Back in 1714, the English writer Eustace Budgell used the words ‘Imitation is a kind of artless flattery’ in a newspaper column. Since then, subsequent writers and authors reworked the phrase to several variations, but in the end it was Charles Caleb Colton who penned the widely accepted ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.’ Such a phrase has stood the test of times. However, in this part of the world, as with many other things we seem to take this idiom a step further.
Take the case of ACME Factories, the leading establishment for the processing of nuts and crackers in Saudi Arabia. Some years back, faced with rising costs and diminished profits, the shareholders of the company decided upon a change of leadership. They were losing market share to other upstarts and although they were traditionally averse to changes, they chose as the new CEO a PhD graduate or a doctor of philosophy if you will, to lead ACME onto a new era of success and fortune.
It wasn’t long after the new CEO had settled in that the corporate mindset began a significant shift of attitude towards company personnel. Higher degree holders were much to be valued. Suddenly, there seemed to be a proliferation of PhDs within their staff, all displaying their diplomas proudly and marching towards the Promotion department within Human Resources. It was immaterial whether their doctorate thesis was applicable to their line of work. What was important was that each one of these individuals was a stately holder of a PhD.
And sure enough, following the lines of the ‘monkey see, monkey do’ culture of thinking that had been subtly ingrained, most of these individuals acquired elevated status within the company. The few remaining ones were given priority on the standby list as they waited for positions to be vacated through retirement or attrition. All seemed well and good.
But wait; there’s another side to this story. ACME did not perform as expected. The financial state of affairs of the factories remained in the doldrums. Their sales were down. Their product recall rate was on the rise. Customer complaints reached an all-time high. Competitors started to garnish a bigger slice of the market with improved products and services. While the overall industry adopted more innovative ideas and strategy to boost market exposure and sales, ACME remained stagnant. Their PhDs could come up with no positive response to this business threat. After several debates and committee proposals, they chose instead the recruitment of more PhDs!
While the payroll expenses became further bloated, sale figures did not match the increasing expenses, and the company sank further into the red. Now please don’t get me wrong. I have no personal vendetta against PhDs. However there is a place for everyone. And not all PhDs translate to progressive business acumen or environment.
At another commercial establishment, a particular brand of Cadillac was assigned to the head of the establishment for his use. Soon, there was an abundance of Cadillacs of the same model, and in some instance, the same colour strewn in the employee parking lot. Junior level personnel, many of who could ill afford a car of such expense were driving about in their new vehicles. As a matter of fact, employees who normally shunned overtime were suddenly among the first to volunteer for it. After all, they had hefty monthly car payments they had to contend with. The Caddie in this instance was the analogous substitute for a PhD.
At another outfit, the factory manager started smoking a particular brand of cigarettes. It was not long before just about every smoker in that factory was carrying that particular brand of cigarettes in his breast pocket, and at one time or the other, offering a smoke to the grateful factory manager. Non-smokers, reluctant to be left out from this movement, started purchasing this brand of cigarettes and wilfully passing them out to their leader.
Niccolo Machiavelli, the Italian philosopher and writer who died in the 16th century, once warned that flatterers should be shunned. But such messages often do not reach those who are intent on perfecting the art for material gain. Yes indeed, we have contorted the spirit of flattery and lifted it to unimaginable heights. But as was with the Titanic, it is not the label of the ship or its finery but the qualifications of the crew who may just get you to your destination safely someday.
Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi sociopolitical commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. You can follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@talmaeena
