> Why can't Google just grow a pair and go to full-on open allocation?

From the description, calibration seems to address the issue of consistent assessment across the company. Open allocation, whatever else it might have going for it, doesn't seem to do that (and for open allocation to work effectively in a large organization, consistent assessment would seem to be, if not essential, highly desirable; even without headcount concerns, churn between projects and getting new people up to speed is a cost that needs to be justified by expected value.)

> If people actually get together in conference rooms to conspire against their employees and wreck peoples' careers, as you've admitted they do

That's actually not what the poster above you said, and I really think that if you can't read anything about Google without being distracted from what is actually said by the white-hot heat of your pre-existing hatred (however justified that hatred moght be), you probably should just avoid participating in any discussions about Google, because you aren't going to be able to contribute productively.