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it's called "office politics" in a nutshell, and its constantly hovering around all workplaces. i don't think it's possible to eliminate these sort of biases f

it's called "office politics" in a nutshell, and its constantly hovering around all workplaces. i don't think it's possible to eliminate these sort of biases from group interactions...i personally think there will always be a bell curve of dislikes/likes among managers who see over a large group of individuals. that's why it often pays, esp. in this day and age, to keep your employment options open.

calinet6 12y ago
It can be eliminated, and it's extremely simple to lay out exactly how to do so. Getting there is not so simple, but the analysis is. This type of office politics are a direct result of a specific set of ingrained beliefs about people, and a lack of scientific understanding of three areas: psychology and behavioral theory, statistics, and systems theory. In sum, they produce Quality. Lacking, you get the problems we see in the original article. Knowledge of these three areas, and fundamentally the recognition that the solution lies in this knowledge, is pivotal. 1. Psychology. Knowledge of human behavior and motivation. The article does a good job of identifying the individual breakdown of motivation, but it doesn't go further. The now-famous Dan Pink TED talk is a good start: Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose. 2. Statistics. Knowledge that in a complex production line, whether it be software or widget making, all performance is fundamentally a statistical process highly influenced by a myriad of confounding variables. Even individuals are bound to this model, and strings of good performance or a string of bad performance are probabilistically likely. This brings a new level of understanding to employee performance and an attitude that's wholly beneficial to all employees. http://blog.deming.org/2013/08/is-the-results-due-to-mathematical-probability-or-individual-merit/ http://blog.deming.org/2013/08/is-the-results-due-to-mathema... 3. Systems Theory. Knowledge that most of the performance deficit able to be optimized in any production is within the systems surrounding it, not the individuals themselves. Even the best individuals are often doing their best in the context of extremely poor conditions. The best company improves the process of production continuously, focusing on the system and not the individuals. This type of thinking is also supported by the knowledge of statistics and psychology above. “A bad system, will defeat a good person, every time.” -- Deming If everyone has even a basic knowledge of these three concepts, then the entire organization improves. And more importantly, the beliefs about people that stem from a lack of knowledge of these important concepts begin to dissipate. The belief that individuals are fully responsible for their own success and performance, the idea that bad performers can't be improved or utilized effectively, the belief that individuals are best motivated by carrots and sticks; all of this flies out the window in the face of solid scientific fact. The challenge is getting everyone in the company to adopt this new philosophy. For that reason, it must come in the vessel of leadership from the top. Start with the 14 points: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming
- tehwalrus 12y ago
  I can't believe I had never heard of Deming before. Thank you.

calinet6 12y ago

It can be eliminated, and it's extremely simple to lay out exactly how to do so. Getting there is not so simple, but the analysis is. This type of office politics are a direct result of a specific set of ingrained beliefs about people, and a lack of scientific understanding of three areas: psychology and behavioral theory, statistics, and systems theory. In sum, they produce Quality. Lacking, you get the problems we see in the original article. Knowledge of these three areas, and fundamentally the recognition that the solution lies in this knowledge, is pivotal. 1. Psychology. Knowledge of human behavior and motivation. The article does a good job of identifying the individual breakdown of motivation, but it doesn't go further. The now-famous Dan Pink TED talk is a good start: Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose. 2. Statistics. Knowledge that in a complex production line, whether it be software or widget making, all performance is fundamentally a statistical process highly influenced by a myriad of confounding variables. Even individuals are bound to this model, and strings of good performance or a string of bad performance are probabilistically likely. This brings a new level of understanding to employee performance and an attitude that's wholly beneficial to all employees. http://blog.deming.org/2013/08/is-the-results-due-to-mathematical-probability-or-individual-merit/ http://blog.deming.org/2013/08/is-the-results-due-to-mathema... 3. Systems Theory. Knowledge that most of the performance deficit able to be optimized in any production is within the systems surrounding it, not the individuals themselves. Even the best individuals are often doing their best in the context of extremely poor conditions. The best company improves the process of production continuously, focusing on the system and not the individuals. This type of thinking is also supported by the knowledge of statistics and psychology above. “A bad system, will defeat a good person, every time.” -- Deming If everyone has even a basic knowledge of these three concepts, then the entire organization improves. And more importantly, the beliefs about people that stem from a lack of knowledge of these important concepts begin to dissipate. The belief that individuals are fully responsible for their own success and performance, the idea that bad performers can't be improved or utilized effectively, the belief that individuals are best motivated by carrots and sticks; all of this flies out the window in the face of solid scientific fact. The challenge is getting everyone in the company to adopt this new philosophy. For that reason, it must come in the vessel of leadership from the top. Start with the 14 points: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming

tehwalrus 12y ago
I can't believe I had never heard of Deming before. Thank you.