My dad has a fascination for ants. His purpose of buying a telescope was not to look at stars, but to examine ant behaviour on street lamps. I know. Pretty queer. Occasionally, he hovers in the garden and feeds pieces of chicken to his little friends.
In some ways, our society mimics the bureaucratic structure of the ant world: governed by rules and hierarchy, characterized by standard procedures and all serving the "queen". In my short span of time working, this is what I experienced and observed.
- Similar Terms, One Size Fits All. In the past, I was more familiar with terms such as sample size, independent variable, dependent variable, literature review, heteroscedasticity, correlation, causation etc. Now I'm bombarded with terms such as terms of reference, board minutes, memorandum of association, reconciliations, standard of procedures, whistle-blowing, round tripping, window-dressing, SAP, Basel II, circulars, annual reports...Oh man.
- Hierarachical. Currently, there are four levels to the "queen", me being at the bottom. I have no control and everything is dictated at the top. It's really interesting to see how these four levels interact. Everyone behaves quite similarly when one reports to another at a higher level (Yes..the typical "saka-ism"). If there are tight datelines, all work loads and stress trickle down to the bottom (Hah..that's me!).
- Certifications still count. Be it CFA, or CPA, or FRM....there is still much emphasis on these certifications.
- Employ good looking people. As horrible as it may sound, this is the bare fact, or rather, what I observe. (This may not apply to all industries).
- Typical Conversational Topics (yawn...). All the "ants" seem to be interested in common material subjects such as: CARS, PROPERTIES, GOLF, EX-COLLEAGUES, BOSSES, STOCKS, BONUS, MONEY etc. What happened to engaging topics such as ART, MUSIC, HISTORY, CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, GEOGRAPHY, NATURE, REAL WORLD ISSUES? Have they been forgotten? Are they are too engrossed in accummulating food or in serving the "queen"?
Perhaps I should buy the book "Sophie's World" and recommend them to all "ants".
Painting above: The Average Bureaucrat By Salvador Dali.
4 comments:
I beg to differ and perhaps I am born with a silver spoon, but I still think there is more to life than properties, stocks and bonuses and to equate dreams with such material things is shallow to me.
Pardon me for getting the wrong impression and I do get the point you are driving at.
Oh well. I had someone making that sort of remarks to me before. Do I know you?
Heh..he is. But I think he is busy "accumulating food" at the moment.
i do the same thing with ants. :)
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