Awakenings

As a student in junior high school and high school, I was very interested in the business world and looked forward to a career in business.  However, I had an idealistic view of the corporate world.  I was unaware of the corruption of major, seemingly model corporations.  Little did I know that the crookedness of these companies was hidden behind fabricated images created for the public.  I had bought into these positive images and was shocked when the many corporate scandals erupted in the 2000s.  I was awakened to the fact that you can never judge a book by its cover, and the lessons that were learned or emphasized by the scandals are still relevant to me today.   

The collage shows my awakening to the corruption of corporations and the disastrous effects that can result.  My collage is a take on the pyramid as a model for corporate structure.  The pyramid is known for its emphasis on stability, trusting relationships, and opportunity.  The pyramid in my collage shows the consequences of corporate greed and dishonesty.   The top of the pyramid is Enron’s logo behind bars and represents the management of Enron. They have been found guilty of their corrupt actions and are imprisoned.

Below the incarcerated management are those who have been harmed by its actions.  They include the corporation’s employees, symbolized by the two men wearing ties, and others who placed their trust in the company.  Instead of the management being supported and supportive as it would be in a successful business structure, the corrupt and imprisoned management is a burden to those below it.  The bottom of the pyramid has cracks signifying the weight of corruption.  I created the cracks by carving lines into certain parts of the pyramid.  The letters of the words “trust” and “life” are broken apart and not in unison.  This shows the broken lives and shattered trust of those who invested in the corporation.  The pictures within the pyramid show the hardships of those who lost everything due to the scandal.  The pictures emphasizing the words “klunk” and “crash” show the sudden loss of those who invested in the corporation.  The man wearing red is dressed like an accountant and he symbolizes the accountants who lost their jobs when the accounting firm Arthur Andersen collapsed, and the man above him symbolizes those who have “lost their shirts” and livelihoods because of the scandal. The pennies show how the retirement funds of many were greatly reduced to practically nothing.  The pyramid symbolizes how negative actions affect not only those who commit the acts but all those who are around them and trust them.            

 Outside the pyramid are images of wealth and happiness that are out of the reach of those in the pyramid.  The pictures include families, jewelry, a luxury car, a first class train, and a high-class party.  The punished players in the scandal are trapped inside the pyramid and are unable to enjoy the luxuries that were once available to them.  Those at the bottom of the pyramid are also trapped and were robbed of their happiness.             

The scandals taught me that only hard and honest work can translate to success and that dishonesty and greed never go unpunished.  I learned that one should never invest according to what people say but rather on one’s own research and intuition.  I consider this awakening a very important part of my personal development because I am now more attuned to the “real world.”  As a result of my awakening, I am more prepared and enlightened when it comes to making decisions and creating my goals.  I was also able to empathize with those who were negatively affected by the misdeeds of the corporations and am now more dedicated to helping people. I hope to have a career in the business field one day and should I become successful, I hope to aid the disadvantaged and downtrodden.             

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 27th, 2007 at 1:28 am and is filed under