informal coalitions

Writing management wrongs

 

The autumn 2015 edition of Professional Manager contains a great article by Adrian Furnham, entitled “Write a business bestseller”. In it he identifies 11 essential ingredients of what he describes as “a management blockbuster”.

Whilst setting out this recipe for success in the literary world, he neatly exposes the gaps between the simplistic view of organization that such books typically present and the complex reality that managers experience day in, day out. He does this so subtly, though, that I can see many readers eagerly following his ‘advice’ in pursuit of their “dream of being a management guru”.

In essence, Furnham cleverly advances the same argument that I was trying to make more matter-of-factly in my recent post entitled, “10 examples of language that denies the real-world complexity of organization and management”.  On the face of it, he is offering some advice to budding authors. In actuality he is deriding the naïve ‘if you do this, you’ll get that’ prescriptions that prevent more meaningful engagement with the dynamics of organization and a more practical understanding of management practice. 

Order in the complexity of human interaction

Around three-and-a-half years ago, Dave Snowden and I had an in-depth exchange on the dynamics of organization. This was triggered by his comment on a post of mine entitled, “Self-organization and emergence as natural dynamics of organization.”

In a recent blog post of his own, "On the value of order," he once again takes issue with the suggestion made by some people (“from serious academics to superficial consultants with various gradations of sense and sensibility in between”) that all situations involving people are complex, regardless of context. I’m one of those people – as I was back in January 2012. Since I don’t see myself as an academic – serious or otherwise - I guess I might qualify as a superficial consultant. Or perhaps I’m one of Dave’s in-betweenies.

Anyway, it seems to me that his analysis confuses a description of the unavoidably complex dynamics of everyday human interaction, which exist regardless of context,with the range of responses that one might deliberately seek to make according to context.

10 examples of language that denies the real-world complexity of organization and management practice

According to conventional wisdom, managers can somehow stand outside the ongoing flow of human interaction and choose the optimum way to manage the situations in which they find themselves. Then, provided that others implement their decisions as planned and comply with the prescribed ways of working, it is assumed that the sought-after outcomes will be achieved.

Most managers would concede privately that this bears little resemblance to their everyday lived reality. However, the presumed ability to predict, organize, and control outcomes persists. Nor is it limited to management writing, leadership development programmes, and consultancy offerings. It also frames the ways in which managers’ actions are scrutinized and commented upon by politicians, journalists, and members of the general public. Most significantly, perhaps, this scientifically rational view of organization and management practice remains central to the way in which managers’ performance is typically judged by the in-house scorekeepers and commentators on whom their current standing, ongoing remuneration, and future prospects depend.

When managers account formally for their practice, therefore, we shouldn’t be surprised if they adopt the clichéd language and “We did this and got that” explanations that reflect this managerially ‘correct’ and politically acceptable view of their practice.