When Common Sense Doesn't Seem to Work!

If only . . . the seemingly common sense initiatives we keep taking actually worked!

Everyday we experience examples of change efforts that have petered out, failed to deliver the expected benefits or disappointed those who were keen supporters of them at the outset. New, seemingly common sense, initiatives are constantly being taken by managers who are eager to exploit the latest techniques to improve the performance and longer-term viability of their organisations. Yet, all too often, disillusionment, cynicism and a feeling of wasted effort follow the initial enthusiasm, intense activity and (frequently) large-scale investment. The important question for managers to reflect upon then is: "Is this pattern inevitable or can we escape from it into something more useful?"

Much of the thinking, writing and practice in modern management is based upon an idealised model of organisations in which:

• people and groups behave rationally, within clearly defined structures, processes and systems
• problems and events are explained in terms of linear chains of cause and effect
• the hidden, messier and more informal aspects of everyday organisational behaviour are seen as being illegitimate and/or signs of dysfunction that 'proper management' will cure
• managers are seen as external, objective observers of what goes on around them, and
• management as a whole is in control of the organisation and its links with its environment.

As a result, highly detailed plans and budgets, formal organisational charts, extensive target setting and similar tools dominate managers' agendas, as they attempt to realise this ideal. And, when these fail to deliver the promised benefits, poor implementation is often cited as the cause: "All we need to do is to do it better and get it right." But is that all that managers need to do?