I believe this post in response to Ben from Barry is worth a response. In
many systems I've worked in and for, the number of policies and procedures
is more closely related to the nature of the complexity of the systems
involved. And while it is probably true that you want someone who values
honesty at the controls of a nuclear power plant, as long as such a person
is capable and knowledgeable enough to perform the needed functions, it
doesn't matter one whit that he/she values anything but a paycheck. The
behavior doesn't have to be uniform, but it does have to be sufficient for
the purpose/function. If everyone having differing values in a nuclear
plant, or oil refinery, were to have differing values it would not change
the nature and number of critical functions needing to be performed at
regular intervals. Would it? Must we add a new layer of bureaucracy each
time someone having differing views/religions/habits/behaviors/values
joins the organization? ...I hope we hear from others on this issue. I'd
like to know if there IS such a correlation, or if enough people believe
there is.
--Regards, John Constantine Rainbird Management Consulting Santa Fe, NM http://www.trail.com/~rainbird
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>