Ben, much of the "incompetence" that you talk about for example in the
case of the mechanic not putting the tire on properly in caused by a
lack of adequate incentives- the mechanic was not specifically rewarded
for that job and was not accountable in the marketplace because he/ she
was an employee rather than an entrepreneur. As such, the mechanic sees
tire when you see safety and mobility.
The mechanic may not be completely to be blame- he or she may have been
forced to undertake a task they are not suited to by a manager facing
say staff shortages. That same mechanic may be very competent at other
tasks- just not changing tires.
You therefore either have to make people accountable within the firm for
their results which is very difficult because of bounded rationality/
limited understanding or leave the company and be accountable to your
own customers in the market. But where would incompetent people go- they
need hierarchies because formal employment relations give them the
mandate to be able to call on competent people and simultaneously confer
upon competent people the obligation to respond to their colleagues. In
effect, the incompetents free ride.
The whole problem with "incompetence" and lack of willingness to learn
competence is to be found in the flawed nature of organized society- the
fact that the social, political and economic systems tolerate and often
even reward incompetence. The optimal response that has already been
taken by "competent" people like yourself and myself is to opt-out and
be
entrepreneurs. The optimal response for "incompetents" sho are willing
to learn is also to be found in the unorganized world- in the absense of
force they can develop lifestreams around those things that they are
most competent at- and increase their competence in those areas until
they can sustain their existence in that area. The true incompetents-
the people who refuse to learn competence- are the real problem- for
themselves and "society".
regards sincerely Simon Buckingham,
http://www.unorg.com/customerservice.htm
--Simon Buckingham <go57@dial.pipex.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>