Re: OT - poor word choice re: Managing Extreme Progr amming

"Dave Hoover <[email protected]>" <[email protected]>
Newsgroups gmane.comp.programming.extreme-programming.adoption
Message-ID <[email protected]>
Hi Dale,

> > My issue is with the term "resource."  I believe it exposes a
> > person's belief that another person is simply "an available 
> > supply."
> 
> I'm getting an idea, and I'm not sure where it leads.  

Let's find out!  :-)

> The "offending" terms typically name relationships or roles.  They 
> don't name the whole person.

Yes, I think we would be hard pressed to find any one term that could 
encompass every aspect of an individual.

> But there's something specific about the nature of the
> relationships or roles that I want to explore.
> 
> "Resource" is a role that I play for some people.  That role isn't 
> all of me, but it is a part of me.  I would feel at least a little
> offended if someone referred to me as a "resource."  The more
> specifically they were referring to me, the more offended I would
> feel.  Why?  Partly it's because naming my role in this way doesn't
> give any hint of the unique value I provide.

Yes, and as George mentions in another post, a lot of this has to do 
with power and authority.

> The name "developer" would offend less.  It more specifically names
> the particular value I provide.  By calling me "developer," you name
> the particular value you receive from me.  If that's the value I see
> myself as delivering to you, the value that I take pride in
> delivering, life is good.
> 
> So "not expressing my full humanity" isn't the key for me.

That's a good point, since no single term will be able to express 
your full humanity.

> Neither
> "resource" nor "developer" expresses my full humanity.  They each
> express my role in a relationship.  But one acknowledges more 
> clearly the specific value you receive from the relationship, and 
> says that you value me in the way I want to be valued.

I think another difference is that "developer" assumes that we're 
talking about a human being.  When people ask us what we do for a 
living, we would use the term "developer," just as another person 
might describe himself professionally as a "doctor."  We understand 
that there is more to us than our jobs, but professionally, we fit 
into one or more categories.

On the other hand, "resource," can describe any entity that "can be 
used for support or help."  Now a human is lumped in with lawnmowers, 
savings accounts, and server farms.  When this term is used to 
describe a human, especially by a person in an authority position, 
that individual's self-image will be challenged.  This person will 
accept his role as a cog in a machine, or he will expend energy 
maintaining his view of himself.

--Dave


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