Corporate Jungle
Ξ October 5th, 2007 | → | ∇ General |
I have to work tomorrow, but I’m not tired. It’s about 12:30 now, but I’m sitting in bed typing by candle light, and the low backlight of the computer of course.
A lot of jobs were eliminated at work today. The company handles it a lot better than other organizations I’ve seen, but it just seems as though it was done in a very poor manner. The sudden violence of the action seems to be a replacement. It is as though the management team, having succumbed to the lure of modernity, is seeking out some predatory challenge, some way of asserting their violent nature, of carrying out their need to impact their environment.
The corporate jungle is a good term, it’s not one I’ve ever really spent a lot of time looking at, but it fits surprisingly well. Men have a tendency to need to cause harm to other people. There is an affirmation of their power in that. Their actions in eliminating all these jobs are inherently harmful. Sure, the vast majority of the people displaced will be assigned to other positions or given very good severance packages, but the decision makers must know that there is a psychological impact. They must understand how deeply terrifying this type of change can be, not only to the people who find themselves thrown into a new place, or out of a job entirely, but also to the entire organization. Can they really think that the company is not going to be adversely affected by drastic, sweeping, unmitigated change?
I could write for hours about the proper way to make these kind of organizational changes. The way to do it so that everyone moves their pieces into their places appropriately, peacefully, and so that the benefit seems more distributed. But I’m not interested in writing a treatise on Business Ethics, or corporate reorganization.
What I’m interested in is working with people who are smart and capable. People who aren’t afraid that their jobs may be next. People who want to be doing what they’re doing, and want to use their skills for the best. I want to be doing meaningful work that is valued by my company, and I want to be recognized for it. I do not want my values to be manipulated, nor do I want you to handle me or my team. Let us handle ourselves by doing the right thing for our customers and ourselves
on October 9th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
Men have a tendency to need to cause harm to other people. There is an affirmation of their power in that.
That is a real and familiar insight
henry