Who wants to be a boss?

• Author: Kreyche, Gerald F.
• Position: Parting Thoughts - Editorial

ALMOST EVERYONE wants to appear on Regis Philbin's TV show, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." If one changed the title to "Who Wants to Be a Boss?," there likely would be few takers. Feisty former Pres. Harry S. Truman enjoyed being the boss, though, and was proud of a sign he put on his desk reading, "The Buck Stops Here." Those were the days in the workplace when the person in charge was called the boss, and in most matters his or her word was law. Many half-jokingly boasted, "I don't get ulcers. I give 'em!" Times have changed, however. Today, "boss" is a dirty word, as the person in charge is variously known as manager, facilitator, group leader, coordinator, etc. Moreover, his or her word no longer is law, as it is challenged almost with every decision made. Someone is bound to protest it and spread discontentment. The sad thing is that this is the normal state of affairs in our society and we seem little able to do anything about it.

The boss can be sued for discrimination on the flakiest of grounds. Once an employee is hired, it is practically impossible to fire him or her, as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will quickly be on the scene to intimidate the boss. The situation worsens considerably when the person to be fired is a minority member. Almost literally, all hell breaks loose. Not only the EEOC, but the American Civil Liberties Union and the person's union representative will be up in arms. Under these conditions, one needs a strong stomach to insist on firing the incompetent individual. If the boss doesn't buckle under to such pressure, is persistent and lucky, and the dismissal is upheld, he or she will probably be forced to write an innocuous letter of recommendation and the company probably will have to dish out some severance pay. Anyone who has gone through this bureaucratic misery is likely to think twice about getting rid of anyone again, no matter how poorly that person performs.

Usually, the government is to blame for this state of affairs by pushing affirmative action, which, by any other name--i,e., preferential hiring, quotas, diversity, or equal opportunity--is still blatant discrimination. Once in a while, the government gets caught up in its own machinations. In 1995, the Federal Aviation Administration fired a Pueblo, Colo., air traffic controller who refused to work on the Sabbath--namely, from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. He was not Jewish and had no religious affiliation other than a group...