The main character of “Dead Space for the Unexpected” is a
man named Jonathan who works as a business manager. The novum in this story is
a computer that is able to calculate how well individual business team members
execute their jobs. More specifically, the device is able to calculate things
such as appropriate eye contact, posture, tone, facial expressions, and even
the amount of sweat released. This information is then compared to what is
deemed appropriate for a given business situation (such as when Jonathan is
forced to fire Simon). This comparison, in turn, yields a numeric score between
1-10, which determines how well the individual handled the situation. Each
person’s score is available for every other team member to see. Through
Jonathan, the reader witness how this ‘system’ results in a huge amount of
stress on a person who only perceives his value by the numbers he produces. In
today’s corporate world, if one doesn’t produce the numbers a company expects,
then that person is fired. It’s as simple as that. Such a method compels people
to work, thereby stimulating competition, resulting in progress. This is the
capitalistic way. It is why countries like the United States are light years
ahead of other nations in terms of standards of living. For me personally, my
concern with this system isn’t the general ‘unhappiness’ it causes amongst some
individuals in these developed nations. My primary concern is rooted in people
overseas getting paid a few dollars a week to make products that result in
billions of dollars in profit, of which company CEO’s pocket millions,
sometimes billions. The people making these products are starving, while a few
other people are getting million dollar bonuses in addition to their million
dollar salaries? No.
OK, an interesting, almost tangential turn, but not a problem.
ReplyDeleteI think that's a really interesting take on this story, and unexpectedly Marxist. Marx's issue isn't post-IR life "just because", but he notes the misery of being an underpaid, abused factory worker as a bad thing (and remember that in Marx's time, like in other areas of the word, there were very few laws protecting workers' rights). If Jonathan were happy, then no problem, but Jonathan is miserable in the almost Kierkergaardian sense where the worst despair is the kind that doesn't know that it's despair. Good work.