A businesswoman, a recent graduate...
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A businesswoman, a recent graduate of a top business school, was appalled at the office politics, white lies, manipulation, and even violence that took place in her new firm, all in the name of the "bottom line" and making a profit. She could not understand how people could act so ruthlessly toward one another, trying to one-up and put-down all for the sake of getting a raise. She spoke out against such lack of compassion and violence, but no one paid her much attention. Had she asked her co-workers, they would have told her that she was just as ruthless and cunning, just in slightly different ways. But, of course, she never asked. She did not see or want to acknowledge this side of herself which, in fact, had attracted her to the business she was in in the first place. So she went on criticizing, here and there, and positioned herself as "more compassionate" than her co-workers. When word came down from the top that she would have to fire several of her employees against her will, she decided to make a public statement against it. As she read her closing statement, "I am violently opposed to such savage behavior on the part of management and will wage war against it," she recognized to her own horror the viciousness of her language. For the first time, she saw how the violence which she criticized in others was very much part of her own management style. -- Schmitz
