E-Learning and the Economic Downturn: A Salutary Excursus
And Lo! it came to pass that a friend of mine who would describe herself as a training practitioner based out of Hartford, CT. found herself bereft of employment, for the economic downturn that is called Recession was cast upon the land, and the days were dark.
Straitly was she in need of employment, forasmuch as without an income, the door of her house would be riven and the walls of her home would fall down flat, and the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they would take from the treasury of the house.
And it came to be that by the power of the mighty word processor and the e-mail, posted she her résumé unto many an organization, including unto those that call themselves Financial Institutions.
And so it was that with mighty trumpets the Tribe of Human Resources responded to her. And they declared unto her that without a special power called “financial experience” she was as a beggar cast into the night, and they smote her down into the good earth with the jawbone of the Ox .
And she was afraid.
And so it was that she said this tale unto me, and she beseeched unto me “What is this Financial Experience in Fund Management that they speak of?”
And I said unto her:
“Verily, fear not these Children of the Almighty Dollar!
For it has come to pass that they are responsible for many a woe among the people, including the fearsome Enron Scandal, and the lending of the silver and the gold in the Sub-Prime Sector, and the Dealing upon the Inside, and the Credit Crunch, and Bear Stearns and Northern Rock shall be as naught. The chiefs of the tribes of Merrill Lynch and Citigroup will rightly fall upon their swords, and they will be mocked when they speak of Golden Parachutes, for they spoke not of fiscal rectitude, and the Walls of The Street did tremble.
There will be the taking away of the honey and the wheat and the barley, and the oxen, and the axe and the plough that is called Repossession. For they that giveth, also they taketh away.
Believe ye in the power of Education and Technology, and the Learning that is called ‘E’!
For in days to come, the Children of the Almighty Dollar will see that they too are mere knowledge workers, unto like all others in different sectors of the economy.
I say unto thee, they will cry across the land:
“Oh woe are we who were blind! We could not see that learning and development skills are cross-discipline! And frankly we could have done with a bit of expertise from outside the narrow confines of the financial world! We thought ourselves as blessèd among ordinary knowledge workers, with skills in software and pharmaceuticals and such.
Oh! Vanity! Pride! In our ignorance of the meaning of the global economy we have been led astray from the path of righteousness!”
For during the Boom Years they did utter nonsense and PR, and the diviners they call stockbrokers saw lies; the analysts told false dreams, and gave empty consolation.
Therefore the People of Finance wander like sheep; they are afflicted for want of a shepherd. Go unto them with thine expertise in workplace learning and say unto them “WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE SHALL BE THE STABILITY OF THY TIMES!”
And nail ye them to the wall with high Per Diem consultancy rates, for revenge is sweet.
Here Endeth The Lesson.
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July 02 2008 05:10 pm | e-learning
2 Responses to “E-Learning and the Economic Downturn: A Salutary Excursus”
Labrams on 03 Jul 2008 at 4:25 pm #
I loved your post! It is amazing how many companies pass on well educated people who bring a tool box of skill sets to a position just because the person has never worked in that particular business setting. When will big companies realize that it is character that makes an outstanding employee?
Michael Hanley on 03 Jul 2008 at 5:21 pm #
Thanks for your comment Labrams – glad you liked it. I have to say I had fun writing that particular blog entry.