Poetry Uninterrupted

Being a fan of most classical poetry, the appreciation for verse is one of my vices. Due to the rapid modernization of most art forms and the incessant experimentation, I believe that the art form of poetry has been severely abused and a lot of liberties have been taken with the lyrical expression of emotions.
So when I get a forwarded mail containing the "classic modern poetry", heavy with feeling and emotion, I had to share it:

MBA Preferred

I've worked so hard for many a year
To nurture and develop a fine career.
No task too large, no chore too small,
Over time, I've done it all.

Crisis came and crises went
And I was never hesitant.
When someone knew not what to do,
I was the person whom they rushed to.

To serve our client was the major test
To please him we all did our best.
When things went wrong, we never lied.
And the customers? They were satisfied.

We worked together as a team
To turn our company into one supreme.
Service and quality were both assumed
But then, unfortunately, disaster loomed.

As time went on...we all grew older.
The young, new managers became much bolder.
Then business changed; it's sad to say,
The new folks had their MBA.

Methods effective for many years
Discarded, replaced with mere ideas
Of what was learned as textbook rules,
Compiled during time in business schools.

Meetings, meetings, all the time,
To waste a dollar and save a dime.
"Get profits up, no more no red ink!"
Employee morale began to sink.

Spreadsheets and piecharts of many hues
Forecasted profits for golf club dues.
They sat around in executive cliques,
These little boys whose greed so reeked.

"We'll charge him once and even twice,"
"The customer's the one who'll pay the price."
"On what's for free, we'll add a fee"
"We'll then make cuts in quality."

"We'll streamline this, restructure that."
"We'll rid this company of all the fat."
"We'll dump off all the old and sick."
"And take away some benefits!"

More meetings came, behind locked door.
We never saw them anymore.
They wanted no input from any of us.
If we offered same, they made a fuss.

The firm became quite mercenary
With client treated like an adversary.
When he finally saw how our business ran,
The customer took his business to Japan.

Then, after 'bout a year or two,
Predicted profits weren't coming through.
The next step in this little game
Was to find somewhere to place the blame.

Like rolling stone, fault went downhill.
Loyal employees paid the bill.
The MBAs? On no sound basis,
Then all lined up to get their raises!

The moral of this little verse,
At the very great risk of appearing terse,
Is that companies that know not where they've been
Care not how things are, but how they seem.

This major break from reality
Has moved U.S. business to number three.
To fix things up we must change some rules.
We can start by closing the business schools.

We can then hire people possessed of sense
With proved performance and experience.
They've paid their dues and learned the rules
In Hard Knocks College, the best of schools.

All is not lost, that's plain to see.
And if with my statements you do agree,
Since at the moment I am quite free,
You can start it all off by hiring me.

Copyright 1995-97, E.W.Boyle

Touche.... from someone who's been on both sides of that fence :)