In search of management : culture, chaos and control in managerial work by Watson Tony J

Author:Watson, Tony J
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: https://archive.org/details/insearchofmanage0000wats

Chapter 6

Means, ends and going around in circles

‘The new structure and mission will soon be in place. We’ve got the grading structure in place. The action team is moving towards MRP2 and we Ere getting the PDP into place. What we now want to do is to look at metrics. To make sure that we are meeting the business’s new strategy we need to put in place the right metrics. Graham? ’

‘OK. I agree with you, Mike. We’ve got to make sure that we are getting it right. I don’t think anybody would disagree with that, would they?’

‘I was hoping not. But Tony won’t agree with it. Look at his face. He hates metrics. He gets upset every time we talk about measuring anything. Why do you get so twisted up on measures, Tony?’

‘I don’t really. It’s not measures as such that I get bothered about. It’s the son of approach that goes with it; all that ‘ putting in place” crap.’

‘Aha. We are using the wrong words again are we, groan groan? ’

‘It’s not just words. It seems to me that management is not really about putting systems in place, putting structures in place, putting metrics in place. Of course, you need all of these things. But in themselves they achieve nothing. I think there is though, if I can borrow one of Jim’s favourite phrases, a “mindset” among a lot of the managers here that believes that if you get the “right” systems, measures and all that, then the place will more or less manage itself. That’s what I mean by “crap”. You know that, to me, management is all about making and remaking understandings and agreements, persuading people, building trust, encouraging people to find new and better ways of doing things and

‘But surely you’ve first got to put basic procedures and structures in place? - Whoops, I’ve used the dreaded phrase.’

‘Yes, of course. “Basic ones”, as you say. But let me just say something about the “dreaded phrase ”. It’s not just my obsession with words. Haven’t you noticed that whenever politicians are in a flap about the economy or the health service or whatever, they increasingly turn to that hollow phrase; they are “putting in place measures' to do this, “putting in place policies” to solve that. It’s just like they say they are “making things absolutely clear” when they want to pull the wool over oeoole’s eyes.’

‘Come on, get off your soap box. You -’

‘No, I am talking about what happens here really. The more I hear managers talking about putting things in place, the more I get the impression that they are not confronting the fact that what they really need to be doing is getting out and about and talking to customers, talking to people in the factory and in the offices. They want to manage by remote control.’

‘That’s crap, Tony. We are not in trouble because we’ve depended on structures and systems. We are in trouble because we’ve depended on bad ones.

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