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Social Structure of Corporate Life
First of hopefully quite a few posts about the Nations, their customs, and their way of life, from an RP perspective. The objective is to create a melting pot of ideas and opinions about what life out there is like, and what issues -besides the obvious ones- the Dispossessed must deal with from day to day.
Social Structure of Corporate Life
Life in a Corporation is arranged along two major social classes, often referred as the Whites and the Blues, or more cynically, Those Above and Those Below, but they could be labeled, more accurately, Management and Labor. From these spawns a third, unofficial one, known as the Straddlers.
Labor encompasses all employees who work in the myriad production floors on Union stations; anything from janitorial duties to assembly to maintenance to programming to overseeing, Labor’s toil brings to life the products, services and goods that a corporation offers.
Management consists of the personnel in charge of the higher operations that ensure the corporation runs smoothly and profitably; this group contains mostly executives, though specialists like engineers and lawyers are also to be found here. All higher issues about corporate well being, from resources to personnel to shipping to customer liaison are handled by Management, all the way up to the Board of Directors, where the overall direction of the corporation is decided.
The third class arises where the two others meet; they are the Straddlers, personnel from both upper Labor and lower Management, those of each class whose job it is to liaison with the other. Engineers, Supervisors, Planners, Human Resources and Medical staff, all those who’re either Labor reporting to Management or Management that must deal directly with Labor, are Straddlers.
Again, in paper, there should be no difference between the three classes, and they are actually very similar; however, the one point where they diverge creates a vast chasm between them, that only a few attempt to cross, and only in one direction: forward. This point of divergence is, of course, money.
The only way to get ahead in a corporation is to keep learning: by acquiring new skills and becoming certified in various processes and procedures, one becomes more useful to the company and is eventually eligible for better, more challenging positions with better pay and perks, leading all the way to upper Management and the Board of Directors; however, though a substantial number of said courses are offered by the Corps free of charge, most need to be paid for, most notably all those related to Management. Sometimes the Corp itself will pay the tuition for a particularly gifted, ambitious employee, or he will have caught the eye of a higher up who decides to sponsor his progress through the ranks; most of the time, however, the employee must pay for it out of his own pocket and, while Labor is most certainly not starving, only those who’re extremely shrewd with their money to the point of stinginess will have the means to pay for their own advancement, and so advancement is incredibly hard. On the other hand, Management will certainly have the money to pay for these courses, not only for themselves, but for their children, securing their positions very much as if they were inherited, though of course anyone will heatedly debate this is not the case.
And there we have the divide: Labor in general lacks the wherewithal to better itself, while Management earns enough money to remain perennially at the top. In addition to this, positions within Management are finite. A Labor member who manages to acquire enough education to become Management will remain Labor until he’s actually given a Management job, and to get it he will have to compete against Management personnel who not only had access to better education thanks to their parents’ or their own wealth, but who might actually have contacts within the organization that posted the job opening. In Management, where office politics are the daily bread, it is as much a matter of who you know as what you know, and this is another strike against a Labor hopeful; often the deciding factor between two candidates of equal skill will be their last name. And if names and affiliations were not enough to take the job away from a Labor citizen, the cutthroat politics might kill him, in some cases quite literally. Labor is not, of course, devoid of any kind of power plays and faction fighting, but they are nothing compared to the savage, bloody wars going on in Management, and thus all but the most ruthless or determined of Labor will survive long enough to get accustomed to them.
By the time a Labor member gets to fight for a position in Management, he has been a Straddler for quite a bit. Though a good number of Straddlers are Labor moving up the corporate ladder, those hailing from Management are almost as numerous: low-level execs and staff who have always held their position, or those unfortunates who used to be higher up and tumbled down due to either political misfortune or incompetence. Either way, the position the Straddlers find themselves in is a good one: better pay and perks than Labor, and responsibilities nowhere as heavy as those of higher levels of Management; most get to like it so much they strive to stay there, and just a small minority (most notably Management who tumbled down) tries to climb higher. Of course, this only serves to further choke up the advancement ladder for those below.
One would think such a lopsided social system would create huge amounts of friction and resentment between the three classes, but surprisingly this is not the case; even if no corporate citizen really believes that “we’re all equal” hogwash, all of them have reasons to enjoy themselves and their lives, no matter their station.
Labor, while being kept down, is not really exploited, and what they lack in power they make up in freedom; they can travel around, study to better themselves, take on hobbies, even change their job if their current one no longer satisfies them (provided, of course, they have the skills and education required for the new job); in short, they can do whatever they please, within their budget. Labor’s the most numerous, fluid and dynamic of the three classes, which means there’s always someone around to listen to your woes, share your opinions, and drink a few rounds with.
Management is not nearly as numerous as Labor, but they still have plenty of peers to relate to. Bearing more money and better education, Management tend to spend their free time relaxing and hosting get-togethers where they can gossip, discuss current events, trends, or the arts, and in general forget all about the office. The one thing Management has little of is time; while Labor can go home the moment their shift ends, Management usually works well into the next shift, closing loose ends, finishing deals, and meeting deadlines. The higher one is, the more one works, and is not unknown for higher managers and XOs to spend the whole day at work, taking a couple of hours to sleep before the start of the next day. This is another reason why Management prefers laid-back get-togethers to the bashes and raves of Labor: not only are they tired, but they don’t have the time for anything more intricate (though from time to time they will host lavish, outlandish parties, with expensive food and drink and professional entertainment). Of course, should they want to, Management is as capable of throwing down as the rowdiest Labor crowd.
As for the Straddlers, the smallest of the classes, they can have it both ways, as they are (usually) welcome in either circle. They can choose to go have fun with Labor, their affluence more than welcome and the entertainment simple but raucous and satisfying; or they can go with Management and take part in the conversations, bringing fresh, more down-to-earth perspectives to them, and learning from- and being seen by- these powerful people who direct the way the corporation moves.
Of course, those frictions that do exist are rather ugly; they all arise from the perceived injustices a class inflicts upon the others, as well as from conceit, envy, ignorance, and a misplaced sense of entitlement. Thus, to some Labor citizens, Management are nothing but a bunch of thieves who’ve never done an hour’s worth of honest work in their lifetime, living the grand life at the expense of Labor’s toil, exploiting them as if they were slaves; and the Straddlers are nothing but toe-licking toadies willing to sell themselves out (and Labor) for bigger scraps from their masters’ table. For their own part, some Management believe Labor to be little more than ignorant, repulsive, arrogant, ungrateful monkeys who must be constantly supervised lest they throw a wrench in the works and bring the whole corporation down; it falls to Management to baby-sit these inferior beings so things work as intended, and everyone would probably be better off if the bunch of them were spaced and replaced by robots and automata. And don’t get them started about the Straddlers! The bunch of them are Labor monkeys that know one trick more than the rest, and just because of that they think they’re fit to lead the corporation; in truth, they should be spaced with the rest of the monkeys. Meanwhile, those Straddlers that somehow manage to cling to their prejudices (hard to do in an environment that forces you to see the realities of both classes from up close) adopt all the arguments from both sides, hating both Labor and Management with equal intensity.
Life in a Corporation is arranged along two major social classes, often referred as the Whites and the Blues, or more cynically, Those Above and Those Below, but they could be labeled, more accurately, Management and Labor. From these spawns a third, unofficial one, known as the Straddlers.
Labor encompasses all employees who work in the myriad production floors on Union stations; anything from janitorial duties to assembly to maintenance to programming to overseeing, Labor’s toil brings to life the products, services and goods that a corporation offers.
Management consists of the personnel in charge of the higher operations that ensure the corporation runs smoothly and profitably; this group contains mostly executives, though specialists like engineers and lawyers are also to be found here. All higher issues about corporate well being, from resources to personnel to shipping to customer liaison are handled by Management, all the way up to the Board of Directors, where the overall direction of the corporation is decided.
The third class arises where the two others meet; they are the Straddlers, personnel from both upper Labor and lower Management, those of each class whose job it is to liaison with the other. Engineers, Supervisors, Planners, Human Resources and Medical staff, all those who’re either Labor reporting to Management or Management that must deal directly with Labor, are Straddlers.
Again, in paper, there should be no difference between the three classes, and they are actually very similar; however, the one point where they diverge creates a vast chasm between them, that only a few attempt to cross, and only in one direction: forward. This point of divergence is, of course, money.
The only way to get ahead in a corporation is to keep learning: by acquiring new skills and becoming certified in various processes and procedures, one becomes more useful to the company and is eventually eligible for better, more challenging positions with better pay and perks, leading all the way to upper Management and the Board of Directors; however, though a substantial number of said courses are offered by the Corps free of charge, most need to be paid for, most notably all those related to Management. Sometimes the Corp itself will pay the tuition for a particularly gifted, ambitious employee, or he will have caught the eye of a higher up who decides to sponsor his progress through the ranks; most of the time, however, the employee must pay for it out of his own pocket and, while Labor is most certainly not starving, only those who’re extremely shrewd with their money to the point of stinginess will have the means to pay for their own advancement, and so advancement is incredibly hard. On the other hand, Management will certainly have the money to pay for these courses, not only for themselves, but for their children, securing their positions very much as if they were inherited, though of course anyone will heatedly debate this is not the case.
And there we have the divide: Labor in general lacks the wherewithal to better itself, while Management earns enough money to remain perennially at the top. In addition to this, positions within Management are finite. A Labor member who manages to acquire enough education to become Management will remain Labor until he’s actually given a Management job, and to get it he will have to compete against Management personnel who not only had access to better education thanks to their parents’ or their own wealth, but who might actually have contacts within the organization that posted the job opening. In Management, where office politics are the daily bread, it is as much a matter of who you know as what you know, and this is another strike against a Labor hopeful; often the deciding factor between two candidates of equal skill will be their last name. And if names and affiliations were not enough to take the job away from a Labor citizen, the cutthroat politics might kill him, in some cases quite literally. Labor is not, of course, devoid of any kind of power plays and faction fighting, but they are nothing compared to the savage, bloody wars going on in Management, and thus all but the most ruthless or determined of Labor will survive long enough to get accustomed to them.
By the time a Labor member gets to fight for a position in Management, he has been a Straddler for quite a bit. Though a good number of Straddlers are Labor moving up the corporate ladder, those hailing from Management are almost as numerous: low-level execs and staff who have always held their position, or those unfortunates who used to be higher up and tumbled down due to either political misfortune or incompetence. Either way, the position the Straddlers find themselves in is a good one: better pay and perks than Labor, and responsibilities nowhere as heavy as those of higher levels of Management; most get to like it so much they strive to stay there, and just a small minority (most notably Management who tumbled down) tries to climb higher. Of course, this only serves to further choke up the advancement ladder for those below.
One would think such a lopsided social system would create huge amounts of friction and resentment between the three classes, but surprisingly this is not the case; even if no corporate citizen really believes that “we’re all equal” hogwash, all of them have reasons to enjoy themselves and their lives, no matter their station.
Labor, while being kept down, is not really exploited, and what they lack in power they make up in freedom; they can travel around, study to better themselves, take on hobbies, even change their job if their current one no longer satisfies them (provided, of course, they have the skills and education required for the new job); in short, they can do whatever they please, within their budget. Labor’s the most numerous, fluid and dynamic of the three classes, which means there’s always someone around to listen to your woes, share your opinions, and drink a few rounds with.
Management is not nearly as numerous as Labor, but they still have plenty of peers to relate to. Bearing more money and better education, Management tend to spend their free time relaxing and hosting get-togethers where they can gossip, discuss current events, trends, or the arts, and in general forget all about the office. The one thing Management has little of is time; while Labor can go home the moment their shift ends, Management usually works well into the next shift, closing loose ends, finishing deals, and meeting deadlines. The higher one is, the more one works, and is not unknown for higher managers and XOs to spend the whole day at work, taking a couple of hours to sleep before the start of the next day. This is another reason why Management prefers laid-back get-togethers to the bashes and raves of Labor: not only are they tired, but they don’t have the time for anything more intricate (though from time to time they will host lavish, outlandish parties, with expensive food and drink and professional entertainment). Of course, should they want to, Management is as capable of throwing down as the rowdiest Labor crowd.
As for the Straddlers, the smallest of the classes, they can have it both ways, as they are (usually) welcome in either circle. They can choose to go have fun with Labor, their affluence more than welcome and the entertainment simple but raucous and satisfying; or they can go with Management and take part in the conversations, bringing fresh, more down-to-earth perspectives to them, and learning from- and being seen by- these powerful people who direct the way the corporation moves.
Of course, those frictions that do exist are rather ugly; they all arise from the perceived injustices a class inflicts upon the others, as well as from conceit, envy, ignorance, and a misplaced sense of entitlement. Thus, to some Labor citizens, Management are nothing but a bunch of thieves who’ve never done an hour’s worth of honest work in their lifetime, living the grand life at the expense of Labor’s toil, exploiting them as if they were slaves; and the Straddlers are nothing but toe-licking toadies willing to sell themselves out (and Labor) for bigger scraps from their masters’ table. For their own part, some Management believe Labor to be little more than ignorant, repulsive, arrogant, ungrateful monkeys who must be constantly supervised lest they throw a wrench in the works and bring the whole corporation down; it falls to Management to baby-sit these inferior beings so things work as intended, and everyone would probably be better off if the bunch of them were spaced and replaced by robots and automata. And don’t get them started about the Straddlers! The bunch of them are Labor monkeys that know one trick more than the rest, and just because of that they think they’re fit to lead the corporation; in truth, they should be spaced with the rest of the monkeys. Meanwhile, those Straddlers that somehow manage to cling to their prejudices (hard to do in an environment that forces you to see the realities of both classes from up close) adopt all the arguments from both sides, hating both Labor and Management with equal intensity.
Inciteful. I'm wondering more about the divisions within each class in particular, ie pilots versus mechs in the labor category, for example.
The ancient miner noses the dusty moth into the big cracked roid and fires up the beams. He leans back in the pilots chair , ponders on the social structures of space and quietly whistles Tannenbaum through gritted teeth...
ecka
ecka