madhouse

OK, is, as Major Anonym says, a madhouse. Who is running the madhouse?

Let me say that I have many Hokkien friends. They tell me of a mythical character, the Hokkien Boss. At first, I think it is a bit like the pointy-eared boss in Dilbert, but then I learn it is more than that.

And the thing is that Hokkien Bosses all think they have integrity. But really, it is like China. The integrity is sometimes willingness to work with favour and partiality for those who are your close associates. It is about loyalty and family and the kind of 'dishonesty' you find in family-type societies like in Italy and China and Israel. Nowadays people call it unethical, but is is family. You cannot have ethical business which is also family business, because essence of family business is loyalty to some and less loyalty or different loyalty to others.

So is it fair to take many many dollars in public funds and use to run a family style business? This is the big question around Hokkien Bosses everywhere. Unless you like the Mafia can run family style business without direct use of public funds, it is unlikely to be considered ethical dealing.

It is clear that Hokkien Boss favours certain employees, will go on holiday with them, will drive them around. It is not so clear if it is business of good and trouble-free kind. Especially if is supposed to be institution of public character taking public funds.

I don't know, I like having a Hokkien Boss. It is closer family than many of us are frequently having in Danmark. But it is against hard-headed Nordic philosophy of being to have this kind of secret and unphilosophical bias in an educational place.