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Can Microsoft employees use iPhones?
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At an all-company gathering in a Seattle sports stadium last September, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer told participating executives that he grew up in Detroit, where his father worked for Ford Motor Co., and that his family always drove Fords. Could this mean that all Microsoft employees are banned from using the Apple device? One would naturally think so. However, the practice varies according to "Gods may do what cattle may not."
An article in The Wall Street Journal is trying to investigate whether the American company allows employees to use rivals', specifically Apple's, products.
Author Nick Wingfield tells of a story when an employee used his iPhone to take photos of the Microsoft CEO during the September event. Ballmer took the phone out of the employee's hands, placed it on the ground and pretended to stomp on it in front of thousands of Microsoft workers, participants of the meeting said. Ballmer himself uses cell phones from different manufacturers that run on Microsoft's Windows Phone software.
Microsoft in early 2009 adjusted its corporate policy to only reimburse service fees for employees using phones that run on Windows Phone software, which was was interpreted by employees as a sign that Microsoft was clamping down on the iPhone. The company said the change made a part of a cost-cutting plan.
Lower ranking employees hide their iPhone within sight of more senior executives. One Microsoft worker said he knows several colleagues who try to mask their Apple handsets with cases that make them look more like generic devices.
"Maybe once a year I'm in a meeting with Steve Ballmer," said this employee. "It doesn't matter who's calling, I'm not answering my phone."
Read more in The Wall Street Journal...
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