"Unfortunately, our society is becoming more and more obsessed with standardized credentials, even as there has been a broad devaluation of the credentials themselves"
I would only add to this one aspect nobody has thought of in the credentialism world;
Inbreeding.
In hiring the "perfect" candidates all the time, you hire essentially the genetically same, obedient, automotons you always do. This creates a problem in that like any organic creature, too much of the same type leaves them susceptible to disease, threats, predators or any change in their environment.
While applicable in terms of biological evolution and survival of the fittest, in having psychologically homogeneous employees (of a meek, obedient type), the corporate entity as a whole is;
1. Unable to identify external threats (or opportunities).
2. UnWILLING to inform superiors about threats or opportunities (as rocking the boat ist VERBOTEN!)
3. Too established in their corporate culture to be nimble enough to adapt quickly enough to a changing environment in order to survive.
Consider it this way. In today's American economy do we need another conformist, mass produced, obedient MBA, or Captain Jack Sparrow?
Of course we need revolutionary leaders like Captain Jack, but could you imagine HR EVER letting in somebody like that to their pristine, sterile corporate worlds?
Well, enjoy the decline people. Enjoy the decline.
Peacetime armies are very susceptible to this.
ReplyDeleteThen, when a real enemy arrives, mayhem ensues. Ammunition may be safely stored under lock and key, or even absent (WWI Zeppelin attacks in the UK; the Fort Hood massacre). Aircraft may be neatly lined up on taxiways (Pearl Harbour). Troops may be sternly ordered to ignore "minor provocations" (Operation Barbarossa).
And so it goes.
Could it be the need to prop up the Higher Ed Industry, which is an essential industry to the propaganda/brainwashing machine in this country, have anything to do do with this?
ReplyDeleteMy Dad always said that college teaches you how to work for someone else.
A family friend (very successful in business by the way) often opined that anyone who cannot find at least three ways to spell a word is sorely lacking in imagination and creativity.
My father-in-law, back in 1946/47, was able to attend medical school immediately after leaving the navy without any prior college at all.
Working with HR is like working with a realtor.
ReplyDeleteA typical realtor asks what you are looking for: Number of bedrooms, number of cars in the garage, size of lot, number of bathrooms, urban, suburban or country etc.
The realtor then produces a list of homes with exactly those characteristics. They do not think, "This house is outside the specs but with one less bedroom than the client wants but with the price and lot size the client could add 2 bedrooms and still have less money in it.
Typical HR staffer asks what experience and qualifications you want and then produces a list that exactly matches those. They do not think, "This lady is excellent just lacking that certification you want. She could get the cert at night in 6 weeks if it is really important."
In both cases (realtor and HR) they are looking to give you choices that are safe for them not that are best for you.