Category Archives: Industry, Banking and Capitalism

Poems about industry and capitalism

Icon

Icon

You must have noticed how the word ‘icon’ is now much overplayed
In ordinary conversation we seem to hear it almost every day
Historically the word was used to describe a religious work of art
Nowadays it is applied to distinguish some object thus setting it apart

In the digital age icons are used to represent a useful ‘application’
Click on the app’s icon and its functions leap into action
So in this case the icon is a symbol representing a function
The symbol and the routine working in conjunction

Now we seem to have decided that anything exceptional is ‘iconic’
From a well recognized brand name to a modern health tonic
Thus everyday symbols like those for Apple or Dyson
Ensure in our minds a sort of anticipatory frisson

All this is good for the salesmen and marketing gurus
But I wonder if the label ‘icon’ they are inclined to abuse
Indeed we seem to hear the word so often these days
It begins to sound like a meaningless phrase

So perhaps we should give the word icon a rest
In trying to identify what we claim is best
And simply describe what the icon would typify
Instead of using a symbol as some false alibi

Finally, it occurs to me that when the term ‘logo’ is used
Sometimes with icon I get it confused
Companies use logos to symbolize their essence
And icons direct you to their nearer presence!

Ken Fisher

Hi Viz Vest

Hi Viz Vest

If your intention is always to be clearly seen
Not obscured within some devious smokescreen
Then the solution which undoubtedly is best
Is to make sure you’re wearing a Hi Viz Vest

Such a garment is not meant for showing off
Of Health & Safety measures you really must not scoff
The bright yellow colours help in your detection
Therefore providing the necessary protection

Apart from safety, other functions they fulfil
Sometimes they imply you have a certain skill
The uniform provides some guarantee
That on a building site you can be set free

This idea set me wondering if it’s the case
That others might use disguise by donning a face
Of apparent license to seemingly validate
A white coat, a name tag, thus might fabricate

Perhaps we should beware of authority ostensible
To check their badges of power might be quite sensible
Is the parking attendant, even our friendly copper
Simply a phoney acting out a monstrous whopper?

I am sure that most Hi Viz Vest wearers are not trying to deceive
The message of their bright gilets we can surely believe
And uniformed workers of whatever profession
Have aims other than this good life’s suppression

Ken Fisher

The Northern Lights

The Northern Lights

A sojourn in the North
Broadens the mind
From the self-obsessed view
Of the Central Belt

Aberdeen must be distinguished
From the Shire
The City slightly careworn
It’s energy like its oil, degraded

The County offers open fields
And wide horizons
Verdant land and beefy livestock
Earth and sea happily combined

The strand of sunkissed beaches
Busy harbours
Vibrant boatyards
Burgeoning off-shore wind-farms

Country riverside rambles
The gentle ascent of Bennachie
Nature reserves teeming with wild flowers
Myriad Castles, the treasures of Haddo House explored

The Northern  Lights
Shine brightly, not just by solar wind
But by a country and a people
Still confident in life

Ken Fisher

E.S.G.

 

E.S.G. = Environmental, Social, Governance

E.S.G – may not mean much to you
But for companies quite significant
Important issues to consider
Of which they must be vigilant

In this modern woke world
When public much more aware
Of how firms are cherishing
This world for which we care

In the past, profit was the only aim
Must please rapacious shareholders
But what about the hard-pressed workers?
And other worthy stakeholders

For far too long Executive pay unbridled
They claimed huge bonuses, believed they were entitled
Now stakeholders shout ‘Out of Order’
When they create such world disorder

Directors must now consider
The company’s impact on nature
And all in the wider society
Expecting  governance more mature

So rich CEO’s and executives
Can no longer just ignore
The effect of their business activities
On this wide world’s poor

Climate change, pollution, corrupt practices
Have recently been pushed to centre stage
Good governance applied in all their ventures
From discrimination to the living wage

And in order to monitor progress on these measures
Companies coerced to report on these benchmarks
Scrutiny applied by Government and many other parties
Thus E S G become the acclaimed hallmarks

Culture in any organisation
Set by those at the top
But if the moral tone is right
That’s not where it stops

Ken Fisher

Ticking Time Bomb

Ticking Time Bomb

Ticking time bomb, ominous expression
Laden with foreboding
Signalling some impending disaster
Primed with inexorable doom

Who set the clock ticking?
Trigger to delayed destruction
How long the time delay?
Before the inevitable calamity

Too easily we assign ‘time bomb’
To some future assault to health or fortune
As if our actions or omissions
Must lead to inevitable tragedy

Thus politicians and power brokers
Have laid up the powder
For the ineluctable explosion
Heralding the slaughter of the innocents

All this seems a little over-hyped
Threat of ticking time bomb
Used to highlight our folly
Ignoring the supressed peril

So what should be done?
Stride boldly into the minefield
Sever the fuse, eliminate the menace
Or tiptoe through hoping to remain unscathed

Perhaps we might discover
The ticking time bomb
Is a mere chimera
A threat without substance

Ken Fisher

 

Browser

Browser

Your Gateway to the World

 

Before the digital age what was a browser?
A bookworm ensconced in the library shelves
Earnest students somewhat absorbed in themselves
But now a browser is seen as an essential tool
To plumb the depths of a bottomless pool

Of all the ‘bells and whistles’
Your computer may offer
No matter what other charms it may proffer
The browser is the greatest of all these gizmos
Every fact from ocean’s depths to infinite cosmos

Between our enquiry however recondite
In simplest terms the browser aids navigation
As through millions of web pages we seek direction
In microseconds to our obscure questions
A medley of equally arcane suggestions

Browsers have opened the gate to internet usage
And nowadays this space is filled with world-famous names
Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera and others make claims
To circle the globe with limitless archives
Without which the tech world could hardly survive

Into the Web Browser the URL you insert
The HTTP sets up the communication to the server
Such codes are a vital necessary precursor
Click and the search engine obeys your command
The world of knowledge accessed, what’er you demand

Ken Fisher

 

Ode to the Banks

Ode to the Banks

A lot of money to the banks is owed
Huge sums from those who have borrowed
So this little ode is such a tribute
To acknowledge what the banks contribute

The banks take money from deposits
Holding it within their closet
Then much of it straight out they send
As we request that they might lend

Of course lending does not come free
Interest charged to you and me
The borrowing rate is somewhat more
The deposit rate is near the floor

In this way a profit’s made
And dividends can thus be paid
But bankers can not be sure
Those borrowers won’t turn poor

If this happens they might default
The transaction grinding to a halt
So before bankers hand us any cash
Must ascertain we won’t be rash

In days of yore the Manager you would meet
Nowadays only computers will you greet
An algorithm on you adjudicates
Digitisation of your fate

The banks do other things than lend
Our monthy payments they will send
And happily receive our pay
Holding it from day to day

Direct Debits, Standing orders kept up to date
Ensuring utility payments avoid being late
Contact cards and others we can swipe
Thanks to that magic magnetic stripe

Credit cards keep us afloat
As good as any old bank note
But this money does not come cheap
Costly spending for our upkeep

Cash machines are still a vital service
When we might need cash for any purpose
And others like to go inside, served at the counter
Where even now the bank staff we encounter

The strategic role of the banks is vital to the nation
With the Bank of England money kept in circulation
With guidance from the Treasury above
All banks work with them hand in glove

Mind you sometimes things go wrong
In the banking crisis some collapsed headlong
It’s then that Joe Public was asked to foot the bill
For all of us a bitter pill

But overall the banks have served us well
For them we shall not yet toll the knell
So for all we owe to the banks, this ode I dedicate
Their worth we ought not underestimate

Ken Fisher

Scrapes and Scratches, Bumps and Dents

Scrapes and Scratches, Bumps and Dents

When your new car suffers a bump or a dent
In your mind it becomes a major event
We know we really should not be so worried
But our pride and joy has somehow been sullied

Fortunately out there are experts galore
Whose websites are keen for you to explore
Offering to restore the car to perfection
Where all defects avoid any detection

But no matter how small the dent seems to you
Other panels, we are told, are affected too
So a tiny scratch or a minor scrape
Incurs a large bill that you cannot escape

So just take care when driving and parking
If unscathed by bumps you would be arriving
And thus you will avoid those scratches and dents
Which to the eye of the beholder can give such offence

Ken Fisher

Modern Job Titles

Modern Job titles

 

I am tempted to say ‘you can’t be serious’!
When I hear of new jobs with titles mysterious
‘Chief Impact Officer’ for our Royal Prince
So lofty a role, it’s bound to convince

I suppose if your’re no longer an HRH
You need something to put ice on your cake
And there is little doubt he’ll consider the fact
That somehow he still needs to make real impact

While trawling articles in the national press
I came across job titles that are bound to impress
But the meaning of these seem rather obscure
What the holders actually do I am quite unsure

I am hoping that someone out there can make clear
The vital role of the new ‘Happiness Engineer’
And if the ‘Brand Warrior’ looms into sight
It does not signify we are in for a fight

Some businesses employ an on-board psychiatrist
But a new version has emerged – the ‘Dream Alchemist’
Corporate fluffery uses different approaches
Providing work for those gurus – ‘Lifestyle Coaches’

Virtue signalling is apparently all the rage
In woke capitalism, the spirit of the age
Hence the departure from jobs with any real work
Demanding graft that really might hurt

Perhaps it’s just me but I like to know what is meant
By a job specification full of puzzlement
The terms should be devoid of opaque illusion
Thus removing  all doubt and confusion

Recruitment agencies must now be creative
Inventing job descriptions quite innovative
Coaxing clients to apply for roles enigmatic
Success only assured to the most charismatic

 

PS I have noted that recently HR (Human Resources)
Has now been re-badged as HC (Human Capital) Whoopee!!

Ken Fisher

The Tyranny of the Password

The Tyranny of the Password

To compare this with Covid may seem quite absurd
But I’m almost as scared of the missing password
When we cannot remember these numbers and letters
Our hands are tied as if by tight fetters

These digital door keys prevent interference
Meant to protect our bank balance from disappearance
To the hands of some hacker of ill repute
Intent on swiping away all our loot

So with every aspect of computer filing
Requests for a password sets us compiling
A secret code to keep data secure
Safely concealed there for evermore

It is then that we need to be quite inventive
Complex passwords can be preventive
Of those who would all our secrets expose
Our facts and figures that no one else knows

The names of long dead pets, or gran’s date of birth
That primary school teacher if we think she was worth
Of incorporation into a password obscure
A combination that might long endure

This all sounds fine as far as it goes
Except when we need to enter the password and letters transpose
Or worst of all we suffer from total amnesia
Our brain dormant as through anaesthesia

We try to recall where the password record is hidden
We search our machine but all access forbidden
The more times we try the wrong combination
Now struck by panic and mighty frustration

In the end we may have all hope to abandon
All this computing is far too demanding
Just keep all your records in a box under your bed
Where password tyranny can  no longer cause dread

Ken Fisher

Wokeplace

Wokeplace
[The Modern Workplace]

In the modern wokeplace I rather regret
You must watch what you say in case you upset
Your colleagues sensitive to today’s social issues
Non-PC opinions may make them reach for the tissues!

Of course few would deny that we must be aware
That society’s divisions are often unfair
And to promote justice we all should endeavour
That no class of people suffer disfavour

But I wonder if perhaps it has all gone too far
Historical figures removed from the repertoire
Of those who heretofore we all have respected
Their toppled statues lying there look dejected

The history books a rewrite require
Heroes to whose ideals we should no longer aspire
How have the mighty fallen the wokeists declare
Ignoring our pleas that this might be unfair

In the wokeplace there is a new atmosphere
Where any criticism may well induce fear
Woke opinions are strong on the concerns of today
We cannot ignore them or try to downplay

No doubt woke values deserve consideration
Race, sex, equality, slave-like  discrimination
Social media has ensured these issues prevail
Public reaction on a quite momentous scale

I simply make a plea for moderation
No knee-jerk reaction across the nation
Don’t vilify the pioneers of our great institutions
Or force us all living today to take their retribution

Ken Fisher

Gobbledegook

Gobbledegook

No matter how hard I try
To pierce the impenetrable
To fathom the who or why
Make sense of the unintelligible

The problem is language obscure
Using terms utterly recondite
Employed as if quite de jure
But devoid of any clear light

Gobbledegook is a device
Intended to increase prestige
So that when you get any advice
You will acknowledge true expertise

But the problem then seems to be
No matter how many the words
It sheds even less light for me
And you may find it quite absurd

Have you ever tried to make sense
Of a modern job application?
Terms defying all common-sense
No clue to the real occupation

Strategic plans are quite renowned
To result in much obfuscation
In management-speak they abound
‘Road maps’ with a vague destination!

All this clever sleight of hand
Spawned the profession of ‘consultant’
They have developed their own pricey brand
To make jobs for executives now redundant

In the world of the academic
It is vital to be thinking profound
In their lofty submissions polemic
Opacity with mystery compound

In every field jargon seems to triumph
Theology, Astronomy, Medicine, Mathematics
It sounds like some professional alliance
Our ignorance their intended contrivance

It would seem if they simplify
That the layperson might understand
Making sense of that who and that why
The giddy heights they’d no longer command

Thus gobbledegook has proliferated
Plain ideas wrapped up in disguise
Our plea is to be liberated
Then they might open our eyes!

Ken Fisher