Bit extreme?
I don't think so. I'm not criticising the people themselves. Although I believe that at least a few managers, at least occasionally, realise that what they are actually doing is creating high cost, low quality services. We've seen it in local government, the health service, housing associations, and all manner of other more commercial businesses.
Our modern conception of management is basically the same one devised by Frederick Winslow Taylor over 100 years ago.
That's him.
He devised Scientific Management. He was very important and his ideas, together with those of Henry Ford, led to leaps in the way manufacturing, commercial services and government administration is organised. A very important change in thinking which revolutionised the way organisations work. The basic principles remain the same today embedded in this command and control philosophy. Top down functional hierarchies, controls, such as performance management frameworks with their "baskets " of Performance Indicators and SMART targets, and Golden Threads, cascading objectives, Mission Statements and the ultimate insult to humanity - "corporate behaviours" (where people are sent on courses to teach them how to empathise!) Bloated Human Resources departments, and Organisational Development & Business Improvement Directorates. It all seems so normal, so par for the course, making up the hegemonic values - the tacit assumptions and "common sense" of modern management.
However, a new revolution in management thinking is now needed. Indeed it has begun.
Systems Thinking is not understood by most managers. It will be considered alongside project management approaches like 'Prince 2' and becoming more popular - "Lean" as another tool or set of tools. But it is not a tool. It is different way - markedly different from the last 100 years of management thinking. You can't apply it using the same tired old assumptions, half baked methodology and flawed psychology. You can't add it to your toolbox!
'Management' has to unlearn everything it thinks it knows, including most of what is taught on MBAs.
Another day, I'll tell you why.
Currently having lean systems thinking dropped on me from on high... it smells no sweeter than what went before.
ReplyDeleteUnlearning is a tricky proposition for all of us. Does it mean we need a completely new tool box, or no tool box at all ?
ReplyDeleteLike his tie though.
ReplyDeleteSteve - most 'Lean' is total rubbish - sometimes it even calls itself Lean systems thinking - but it's a misnomer - there's not thinking involved.
ReplyDeleteWhat many consultants and lean practitioners advocate is a load of tools which nicked from car manufacturing - then it is imposed from above.
The whole point of understanding your organisation as a system is to understand that Command and Control hierarchies are not only incapable of solving the problem (whatever tools they use) because they are the problem. Management thinking has to change because it is the problem. The best that a Lean approach pushed down from on high can acheive is compliance. And the world does not change(with any sustainability) because people are compliant!
Unlearning is indeeed tricky Keith! For a start it requires managers to accept that their general world view, and specifically in this case, understanding of organisations and management - the area in which managers feel they are experts - is wrong! Difficult one to swallow. Once they've done this it's still hard to relinquish the illusion of control - they really believe that performance management frameworks and traffic light reprots give them control - they're delusional. I count myself amongst these - I am now obviously reformed - but I've been there and eaten the basket of PIs!!
And it means we need to understand what kind of tools we need before we buy our toolbox and start trying to use them. We have a load of managers trying to construct a shed with potato peeler!! It's the thinking that comes first - once we understand we can make our own tools. Actually I'm wasting words here - this could almost be a blog. I'm shutting up now!