Money well spent?

There are still many UK academics capable of excellent social research. And what do our human resource directors do? They conduct totally discredited "employee satisfaction surveys" then pay unknown sums of money to consultants to poll other HR directors on the results of those surveys ("Poll finds good morale", November 18). How dare they?

These directors clearly know nothing about proper research. Yet the Universities and Colleges Employers' Association's Jocelyn Prudence had the gall to claim "substantial improvements" in the "expertise" of HR management after a government investment of £600 million ("£600m frittered away", April 1). Headless chickens.

Richard Hull
Newcastle-upon-Tyne University