Replying to LO28404 --
>From: Alan Cotterell
>I suggest that most managers and CEOs cannot conceive of another paradigm
>different from the old directive/authoritarian one. Our Australian
>management hierarchies are shaped by the old military model. The problem
>is that we haven't followed the changes to the fighting man's life. I
>believe in both the American and Australian Armies it is realised that
>the man in the field is the one with the high tech. weapons systems, and
>who is usually best placed to make decisions about their use. Apparently
>there has been a distnct reduction in centralised power towards a more
>self-managed situation.
Hi Alan, and others,
As a Canadian, I read those words with special attention. We have just
lost 4 Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan to 'friendly fire' as a possible
result of that decentralized decision making.
It has made me Think of the potentially disastrous consequences, in any
organization-- military or otherwise, with this type of action potential
available to the employees. If the ability and authority to make critical
decisions on behalf of the organization rests with the individual
employee, in these times more than any other, it is imperative that
employees be well trained in specific knowledge, skills and abilities --
and socialized to the organization's values, beliefs, and assumptions --
and furthermore that an effective accountability system exist. Talk about
a paradigm shift -- organizations can no longer fill a position with a
live body and hope that they'll pick up what they need to know on-the-job.
As I type this, it seems so obvious... But how do you ensure (or at least
feel confident) that your employees have the competence and the alignment
with the organization's MVV to make those decisions.
Hmmm...
Cheers,
Lynn
--"Lynn Sikorski" <kaleidoscope@cadvision.com>
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