While looking for possible topics for new blog posts, I encountered one article on a study that focuses on employees’ print habits. The article was interesting and entertaining in a sense that it explained the common print habits of employees in terms of the attributes of some animals.
Canon had commissioned the said study but it was conducted by Donna Dawson, a behavioral psychologist and broadcaster/journalist. After conducting the study, Dawson concludes that print habits in the workplace can be the used to evaluate the dynamics of today's organizations. The behavior and preferences of employees from the different departments in an organization can be compared to those of some zoo animals. This is why Dawson came up with the term “The Human Zoo”. She used this to refer to the workplace and its employees. The study has some very interesting revelations on the print habits of people in the office.
Dawson classifies employees according to the following animals (based on their common qualities):
1. Parrots – Parrots are best known for their feathers that have vibrant colors. They also tend to waste their food, letting it fall to the ground because their claws could not grip it anymore. In the workplace, most of the senior managers resemble parrots. They prefer documents or presentations to be done in full color. Although they want to cut down on their costs, senior managers can overlook expenses when it comes to printing their reports; thus, they are like parrots who can afford to waste their resources.
2. Cheetahs – Cheetahs are fastest animal. They also act on impulse. In the workplace, Dawson considers the sales people as the “cheetahs”. For one, they are impulsive and are used to fast-paced work. They are also into heavy color prints and designs even if these are not needed. Sales people print documents ranging from sales reports to product brochures in full color even if these are yet to be finalized.
3. Dragons – Dragons are not exactly zoo animals. They are mythical creatures but Dawson included it anyway. According to her, middle managers and supervisors can be likened to dragons. They work for the main purpose of pleasing both their subordinates and senior managers. They tend to use color printing to catch attention and to please the other people in the office.
4. Pandas – The mere mention of black and white brings to mind the panda. The study sees some similarities between people from the financial and accounting departments and pandas because these people prefer to have their documents printed in black and white. Apart from the clarity, finance personnel may have also considered the costs of black-and-white printing and color printing.
5. Chimpanzees – Chimpanzees are the most resourceful animals in the zoo. That’ s why Dawson compares the people from Marketing and PR departments to chimpanzees because they know exactly what they want to see or do. One good example to demonstrate this is people from Marketing and PR teams know when they need to go for color printing or prints with best quality.
6. Polar Bears – Polar bears are resourceful like the chimpanzees but they are also known for making what little that they have go a long way. Translating this quality to employees, Dawson sees IT personnel as the employees most comparable to polar bears because they do not use color printing frequently. They only use it when needed and when they do, it is done in the most cost effective way.
7. Birds of Paradise – Birds of Paradise are popular for proudly parading their colors and designs to viewers. They usually display themselves in scarlet and green. Dawson sees trainees and new hires as parallels to these creatures because these tend to use high-quality and color printing frequently and they do so proudly. They also use specialized paper in the hope of attracting the attention of their immediate superiors.
8. Stags – Stags are known for antler baiting and egoistic show-off of skills and physical attributes. Dawson sees some similarities between stags and the people in the general or administration offices. According to her, these are the people who tend to show off by using colors excessively even if these are not needed.
The study concludes with a significant lesson: color printing has to be done efficiently. With the employees demonstrating the same qualities as the animals from the zoo, it is inevitable for shareholders and investors to lose a lot of resources. They may not be able to maximize their profits because of the huge costs incurred from some unfavorable print habits.
In order to combat burgeoning printing costs, companies have to understand how the different departments in the workplace have different needs. In this way, the company would know which department requires more supply of color ink cartridges than the other departments.
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