Message-ID: <9703118607.AA860770152@hudsmtphq.hud.gov> Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 08:10:04 EST From: mailto:Michael_O._Patterson@HUD.GOV Subject: Re[2]: Power politics -Reply To: mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU
I think there is validity to David Johnson's argument that the preferred career pattern in developing countries values clean office work over messier work in the field or the operation itself. Actually, we seem to have a problem with this tendency in the United States as well. Lots of people want to be lawyers; fewer want to learn how to actually build and operate things.Smithsonian magazine had an article last year on the French "Les Compagnons", guilds of artisans who are extremely good at building and operating things. They built the Gothic cathedrals, Eiffel Tower, and are a mainstay of french manufacturing. They were involved with repairs to the statue of St. Michael at Mont St. Michel, and even the Statue of Liberty. It involves a 10 year apprenticeship, which is rather demanding. The work they turn out is beautiful, not merely utilitarian- and it's based in a real esprit. A program was tried to introduce them into the U.S.; didn't work, seems people just have no respect for artisans in this country.
Respect and value are rather easy to determine. One need simply look at a paycheck, and examine how secure one is in one's job. Companies, and western society in general, couldn't care less about the people who "build and operate" things. When I lived in Thailand, my father taught at a technical school in Korat, which was part of the Thai government's emphasis on technical education.
Still, though, people who wear suits and ties, even if they sit on their hind ends and do nothing productive, get much more respect than people who get their hands dirty- both in Thailand and here. Respect has a measurable effect on people's behavior. Who would you rather see your child marry- someone working in an office, or a mechanic? Or worse yet, a gardener? Think about it. Auto workers on the line get no respect at all; Ford used to hire foremen who were boxers and ex-convicts, to continuously harass their workers. What a pity: the "industrial revolution of the 10th Century", in Europe, came out of monasteries, where they respected work, with the "laborare est orare" ["to work is to pray"] attitude.
The major single problem we have in this country is "incentive traps". Imagine 100 people you know, who each put $1 in a jar, readily available to all; what is to stop any one person from stealing all the money? In the past, religious taboos worked, sometimes. Now, we reward those who "steal the jar".
Who gets the money in corporations? You can bet it's not those doing the work, and servicing the public; it's the lawyers and executives ripping off the public. As long as that behavior is valued, respected, and rewarded, it will increase. Developing countries and our own share this problem, and have not addressed it with anything but lip service.
Another reason is the kind of schooling we get; the arts get nowhere near the attention that say, math does. Perhaps that's why our buildings are mathematically ok, but horribly ugly. There is so little beauty in our society. Newsweek has an article on the effect of the arts in education; they have a lot of effect- musicians, all other factors corrected for, have 10 more IQ points, on average, than their non-musical peers. There was some troubled school in NY state that heavily emphasized the arts, and reduced their crime and dropout rate substantially. Yet, as Newsweek pointed out, more than half of all arts programs are funded by fundraising efforts, and aren't part of the regular budget.
In a Zen monastery, only the most respected monks can cook, as they know the effect food has on consciousness. Who respects cooks in this country? Even the best of chefs aren't much respected. In the Army, those who flunk out of infantry school [which is, well, not easy] go to... cook school. ------------------------------- When I'm in a restaurant with comment cards, and the waiter/waitress is at all competent, I make a point of writing something nice on the comment card. The reaction I get is almost always shock; no-one else apparently does that. That is sad. When I do trainings, I make a point of finding out ahead of time who's gone the extra mile, and done a really good job, and I express appreciation. They are shocked- no supervisor appreciates a good job, they just notice missing points. "Chicken Soup for the Soul", by Jack Canfield, notes a 3rd grade teacher, who on a lark, had people write up the good points of each student in her class. At the funeral of one student, killed in Vietnam, the tattered remnants of that lark were taken from his wallet, and given to the teacher... the other students from that class, who showed up for the funeral, also all had their tattered remnants, as well... appreciation is so rare in our culture.
What you put your attention on grows. You get what you pay for, and pay for what you get. There is little interest, respect, or reward for those involved in "building and operating things".