Keith is intelligent, and evidently motivated to succeed in business. While I don’t have a problem with him wanting to be a junior executive for a corporation, I do have some questions about that corporation’s policies. Keith is in his early 20’s -- I don’t think he’s even turned 22 yet -- and although he has a BA in business administration, I find it interesting that Target Corporation felt he was the best applicant (apparently chosen from dozens) for the job.
If he isn’t already, Keith will soon be managing people considerably older and more experienced than he is. Seeing some 21-year-old come waltzing in and begin training to supervise employees in his department, some of whom may be better qualified for his job than he is, is bound to give Keith’s “inferiors” a pretty lousy feeling, especially in this harsh economic climate, when jobs are hard to come by. What is it about a business administration degree that gets human resources departments so excited? To put it bluntly, what special properties does Keith possess that make hiring him preferable to promoting from within? Let’s do some hypothesizing.
1. Because of Keith’s age and inexperience, Target Corporation is probably realizing considerable savings on his salary. Without knowing the figures involved, his salary nonetheless has to be less than what a 35-year-old, ten-year employee would receive. Plus, since he will probably end up replacing two or even more of those older, potentially more expensive middle-level employees, the corporation will realize even more savings over time.
2. Because of his youth, and the fact that he holds a BA in business administration, Target Corporation probably rightly assumes that Keith is philosophically malleable: that is, he will most likely not champion quixotic causes such as workplace improvements, better benefits, pay increases, or other potentially problematical concepts. Older workers tend to be more “contaminated” by such concepts because they entered the workforce at a time when many counterproductive notions (i.e., safety regulations) were not only not questioned, they were actually required by law! Younger workers like Keith, on the other hand, are completely unfamiliar with those bad old days. Since infancy, they have lived in an environment in which jobs are decreasing and corporate interests have increasingly grown to dominate the job market. Therefore, theoretically Keith should be glad he has a chance to become middle management, and will probably demonstrate his gratitude by being a steadfast “team player” -- until such time as the corporation sees fit to engage in “economic repositioning” and brings in some other “new broom” -- maybe this time with a master’s degree in business administration, and willing to work for even less than Keith's salary -- to replace him.
3. Perhaps most importantly, Keith’s BizAdmin sheepskin is an indicator to Target’s upper-level management that their new hire will help them continue to widen the gulf between management and labor. From the vantage point of corporate HQ, it’s far better to bring in a managerial greenhorn with the right papers than it is to promote from within, however well qualified a candidate might be. After all, some of the corporation’s middle management probably started out in lowly positions within the corporation, and as a result they may be a potential source of class warfare. Best to make sure one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing by keeping labor and management as separate as possible -- and what better way to divide and conquer than to bring in young, untried biz majors like Keith and proceed to groom them for corporate promotion?
Again, I like Keith personally. In fact, I find it hard to believe a nice kid like him even wanted to go for a degree in business administration. I remember him asking me guitar-related questions when we saw him at Eric’s folks’ house two or three years ago. For awhile he was a DJ at raves, and a couple of months ago, before applying for his present position, he intently questioned Eric on the vagaries of employee drug testing. I’m sure he’d have no desire to worsen workplace conditions for anyone, and certainly wouldn’t willingly eliminate jobs.
But the problem is, if he stays at Target and is promoted, he will find himself increasingly faced by such issues. At some point he may have to make an almost impossible choice: give up his job, or see others lose theirs.
I hope that if and when that time comes, he is able to look into his heart and make the right decision.
[Note: I haven’t been feeling great physically lately. My allergies and asthma, which are usually minimal, have sort of ganged-up on me and for the past couple of months I’ve had mild but persistent bronchitis. At least that’s my suspicion; the symptoms all fit. I’m treating it with a combination of natural remedies and hopefully the problems will begin to decrease. I hate being unwell. It makes me feel neurotic to discuss my aches and pains publicly. However, I felt some explanation was due for my laxity in posting blogs. So please be patient; things should improve reasonably soon.]
