Stagnant Change

Change is a constant. Ironic as that statement is, there is little denying that. Regardless of what goes on in the world, the only certainty is that things are going to change. Of course, the more things change, the more they tend to stay the same. You fight a war to depose one despotic autocrat, and you end up having to deal with another despotic autocrat. You fund a rebel group to eliminate a political enemy's influence in a country, and you end up fighting that same rebel group once they become your political enemy in that country. The fact is, change is hardly really as potent a force as everyone seems to think it is. Change is only a powerful force when the people are there to truly enforce change. Louis XIV pulled it off with his reforming the government of France during his reign. Where does that leave "civilization" and "society," you may ask? Frankly, I don't particularly care.

However, I do care that, regardless of where I go, things tend to stay the same.

Sure, the screw-ups of management and the superiors are different, but the general spirit remains the same. Companies still find ways to breed discontent and damage the morale of their employees, often without intentionally doing so. This is, of course, all linked to the overwhelming power of profit. The fact is, when you work in a business, the needs of the business come first and the needs of the employees are a far, far second. The company or the nature of the work may seem better, but there are little elements you pick up on that make you wonder if the place you're working at now is just as screwed up as the place you left, albeit in a different form. It is, of course, a rather disturbing possibility.

I'm not at liberty to discuss what I know and what I've heard, but I'm starting to think that aside from the venue and location, not much has changed. Sure, I don't feel the inevitable desire to slaughter my way through upper management just yet, I have a feeling things are going to be at that point eventually. Just how far "eventually" is going to be, I can't safely say right now.

I'm just a little worried at the moment. The division is new and the company isn't exactly an old veteran in the Philippine business world, though it is a fairly established corporate entity in the US. With that in mind, I can forgive a few slip-ups here and there. However, certain things are starting to alarm me, as they remind me of the philosophies and tendencies inherent to the Gene Cruz School of Mismanagement. There is no certainty of anything at the moment, except for the fact that changes are coming and, from what I've seen, those changes are not good.

I'll go into detail on this at a later date. For now, suffice it to say that things are starting to become...worrying at worst and troublesome at best.

So, where do I stand right now?

I'm exercising my right to be patient and meditate. I guess I've become a little too critical of management mistakes, not to mention become a little too suspicious of pretty much anyone who happens to be a corporate decision maker, after Intelligraph Corporation. I can't quite say if the people running this three-ring circus are graduates of the Gene Cruz School of Mismanagement, with the exception of one particular individual whose name I will not mention, but I guess I wouldn't be surprised if I find out that's the case.

Still, change works both ways. Just as there is ample room for negative development, there is also ample room for positive development. There are a number of ways that the place could be improved, ranging from policies to client's orders to procedures. So I sit, wait, and observe. Things could still go one way or another, and even if Ascend Asia turns out to be Intelligraph 2.0, well...we'll have to burn that bridge when we get there, won't we?

Anyway, for added value to this otherwise pointless post, here again is Maria Ozawa:


And a link to the oddly relaxing Reimu Hakurei Clock.