Saturday 12 November 2011

LITTLE MURDERS



OK, he nailed it.
But this post is not about Malcolm Tucker's opinions of bloggers although he did feature, as he always does, with this diatribe against bloggers in tonight's episode of The Thick of It replayed on UKTV on Friday nights. Peter Capaldi's vicious portrayal of a spin doctor in this very, very cleverly written political spoof is worth watching no matter how dated it becomes (like Yes Minister).
In this episode Nicola the Minister, at a Party conference preparing a speech is accompanied by her entourage of secretaries and PR people. In the opening scene she enters the hotel room of one of her lackeys to discover that it is more of a suite than a room and definitely larger than hers. The to-and-fro accusations disguised as queries is really funny and quite spot on.

This is about dysfunction.

I have experienced this in my working career. There is a ridiculous hierarchy in business of any kinds - corporations, government institutions, professional bodies - that dictate salary levels, office allocations, vehicle attributions etc. often unconnected to worth or ability. I have been on overseas conferences and visits where the scenario as in The Thick of It was played out. On two separate occasions, years apart, I was witness to and key player in similar farces. Once it was the Chief Executive of a company I worked for and reported to and a relatively junior management member one level below me and the other time it was me and my direct boss the 'President'. On both occasions the 'supremo' was allocated an ordinary room and the junior an elaborate suite. It was bloody funny but the bosses who were pulling down substantially bigger salaries and benefits behaved like petulant schoolboys. I don't think they ever realised the damage it did to their positions or the companies reputations because, like most Chief Executives, they are only aware of their own position and advancement, but I thought it was funny. I told my President that he was behaving like a wanker which, in retrospect didn't help in my career advancement. Dysfunction, small hassles that don't get resolved are the Little Murders that bring us all down.
A superb film from the early 1970's was Jules Ffeiffer's Little Murders. The link to this clip is a trailer. Don't be put off by the slickness. If you ever get the opportunity- see the film. I'm sure you'll love it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tm7XalL8bc

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