Zbigniew Piekarski On the most common of illusions
"Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
- Albert Einstein
When I began reading the Government Rules and Regulations applying to small businesses, my immediate reaction was howls of hysterical laughter, for I had fallen for the most common of illusions - that between intentions and reality.
The stated intention that appeared in the press was that Poland was eager to embrace the market mechanisms of capitalist-socialism. However, the reality was that an insane bureaucracy was bent on humbling any individual who wanted to display a modicum of independence and self-reliance.
I therefore decided that I would spend my time in developing an idea that I had and instead of employing individuals I would sub-contract the work that was beyond my competence. It was then that the significance of The Great Polish-English and English-Polish Dictionary compiled by Jan Staniszewski and published by the State Publishing House in 1970 was revealed.
If you have these two tomes you will immediately notice that the Polish English volume is around twice the size of the English Polish volume. In other words the Polish language uses more words in order to describe human experience of this world and our interactions with others. Language shapes our perceptions of the world and is replete with historical and cultural experience. By using local individuals to do some essential work, I became convinced that most of the words contained in this epic were ones that were used to explain why a mutually agreed task was not achieved by a mutually agreed time at a mutually agreed price. In other words, at least 30 percent of the words in the Polish language are there to provide excuses or to lay the blame on someone or something else.
As I have now completed my initial task I have decided to move to a climate which is more hospitable to business entrepreneurs. As a parting gesture I shall reveal the future of Poland as I see it.
I was born in Great Britain to Polish parents just after WWII. Being an ethnic minority we developed our community and held tightly to Polish traditions and customs. Together, as a community, we held firm through adversity and worked together to build the Polish Club House, the centre of all activities. Some individuals of our host society were not too pleased at our presence. They accused our parents of taking their jobs away from them. Most were accommodating for the Poles had a reputation for destruction and assisted in the Battle of Britain and at Monte Casino. Therefore, as children, our assimilation into the host society was not particularly problematic. The problems resided within the Polish Community.
The elders made all the decisions and retained power even though they were incapable of appreciating the ways of the host society. When they sought advice from others, they always had to add their "ingredient" which normally made any change ineffective or produced totally unintended and negative consequences. Yet they persisted, and insisted on controlling their offspring without realising that their offspring had an alternative.
And so it came to pass that most of the more enterprising and educated of the next generation left the Polish Community never to return and the community, and the club house slowly and peacefully decayed away.
A similar pattern is being repeated now. The rules and regulations of the larger "host society" (EU) are being ignored and the forces of the market are not allowed to rule. Instead, the solution to all ills is believed to rest on the dictates of bureaucrats and the redistribution of stolen money by the government. What is happening to the "free" Health Service is a case in point. Rules and regulations are replaced by additional rules and regulations in the mistaken belief that the planners and bureaucrats who made the initial mistakes will now affect a solution. The same thing is being done over and over again.
We now have competition on a global scale and not just within Europe, and membership of the European Union may prove to be a grave problem. Already the present leadership have managed to alienate the few friends that Poland has, and only Great Britain and Ireland are willing to officially accept working individuals from Poland. Yet Poles will become the scapegoats as the social mood worsens throughout Europe as Poland is the largest new entrant.
On July 19, 2000, in the French town of Givet, textile workers protested against the closure of the Cellatex Factory by pouring sulphuric acid into a tributary of the Meuse - which could have resulted in the loss of innocent lives. This was a localised dispute at a time of relative prosperity. Since then, a greater number of factories and industries are relocating away from countries with high hidden labour costs into more hospitable environments. The respective states will attempt to effect cosmetic changes until they can no longer afford to do so. Then all hell will break loose and Poles will become the ones deemed responsible.
If you are under 30, then read the latest book by Tom Peters, the management guru, entitled "Re-Imagine: Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age." He maintains that, in this new world of global economic competition, unless you create your own job you will not have a job. This applies especially to men, as our increasingly service based economy and the present employment laws are more amenable for employing women on a part-time basis. Already 10 million women run their own businesses in the USA and the value of their businesses is larger than Germany's GDP.
Should you wish to know what the future holds, then join us on www.gpmnagement.com, as we have added a new section.
I happily leave this land to the descendants of the characters immortalized by the greatest of Polish historians and anthropologists, Maria Konopnicka (1842-1910).
On the WSE: The predictions are relatively simple. Kwasniewska - slow grind down to new lows; Lepper - the market falls off a cliff.
- Albert Einstein
When I began reading the Government Rules and Regulations applying to small businesses, my immediate reaction was howls of hysterical laughter, for I had fallen for the most common of illusions - that between intentions and reality.
The stated intention that appeared in the press was that Poland was eager to embrace the market mechanisms of capitalist-socialism. However, the reality was that an insane bureaucracy was bent on humbling any individual who wanted to display a modicum of independence and self-reliance.
I therefore decided that I would spend my time in developing an idea that I had and instead of employing individuals I would sub-contract the work that was beyond my competence. It was then that the significance of The Great Polish-English and English-Polish Dictionary compiled by Jan Staniszewski and published by the State Publishing House in 1970 was revealed.
If you have these two tomes you will immediately notice that the Polish English volume is around twice the size of the English Polish volume. In other words the Polish language uses more words in order to describe human experience of this world and our interactions with others. Language shapes our perceptions of the world and is replete with historical and cultural experience. By using local individuals to do some essential work, I became convinced that most of the words contained in this epic were ones that were used to explain why a mutually agreed task was not achieved by a mutually agreed time at a mutually agreed price. In other words, at least 30 percent of the words in the Polish language are there to provide excuses or to lay the blame on someone or something else.
As I have now completed my initial task I have decided to move to a climate which is more hospitable to business entrepreneurs. As a parting gesture I shall reveal the future of Poland as I see it.
I was born in Great Britain to Polish parents just after WWII. Being an ethnic minority we developed our community and held tightly to Polish traditions and customs. Together, as a community, we held firm through adversity and worked together to build the Polish Club House, the centre of all activities. Some individuals of our host society were not too pleased at our presence. They accused our parents of taking their jobs away from them. Most were accommodating for the Poles had a reputation for destruction and assisted in the Battle of Britain and at Monte Casino. Therefore, as children, our assimilation into the host society was not particularly problematic. The problems resided within the Polish Community.
The elders made all the decisions and retained power even though they were incapable of appreciating the ways of the host society. When they sought advice from others, they always had to add their "ingredient" which normally made any change ineffective or produced totally unintended and negative consequences. Yet they persisted, and insisted on controlling their offspring without realising that their offspring had an alternative.
And so it came to pass that most of the more enterprising and educated of the next generation left the Polish Community never to return and the community, and the club house slowly and peacefully decayed away.
A similar pattern is being repeated now. The rules and regulations of the larger "host society" (EU) are being ignored and the forces of the market are not allowed to rule. Instead, the solution to all ills is believed to rest on the dictates of bureaucrats and the redistribution of stolen money by the government. What is happening to the "free" Health Service is a case in point. Rules and regulations are replaced by additional rules and regulations in the mistaken belief that the planners and bureaucrats who made the initial mistakes will now affect a solution. The same thing is being done over and over again.
We now have competition on a global scale and not just within Europe, and membership of the European Union may prove to be a grave problem. Already the present leadership have managed to alienate the few friends that Poland has, and only Great Britain and Ireland are willing to officially accept working individuals from Poland. Yet Poles will become the scapegoats as the social mood worsens throughout Europe as Poland is the largest new entrant.
On July 19, 2000, in the French town of Givet, textile workers protested against the closure of the Cellatex Factory by pouring sulphuric acid into a tributary of the Meuse - which could have resulted in the loss of innocent lives. This was a localised dispute at a time of relative prosperity. Since then, a greater number of factories and industries are relocating away from countries with high hidden labour costs into more hospitable environments. The respective states will attempt to effect cosmetic changes until they can no longer afford to do so. Then all hell will break loose and Poles will become the ones deemed responsible.
If you are under 30, then read the latest book by Tom Peters, the management guru, entitled "Re-Imagine: Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age." He maintains that, in this new world of global economic competition, unless you create your own job you will not have a job. This applies especially to men, as our increasingly service based economy and the present employment laws are more amenable for employing women on a part-time basis. Already 10 million women run their own businesses in the USA and the value of their businesses is larger than Germany's GDP.
Should you wish to know what the future holds, then join us on www.gpmnagement.com, as we have added a new section.
I happily leave this land to the descendants of the characters immortalized by the greatest of Polish historians and anthropologists, Maria Konopnicka (1842-1910).
On the WSE: The predictions are relatively simple. Kwasniewska - slow grind down to new lows; Lepper - the market falls off a cliff.
