Human factors in hierarchical organisations (“Interesting… funny… true”)

How to get promoted. How business evolves through random decisions.

 

Have you wondered why you haven’t yet been promoted to the level your analytical talents merit? Why people who make bad decisions get promoted?

Not to make a value judgement, it appears some answers lay in natural laws; features of human nature that affect the workings of a management hierarchy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Avancier

Much of this (part serious, part satirical, part humorous) material is available only on request to AM licence holders.

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1. PRINCIPLES ALL SHOULD KNOW

2: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE

3: BUSINESS IS GAMBLING

How to get promoted? (preface)

 

The Peter Principle (Laurence Peter)

The Dilbert Principle (Scott Adams)

The Iron Law of Oligarchy (Robert Michel)

“Power tends to corrupt” (Lord Acton)

The theory of evolution (Charles Darwin)

Parkinson's Law (Cyril Northcote Parkinson)

Hierarchology

People classifications

Quality systems

 

Informal career paths beat formal ones

Feelers and Analysts

Feelings matter more than facts

“Great” companies are lucky

Deadlines turn decisions into gambles

Data shortages turn decisions into gambles

Gambles lead by evolution to advances

Higher managers make bigger gambles

Directors make near random decisions

Yet real entrepreneurs don’t take big risks

4: MAKING BIG DECISIONS

5: MAKING ESTIMATES AND TAKING RISKS

6: DELEGATING

Doing nothing is always an option

The big decisions are rare

Crowds can help in limited cases

But most big decisions are judgement calls

Measure outcomes over the full cycle

Estimates benefit from analogy and group think

Risk management is not mathematics

Beware the risky-shift phenomenon

Delegation is the raison d’etre of the hierarchy

Culture does cascade from the top

But don’t put your faith in top-down targets

Manage upwards

Filter decisions on the way down

Feelers should employ Analysts

The accountable are responsible for the responsible

6: AVOIDING BLAME

8: MORE CAREERIST PRINCIPLES

9. CONCLUSIONS AND REMARKS

Outcomes are rarely clear cut

Decision rationale not equal outcome

There are always excuses

Moving on disables learning from looking back

 

Take opportunities as they arise

Remember perception is reality

Manage communications

Declare unpopular decisions in new words

Be a visible visionary

Filter out unwelcome news

Is this science and satire?

On how to judge a director

Why is the public sector inherently inefficient?

Why has the banking sector become a problem?

Finally