[…] [Cisco] paid $650,000 to book the rock legend, according to Web logger Robert Scoble. Cisco spokeswoman Abbey Smith would not discuss how much the company spent but said the expense was justified.
“We wanted to recognize and thank our employees,” she said. “They have not received raises for the last four years.”– From a CNET article, detailing companies’ holiday parties this year.
Though I couldn’t suppress a snicker given the quote above, I can’t say that I necessarily blame the company for choosing to have an extravagant holiday party. I don’t know how many folks Cisco has, but $650K might not have made that much of a life difference as bonuses spread across the employee base.
Then again, I can certainly think of better ways *I* would rather see $650K spent. Daily snacks, anti-glare monitor shields, subsidized fitness classes or gym memberships, and so on… things that could help and/or at least appeal to a vast swath of employees on a regular basis, rather than just making a few folks smile’n’rock-out on a single night.
What do you think?