking cows... it made me a little uncomfortable because I thought the employee's were spoiled.

Unless your employment agreement or company policy promises COLA's or annual increases, there is absolutely no reason to "expect" an annual pay increase.

None!

I guess that only applies if you work at McDonald's in Seattle or San Francisco.

Expecting a raise or a COLA, and wishing for it are distinct and separate occurances.

Yes, but not all people realize that. And I would say the majority. Which I believe is the point Tinac was making.

If I've told you once, I've told you a million times, making blanket statements and broad generalizations is not what an engineer is supposed to do.

Million times really, I counted 1.... I can't keep track of your pouting

This was from personal experience that I brought up when you were crying to truth ... So stop pouting.

Here, I think this will help what ails you.

I feel sorry for you having to work with unprofessional people who expect rewards for merely adequate performance.

You must have been talking to yourself then, or at least take your own advice..... you really shouldn't make blanket statement like that.... Because your only guessing who I work with.. You know and I know it.

At times and if anyone's been in the workforce long enough you work with people that would cover the whole spectrum...

You said," First company I worked for fresh out of college, I experienced that".

My comment #57 was intended as humor. Obviously wasted on you!

I don't know how you can imagine so much that is totally incorrect about what you, and I, have said.

I'm invoking the Mark Twain rule for you. I'm done with this ridiculous conversation!

Bye!

Humor... I see, I guess that's two of us who has a problem with delivery of humor.

Don't worry, every silver lining has a cloud. Give everyone a gift of sunshine. Fire them all!

I've told you a million time to not exaggerate.

"We're all comedians....." ^{In our minds}

So....that is a blanket statement about what engineers in general should or shouldn't do?

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Perhaps you see it as more of a sheet statement, comforter statement, quilt statement.....?

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'Just because you type something on a page doesn't make it true.'....nor does pointing out a behavior you don't like make you less guilty of the same thing.

Those who spent much time pointing out the errors of others, usually will find at least three fingers pointing back at them for the one pointing at the error.

In my case there are those three, plus the extra middle one of the other person pointed straight up.

We are all projectors in life. What do we project to others? What do I project might be more pertinent. Sometimes the faults we see in others, especially the ones we point out, are really our own faults being projected.

This is very appropriate with the responses of late....

He really was 'misunderestimated'.

Read what it says on the post, it applies to everyone... if you do, it would hit close to home for you.

I did read it. I read it again to be sure I wasn't missing anything subtle (it isn't out of the question, he could have had help).

It is not particularly insightful or generally of much use, other than some small comedic effect of seeing 'W' portrayed as a sage spiritual benefactor.

Indeed, criticism is typically summarized in shorthand of the worst examples. It would be far too inefficient and far less compelling to describe the times Edi Amin talked back to his mother, pinched his baby brother and teased his sister. Realizing Edi Amin was a bad dude necessarily hinges on his worst examples.

Judging anyone solely on intentions would be silly. Intentions are usually secondary to actual occurrences, such as a mitigating factor in the case where something has gone wrong. Occasionally insight into bad intentions might out a bad character, but often intentions of others are hard to know with certainty. It isn't even without debate that our own true intentions are knowable with a great deal of certainty.

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In summary, if judging is to be done examples/actual occurrences are the things to consider....what is necessarily 'worst' can't really be known before evaluating, so any claim that 'only the worst is considered' isn't even logical. Intentions are often not a decent metric other than as mitigation.

Well after reading your post and summing up your post even farther to its essences, I get this.

"Too often we judge others groups by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions"

Nope. Judging by worst examples has merit. I'm not certain it is done 'too often'.

.. I do however feel intention are likely used too often as a primary indicator.

Judging by the worst examples is only half of it,

Yeah, I understand what is being conveyed. I do not take it as gospel. I disagree with at least that half, i.e. I disagree with the premise that evaluation, in general, would be better if more often the very worst went unconsidered. It doesn't even follow logically. An evaluation would already have to have occurred to know what qualifies as the worst.

I also disagree with the metapremise that the statement is profound, insightful or otherwise particularly worthy of special attention. The simple act of suggesting society should judge less harshly, shouldn't be sufficient reason to drop all critical evaluation of the statement.

No, you missed it completely and it's understandable, one usually does with preconceived notions.

If there is something more there that you both understand well and believe I have missed, it shouldn't be too hard to explain it.

Yes I can explain it with a suggestion.

Remove your political bias that you so demonstrated and go way out of your way to defend. If you can't do that, then I can't help.

Responding with some problem you believe I must have that is keeping me from understanding the important aspect you claim is there; is not an explanation of the supposed salient aspect.

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If you cannot simply explain the point, perhaps you don't see it any better than I.

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By the way, Bush may be a great guy, I bet he is a lot of fun to hang out with.

If you aren't making important decisions with significant effects on multitudes of people, then possessing a keen intellect isn't an absolute necessity. There are so may great upstanding people that would have no business being President of the US....and if they were, many unfortunate decisions impacting multitudes would certainly occur. Tasking someone in excess of their talents means much of the blame for poor outcomes does n9t fall on that someone, but on those who tasked that someone.

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Just so you know, my evaluation is not related to party politics. Carter was likely worse than W in total cumulative negative impact in my opinion. My evaluation finds Bush's performance poor, because he performed poorly. His propensity for making noteworthy blunders dwarfs the rare moments he utters something that could pass as sage.

However, even a blind hog finds an acorn every now and then, so each utterance might potentially be a morsel of wisdom. I don't find that to be the case here.....and unless you can describe the valuable insight in the quote you claim I am missing, I am going to have my doubts about your ability to find it, too.

The problem is, your bias perception of a simple statement, that is explanatory in itself.

Yet, you attempt to support your bias is to over-analyze a simple statement as my original post I referenced and proceed to complicate it with lines of what amounts to dribble, frankly, I don't recognize it.

I cannot help you.

The problem lies with you, maybe you should ask George.... since both of you are seemingly 'misunderestimated'.

You claim that there is more (than the simple statement) that I am not getting.

I ask you to explain.

You reply that the explanation is I cannot see what you are referring to because of my political bias.

I point out that you evaluation of some fault you believe I have is not an explanation of the salient points you claim I am not perceiving, and ask again for you to explain this thing you claim to understand but feel that I do not.

You repeat you accusations of political bias and tie on something almost Bushesque; 'dribble' is either a basketball term, or means an unsteady stream. 'Drivel' is probably what you were shooting for.

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Look. I am not trying to aggravate you any further. I get the simple straight forward message presented. I just find it less than profound. You suggested there was meaning I was missing. If there is I interested to know about it, but if you yourself are unable to explain the meaning you claim in a simple straight-forward way, I don't have much reliable to go on.

You reply that the explanation is I cannot see what you are referring to because of my political bias.

You can't and won't be about to understand and that continues to be the problem.

When you started out with your first post about misunderestimated, and went on with a number of posts trying your best to justify and defend your claim.

Or did I misunderstand your position from the start. But I don't believe so.

That comment was just a reference to another quote of W's, in which he claimed he had been 'misunderestimated'.

His quotes make me smile. It seems almost sureal....except it really happened. If you had written a piece of fiction prior to 2000 that had the President making some of the actual statements W made, many would find it a workout for their suspension of disbelief.

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"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully."

I apologize for that then, it would of been best if you mentioned that from the beginning, it would have saved a lot of misunderstanding.

The phrase "would of" is completely illiterate.

I'm sure.

Would have can never be written "would of." However, the latter does exist: when the present conditional would is followed by an expression that begins with of.

and all of this could have been avoided if the earlier post that started this topic would have been more clear. But you missed that one,... Didn't you.

It would be interesting to see an example of that.

I had to look it up... is the reference sufficient enough?

What reference? I didn't notice any.

Is "sufficient enough" redundant enough?

That I would take that as a 'yes' it would.

Didn't get the exact references, but similar to for fill your need.

Here. Now your original post of "would of" I agree. But, so far you pursuit is all about nothing....

so I got to thinking and I reread my post, again... and then I saw where the 'would of' is that you pointed out... I didn't think I had it and yes, that was not intentional.

I apologize for that then, it would of been best if you mentioned that from the beginning, it would have saved a lot of misunderstanding.

the first review I only saw the 'would have' and not the 'would of'....

don't know what to say.... ahhhh, good catch.

Please edit that. It's the biggest load of fractured syntax I have ever seen.

I'm sure there's more coming...

I believe you, no need to verify... I don't have a chance to look at it though, I'm in the dentist office waiting room for my appointment.

I would rather have my teeth pulled than have to listen to demeaning videos poking fun at a fellow Texan who did his best to protect all Americans in a dangerous time.

"Damn you, damn you all, you finally did it!" --Charleton Heston in the Planet of the Apes.

I think we are about ready to turn it over to the monkeys. Some would argue we already have.

Since the original post seemed to played itself out.....

Last June I took my vacation in Texas, visited my girlfriends sister and her family outside of Amarillo (Canyon, Texas), it was hot.... if you want a status report...

Then we took a little side trip to Albuquerque and Santa Fe, NM. but don't hold that against us. and btw, it was hot there too.

I have lived in Amarillo once upon a time. So has my wife. We met later when she lived in Big Springs. I have no hatred for NM. One of my favorite people (used to be a brother-in-law) lives there. I believe you about the heat in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. It really only shows up cool above about 8500 to 10000 feet elevation, and even that somewhat depends which side of the mountain you happen to be on, and whether the summer monsoons have started.

I always used to look forward to trips to NM in the mountains. A welcome break from cotton patches with weeds that needed hoeing by yours truly. We would watch the cotton turn "blue green" as it withered in the heat in front of our irrigation, turn bright green in the part being watered about one or two days back, then back to the darker green further back behind the water. Finally, my dad would say, "Everyone load up in the car, God is going to have to water this." More often than not, we would return to find just that. Rain comes when you least think it will in West Texas.

My son has this GB Talking doll.

It has two buttons so as to not be offended, but damn if they ain't both funny.

You have to love the man when you press these buttons.

And he's a hell of an artist.

You really can't make this up

Just to make sure you don't assign a position to me that I do not hold: I make no argument that he did not do his best. In fact, I agree with you, he probably did his very best.

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If we elect Trump, he will likely also do his very best. Perhaps if judging others by best intentions instead of actual examples has merit, we will be better off four years from now than today.

Doing ones best without the skillset is not good. And I don't mean political skills or business skills. It comes down to competence on doing the job and not putting a positive spin on the results of a job poorly done.

Which has been the case.

My sentiments exactly.

It's all cinnamon buns to me. I think I will salute once more President George W. Bush, as a patriot, a leader, and 100% 'Merikan'. I think we should have taken the "nucular" option on a few folks, but there again, I am a crazy person who thinks shoot if they flinch.

Trump is with you on that one.