I suppose there are not many other beliefs more firmly held in our
professional world than the belief that whatever monstrous orders may come
down the hierarchy the crafty workers will probably find some devious way
to retaliate -- if not to defeat its intent, then at least to wreak
revenge. In sociologese we say that the formal org. should never
underestimate the power of the informal org.. In bus. ethics we say that
perceived injustice will wreak its own revenge. Wouldn't be fun to collect
some of the great stories that illustrate this seminal principle?
One of my favorites comes from Frank Navran (Ethics Consultant in Atlanta,
GA). Customer service reps. working over the phone were subjected to
relentless pressure to handle more calls per hour, i.e. to make their
calls shorter. Each time they shortened their average call duration, the
standard was raised again. One defense they created was to deliberately
hang-up after just a few seconds. These calls reduced their average time,
of course. They also increased customer annoyance and cost the company
plenty in trying to "fix" the troubles in their faulty phone system.
Let's hear your favorite tales from "the informal org. strikes back".
Barry Sugarman
Prof. of Management
Lesley College School of Management
Cambridge, Mass
-- SUGARMANB@aol.com