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I am answering this for the benefit of all the students who will be joining TUB Campus El Gouna in the upcoming future years. I hope to cover most of the queries related to Campus, Energy Engg. Program, Arrival, Accommodation, etc.This is my personal opinion, so not necessarily that others will/might/may agree or disagree.PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME ANY MORE MESSAGES EITHER ON QUORA OR ON FACEBOOK OR ON ANY SOCIAL MEDIA. THERE ARE OTHER STUDENTS WHO JOINED AFTER ME TO WHOM YOU CAN CONTACT AS SOME THINGS HAVE CHANGED, IF NOT ALL.I for one am one of the students who will be completing the program on Energy Engineering soon. In this program, you will get to experience to live in Egypt for 2 semesters most important of all is, you get to stay in Egypt during Winter and the summer in Berlin. (Pretty awesome bargain)My student profile you can check it out here: Student ProfilesSource: TUB Campus El Gouna: HomeUniversity: Technische Universität Berlin Campus El GounaLocations: El Gouna, Egypt/ Berlin, GermanyCore Offered Programs: M.Sc. Energy Engineering (EE), M.Sc. Water Engineering (WE) and M.Sc. Urban Development (UD)New Programs (2015): M.Sc. IT for Energy and M.Sc. Business Engineering Energy(These additional programs overlap with some courses provided in EE and then later on move on with some core specific courses related to respective programs)Study Duration: 2 Years1st and 3rd Semester in El Gouna, 2nd Semester in Berlin and 4th semester place of your choice, wherever you would like to do your Master Thesis.Tuition Fees: 20,000 EurosCurriculum: Please visit the University website: Studying at Campus El GounaFor admission process please follow this link, if interested. Admission Process1. On foremost priority, as any and every person would think about this question. “How safe is it here (Egypt)?”The location El Gouna is a tourist place. One would see a lot of tourists mostly Europeans and Russians. One might have seen or heard on the internet the problems that exists in Egypt, but El Gouna is far away from all these troubles. It is very ‘SAFE’. One need not worry about any safety aspect in Gouna. Also if you are travelling to any other parts of Egypt like Cairo, Luxor, Alexandria etc. it is possible and will be without any problem. As long as you carry your passport/ Letter from University (stating that you are a student at TUB). First of all, nobody will even bother you asking for your ID and secondly you can show the letter from University. (Make sure that the letter is in Arabic, otherwise it is of no use). To travel to Hurghada you will not require to carry any of these things.2. How is life in El Gouna? Is it very difficult to get adjusted here?Life in El Gouna is fun. Since it is a tourist place there are a lot of beaches, pubs, restaurants, etc. all very near to the campus. Lots of parties take place every week and weekends. There is an international school which has a mini football field. Students from TUB can access it every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 7 p.m. till late midnight. There is a tennis table at the university which can be accessed anytime of the day. The people in Gouna are really very friendly. But not everyone speaks fluent English, so you might have to put a bit more effort in making them understand what you need.There is a hospital nearby the dorms, so in case of emergency or any illness you can visit the hospital with the insurance papers.The local bus is called ‘Go Bus’, which is every 20 min or so, to Hurghada. Other than these there are other busses as well, but they charge more.3. The Campus?Compared to campus in Berlin this might be small, but it covers all the facilities that is required for the students and much more.I know, your first question would be about Internet? Yes, there is Wi-Fi. Sit till late night or come early in the morning, nobody will question you.For your study purpose there are specially allocated study rooms in which max 4-5 students can study together or can chit-chat. You can also have food if you like. If you want to sit alone then you may find other vacant rooms to have a private chat with your family and friends on Skype.The Campus has its own cafeteria which was a bit expensive, but has got reduced since last year and the food is great. Since 2014 they have included many vegetarian dishes as well. The price for a non-vegetarian meal is around 30 EGP while the same for vegetarian is about 20 EGP.Each department has its own library. It might not be like the one in your university in your respective country or even the one Volkswagen library in Berlin, but they have sufficient books for everyone.There is the PC pool. One can sit and use the PC’s by providing their ID at the security counter.I would not like to go more into details, come and explore for yourself. Not only the campus or El Gouna but Egypt as a whole.4. Accommodation – El Gouna?Source: TUB Campus El Gouna: AccommodationHere are multiple options that are available for any student. For most of the students’ expense is a big issue and one can choose depending on how much comfort and money and time saving you would like to have.Firstly, before coming to Gouna, you might have already signed a contract with the Orascom housing in the Student dorms, for a double studio of 300 Euros (150/ person) or a single studio (200 Euros). This is the most expensive accommodation that you can choose in Gouna. We found a way about for this, we had requested Orascom to share the single studio among 2 students (100 Euros /person) and one can reduce his/her rent. (Room details are provided in your contract; you can go through that).Secondly, you may choose to live within Gouna but not in the student dorms. You may choose to live in a group of 4-5 people in a Villa.Thirdly, you may choose to live at Hurghada, which is the next big city close to El Gouna, 30 minutes away by bus. You can rent an apartment for 3-4 people. (I would say this is the cheapest option among the 3, considering having a lot of good food options)You can choose to live in any of the above options, but many actually prefer living close to Campus to save time, enjoy playing football, party together at pubs, can meet-up with anyone at university to work on projects or study etc. It is all left to you depending on how much you can afford and spend.5. Food – Now how can we forget this?(Koshari)The food is not like in India (For Indian students). You might like to eat more spices but here the spice used are less, but they have their own ingredients to make the taste of the food very delicious. There are no ‘Only Vegan’ restaurants. But you get good vegetarian and Non-vegetarian food. Unlike India, Beef is very common food in all the restaurants here. So people who eat chicken, ‘Meat’ in Egypt by definition is Beef. So make sure to clearly ask them for Chicken. For vegetarian‘s lot of food options are available as well and very delicious. Still I know many would have brought a lot of spices of your own. You would really start and learn to cook if not already started. There are some expensive restaurants, some average and some very low price, which you will come to know once you get here.6. Drinks – This needs to be clarified as well.Water first, alcohol comes later. There are no water purifiers in rooms, so one has to buy water from supermarket. YES, every drop of water that you drink has to be bought. (The value of which I learnt after coming to Egypt).Egyptians in general don’t drink alcohol, but still since Gouna is a tourist attraction, you will find a lot of alcohol in alcohol shops, restaurants and obviously in pubs. The price increases in the order I mentioned earlier. So most of the time we get it from shops and sometimes you can’t avoid drinking at pubs.7. Electricity and Water Rent:Believe me the electricity and water (bathroom and kitchen sink) do not come cheap. So use wisely. Avoid unnecessary usage of AC. If you are living in dorms then there is solar heater, so you will get hot water. Cooking is by electric induction coil, so again use wisely. The Orascom charges for both are quite high.8. Living Expenses - Gouna?The expense to live in Gouna will incur a total with these 3 possibilities at least according to me.Max. /month: (Room Rent) 150 + (Electricity + water) 25 + (food + water) 140 + (Party + drinks) 30 = (Total) 350 EurosAverage /Month: (Room Rent) 100 + (Electricity + water) 20 + (food + water) 100 + (Party + drinks) 20 = (Total) 240 EurosMin. /Month: (Room Rent) 50 + (Electricity + water) 10 + (food + water) 85 + (Transport) 25 + (Party + drinks) 10 = (Total) 180 Euros (this value can still be reduced)In the above scenarios, it all depends on where you stay, how efficiently you use the utilities, how much you cook or have food outside, how much you drink or party. The expense given above can vary depending on the person.9. Egypt VISA ProcedureFor details related to the Egyptian Visa procedure to be applied in India, please go through Annexure-1 and for the application to be applied in Germany, Annexure-2.10. Touchdown at Cairo? Hurghada? How to reach Gouna?Once you reach Hurghada, you can first convert your Euros into Egyptian pounds. (say at least 100 Euros) Same goes for those who get down at Cairo.At the exit of Hurghada airport you can buy a sim card. You have the option of buying Vodafone or Etisalat. But other than this there is Mobinil as well. But there is no counter at airport. But I would suggest to go with Vodafone its better, even though I had Etisalat.From the airport if you are travelling together (it’s better and cheaper) to take a big cab which can hold 4 people and their luggage’s. A charge of 150-200 EGP you will have to pay for the ride from the airport. It would take about 20-30 min to reach Gouna. Once you reach, you can contact your seniors if they are there or the administration. You need to get down at Orascom housing office, which is in Downtown.If you are travelling from Cairo to El Gouna, you might have to book a ticket from “GO BUS”, which is the major bus transportation in Egypt. This might cost you around 150 EGP. Depending on what time you take the bus it might vary up to 220 EGP. The travel time takes about 5-7 hours.11. Health Insurance??Most of the people who have come from India have taken Bajaj Alliance of Rs. 11,000/- for 1 year, some have taken Rs. 22,000/- for 2 years. These insurances are applicable both in Egypt and in Germany. So no additional insurance is required. But you need to make sure to cover your insurance for the entire period of stay (you can initially cover for 1 year and then repeat the same at the end of the first year). Some of my seniors had made Insurance only for 6 months for the period living in Egypt and before they arrived in Berlin, they took a German private insurance (Mawista, Care concept, etc.) which costs around 33 Euros/ month. You can also apply for AOK/TK insurance if you want to cover everything, which costs 82 Euros / month, but is unnecessary. And again when they arrive back to Gouna they apply for an Indian Insurance for 6 months and so on.12. Accommodation – Berlin?Source: studierendenWERK BERLINThe expense to live in Berlin is comparatively cheaper, when compared to other parts of Germany. In Germany if your travel time is 30-45 min that is considered as “nearby”. The rent usually includes your monthly electricity and water rent as well. It’s a complete package, everywhere in Germany in general.The best accommodation option that u can get is in the studentenwohnheim (student dorms). Lots of options are available to choose, with varying rents (EUR 180 – 350) and varying distances.The closer you are to the university (Ernst-Reuter-Platz) (which is at the center of Berlin), the more expensive the rent. The university also has a new Campus which is close to Nordbahnhof at Ackerstraße 76. Living close to either of both locations is still of benefit.If you want, you can share an apartment, with 2 bedrooms for around EUR 800-1000. (sharing with 3-4 people)13. Living Expenses - Berlin?Max./Month: (Room Rent) 350 + (food) 250 + (Party + drinks) 100 = (Total) 700 EurosAvg./Month: (Room Rent) 250 + (food) 200 + (Party + drinks) 50 = (Total) 500 EurosMin./Month: (Room Rent) 180 + (food) 200 + (Party + drinks) 20 = (Total) 400 EurosA bit more details: Vishvesh Shenoy's answer to How much will be the monthly cost of living for an Indian student in Berlin?The above expense does not include your travel expenses within Germany and Europe.Local transport in Berlin is free since you are a student at TUB. One just has to show his ID stamped with a semester ticket (which you will get once your semester begins from 1st of April.) and carry a certificate of matriculation, they rarely ask for it but if they do it costs you 7 Euros if you do not have it and you will spend time going to an office to show it to avoid any further charges. Across Bus, Trams, S-Bahn, U-Bahn, RE-Bahn (Regional Bahn), you don’t need to buy any ticket whatsoever.The network connectivity is unbelievably great, across bus, trams, S-, U-, RE- Bahn. But still to have a childhood experience again, you can buy a bicycle (EUR 30 and above - second hand). It’s really worth it to have one, at least if you are living in Potsdam. And unlike in India, grown-ups on bicycles, is a very cool thing here in Germany.Food, is rather a bit more expensive than Gouna, but cheaper than other parts of Germany. There are Mensa (Mess) which has a lot of options for food and concession for students. (again just show your ID) You get reduced student prices with a Mensa Card. A meal around campus is about 3.50-5.50 Euros.For even more clarity please check Vishvesh Shenoy's answer to How much will be the monthly cost of living for an Indian student in Berlin?14. Scholarships??There are 2 kinds of scholarship that can be received for the duration of your studies.German Language Scholarship*Here you need to complete a course or provide a certificate of participation of 4 weeks of intensive German classes in the month of March (in Berlin of course) and you will receive EUR 165 /week i.e. EUR 660. The registration and payment for this course is taken care by the University, so the money you receive is for your own expense. Along with this you will receive a fixed flight price for your travel to and from Egypt-Germany, of EUR 250 each. But you need to book your flight with your own money while travelling. In total, you will receive an amount of EUR 1160. This amount will be paid to you in the month of May/June. So you can party hard in the summer months [:D]. This repeats again when you travel to Germany in the 4th semester.DAAD Scholarship (covering living expenses for 6 months) *This scholarship is very unique and specific only to TUB El Gouna students. The amount that you receive in this is EUR 400/ month (pretty cool! Right) for 6 months. This is similar to the application that you apply for DAAD scholarship in general, like they will access your social, economic, academic and other aspects to select you for the scholarship. It is only provided for the 2nd and 4th semester (no matter where you will stay for your thesis). If a student has received a scholarship for the 2nd semester, he/she will not be eligible for the 4th sem. (which is a good thing). The number of scholarships are limited; it always depends on how many rewards can the DAAD provide to the University. So sometimes you have only 6-8 or sometimes it can go up to 14. For the 2nd semester, the selection depends mainly on your motivation letter and commitment to the program. But the 4th semester it is mainly dependent on performance during your previous 3 semesters.So in general, there is good incentive for performing well in your studies.*Both Scholarships are applied for by TU Berlin Campus El Gouna and you will be informed about the application period and procedure when the funds are approved.Other than this, you can apply for many more scholarships online, the one I can name is Deutschland Stipendium. This is available for all the TU Berlin students (not only for Gounies). But there are certain number of scholarships that are provided by the University. The scholarship amount is EUR 300 per month for one year. The deadlines are in the mid of July.For more info:DeutschlandstipendiumAdditional Scholarship options:OFID Scholarship Award for International StudentsGlobal Sustainable Electricity PartnershipSBB Stiftung Begabtenförderung berufliche Bildung15. Additional general information:Carry around say about 1,000 Euros or more when coming from India. Because you will spend some money in the transaction and conversion charges unnecessarily. So it would be better if you bring enough money in Euros for the time you spend in Egypt (5 months).Carry all your documents with you in hard copy.Having an ISIC (International Student Id Card) is a better option for Egypt, as when you travel to Luxor, Cairo, Alexandria etc., they accept ISIC card and provide you with student concessions for tickets at any of the historical places including but not limited to the Pyramids.You don’t need to open an account in Egypt. But once you arrive in Berlin you will be required to open an account in any of the German Banks and you DON’T have to transfer 8,500 Euros into any kind of blocked account.ENERGY ENGINEERING COURSE IN A NUT SHELLSource: Department OverviewMy personal opinion and take on Energy Engineering program:The courses are taught by the professors from TU Berlin, which means during odd semesters they fly to Egypt stay for a week to 10 days and then go back. During this time, you will have block courses with 1-2 subjects a week from morning till evening (give or take 6 hrs). Only REF and EE are taught in parallel, one in the morning and other in the afternoon. So it will be hectic to pursue but that’s how it goes.The travelling by professors is done twice during a semester, so that the work load and study is distributed somewhat equally. So for every course being taught in Egypt this is how it goes.I can understand your concern about the availability of the professors in El Gouna. Not to worry. The program coordinators/ research assistants will be more than helpful with any query or issue that you may have. They are always available at all times in El Gouna. And in the time the professors are in El Gouna they are only there for the students and thus much easier to reach than in Berlin main campus.The program provides diverse courses related to the energy field, whether it is conventional power, renewable (will give more details later on), Refrigeration systems, Energy for Buildings, Energy storage (Battery, thermal storage tanks, etc.), project management, Energy economics, components of energy systems etc.The courses for EE are pretty much rigid and fixed, i.e. you do not have much option to choose your courses, so no flexibility. Having said that the courses that are included are pretty much well defined and articulated to teach a student all the possible topics related to energy field.So about renewable energy, the only course that is thoroughly taught is about Photovoltaics (PV technology). There are courses such as Conversion Technologies and Integration of Renewable energy, that give you an overview about many different renewable options such as Concentrated solar, Wind, Hydro, Biomass, etc.; but at least for me I felt it was a bit more than an overview. The courses are good but is not taught in very much detail as PV technology.The exams that are conducted are as per the German standards. In totality all the courses are pretty much the same level as it is taught in Germany.The topics that you learn in EE-1 and EE-2 are theoretical in nature, but these courses will be applied in a project of your own during the 3rd semester in Project Energy Systems(PES). So you will learn to apply the knowledge practically, which for me for the best part of this entire program. It would be a good idea for the new students to prepare well in advance in topics related to “Thermodynamics”.There is a mandatory internship that each student has to complete during the summer break (between 2nd and 3rd semester) i.e. August and September, which I believe is not sufficient time to get into a company, but you may complete this at the university itself. (Alternate option - Go home or travel through Europe in those 2 months. You can complete your internship after the 3rd semester and then continue with the thesis, so one could apply for a company stating that you will work for them for nearly 9–12 months [Internship + Thesis]I understand you would be very much interested to know about the job opportunities these programs offer. Well I can only provide you with the following criteria:Having 2-3 years of job experienceWell versed in some programming languagesGood command over German Language (this alone will increase your opportunities a lot more than you think)Academic performanceQuick in learning modeling and simulation software's.Well this information should be sufficient here. I think I have covered maximum possible doubts of every question that any student might have (esp. for students coming from India). If any additional information is missing/ required, please discuss it in your own group and still if you are unable to get a satisfied answer you can post your query in the Facebook group.If interested in the program do apply and all the best for your future endeavors.Disclaimer:This document is for all students (and some specifically for Indian students) and their requirements to come to El Gouna/Berlin and this document does not implicate the University or any of its related subsidiaries for any content that has been mentioned, whatsoever. One should not consider this as a direct implication to any of the above mentioned sources/ information, as the data provided above is purely a personal opinion and cannot be used for any legal purposes. If this data is used for any purpose other than the intended purpose of this document, the provider of the content nor the content itself are liable to any extent by law.

This is going to be a long post. I'm going to put an asterisk next to every single instance where bloat happened in the American system that it would not in, say, the UK or Canada. (Yes, I'm sticking to the Anglosphere. I don't have to branch further than the other two large English-speaking countries.)Two years ago, I had an accident at work. Muscles and tendons through my left leg and into my knee were torn and separated, and it was months before I could walk again.The process wasn't simply that I went to the doctor, got scheduled for an MRI, and was referred to physical therapy. Oh no.I went to an aid on site, whose job it was to record all the pertinent information so that I could be given medical care.* Note that this wasn't a doctor or a nurse providing care, nor a triage system. Just someone to decide whether or not the nature of my injury was actually an injury worth sending me away for. The company made the decision that I could see a doctor on work time, so I did.The employer, thankfully, was large enough that it contracted healthcare providers from a local hospital system to have a facility on site.* This meant that there had to be twice as much equipment as if I just went five minutes down the road to the hospital at which those doctors and nurses were actually employed.The hospital is one of two hospitals in the small city*, and while the doubled availability of emergency beds is nice, they could pay half as much for facilities if they made one hospital with twice the emergency room space. They wouldn't need twice as much equipment; maybe 1.5 times as much for peak demand. Food and medication could be negotiated and purchased at larger bulk. Receptionists could be cut in half. So on and so forth.I was referred to physical therapy for a month before being given the go-ahead for an MRI. After all: the decentralized healthcare center didn't have an MRI machine, and the imaging center was actually run by a contractor in a rented suite in the hospital who buys MRI machines in bulk and operates them in multiple hospitals.* I go for the MRI, don't need surgery, whatever. The end of the story for me is almost here.The imaging company has a full-time employee* whose job it is to bill my employer. My employer has so many independent liability claims that they contract a whole other company to manage bulk billing.* That insurance company negotiates payment terms with the imaging company. Or they should.Remember how I said that the imaging company isn't part of the hospital; they simply rent from the hospital? Well, the doctor employed by the hospital directly who is lent to my employer coordinated with the hospital to schedule my MRI. As the hospital is a separate entity from the imaging company, a full-time employee handles cross-company scheduling and communication.* It was not shared with the imaging company that I was a worker's compensation case, and that billing should be to my employer's insurance company.At some point in here, I moved, and mail forwarding ended before the imaging company sent the first bill: to me. Or, I should point out, the address they had on file for me.Now, the accounting department of the imaging company attempts to contact me for six months at an address I don't live at.* See where it's getting fun? That bill, in a universal system, could just go to one single payer (thus the name) and all is done. But we're not there yet.The hospital writes off the loss when I don't pay the bill (that I didn't receive). The $577 they don't receive for services rendered is absorbed, with the other missed payments by other patients, and they increase the costs for everyone else.*A debt collection agency is then given my personal information, and they are permitted to find me, to bill me, and collect on that debt. Another full-time set of collection employees, billing personnel, and accountants.*That agency has been trying to collect payment from me, personally, for about a year. On a debt that isn't mine. I have no legal way to contest the debt; it was for services rendered to me, and under the current system, it is my responsibility to resolve. The insurance company from my employer is glad to work with the collection agency, but the agency won't work with them because the negotiated rate for service provided between the insurance company and the original provider is less than the collection agency paid for the account.Let's try another.I once had a great job, with decent benefits. Health insurance was top-notch.I ended up being hospitalized for ten days, following an emergency stay. I got pre-approval from my insurance company for the hospitalization. (There's a person whose job it is to take phone calls and, even if it's explicitly covered in the policy, determine whether they will cover that procedure or care*) I would pay my deductible and co-pay.My employer opted to let me go, effective the last day I worked. Unfortunately, that decision was made seven days into my stay, and the health insurance was only active while I was an employee of the company.At this point, the insurance plan has kept all of my premiums.* Hundreds I paid into healthcare that I didn't get to use. Once more, I was hit with a bill ($26,500, if I recall) that I couldn't pay.I immediately filed for Medicaid, and they retroactively paid that bill (or, at the very least, the negotiated price). Which means that an accounting team at the state Medicaid office had to handle enrolling me and furnishing payment to several different vendors.*I came out of it okay, but you can still see the bloat.That's it. Over and over.In a universal system, healthcare providers are either simply government employees who get paid a salary to provide care, or they exist as contractors who just put through diagnostic and testing codes to a central portal to request payment.My primary care provider has two full-time staff who just interact with insurance companies.That is why we get no better care for a much higher cost. What we're paying for is a health insurance industry with tens of billions of revenue, for approximately 700,000 employees whose only job is to interface between insurance companies.Edit: I saw several comments on here point out that their providers aren’t government employees. The answer itself states that they are either “government employees… [or] contractors.” If a healthcare provider owns/rents their facility space, and is responsible for hiring staff that are paid by their business’s earnings, but all earnings come from a single payer, then that provider — be it a hospital or a small doctor’s office — is a contractor to the government. To that end, there’s still only one billing structure needed: the reimbursement for services at agreed-upon rates from the government.

First and foremost, we need to be creating more equitable and fair salary structures to eliminate a societally unacceptable reality: 73% of American households with at least one full-time breadwinner have less than $400 in savings, and many have no access to credit or carry near-maxed out credit balances every month.Every employee who works full time should be able to provide for the basic human necessities for themselves, their spouse and at least one child. It is outrageous that so many two-income households (both full-time employees) struggle month-to-month to pay rent, feed and clothe their families, pay utilities and perhaps enjoy a few meager distractions like going to the movies now and then.Once employees aren’t worried that their electricity is about to be cut off for non-payment, we can do things in the workplace that add value and make it easier to do great things and expand to pursue larger opportunities.People who have a stake in the success (or failure) of the organization that employs them will be more productive, less wasteful of business resources, and focus their effort and time to advance the progress toward business objectives and performance targets. Whether the ownership stake is actual ownership (stock options, profit-sharing) or performance-based bonuses (substantial bonuses, not Starbucks gift cards), it is essential for everyone — receptionists, groundskeepers, product managers, analysts, everyone — to know their work and effort make the difference between success and failure. That success must be shared, and distributed fairly.Finally, responsibility, ownership and decision-making needs to be pushed way down the org chart. When only managers can authorize certain activities or rank-and-file staff have no say in the methods and processes that shape their jobs, the business loses on all fronts.I can’t count how many consulting gigs where the following is true: As I begin a contract, there’s a phase where I interview various people across an organization to learn how the office operates and who does what and why. As an employee is showing me how they complete a common task for their job, some odd aspect gets my attention: “Why do you have to enter the order number three times? You entered it on the first screen.”They sigh, and explain that two different order management systems were partially merged when the company acquired a competitor. The contractor that merged the systems didn’t engage the employees who would actually be depending the system every day to do their jobs, so they didn’t consider that re-entering the number three times would be frustrating and a complete waste of time. The software arrived one day, and they were told how to use it: no testing, no pre-delivery feedback from users.They sigh again, and offer a laundry list of quirks and needlessly complex routines that makes them despise customer requests for certain tasks, which they avoid suggesting whenever possible because of the time it takes and the insane procedures involved.This reduces customer service value, and increases employee dissatisfaction for no reason: if the employees were consulted, involved and permitted to do so, they could make the company more efficient and customer service more robust and useful.How hard is that? In too many cases, it’s too hard to get those running things to care. Until that changes, everything else is irrelevant.