Essays

The presentation "The Dismal and Uncomfortable Science of Effective Work and Self-sabotage from the Lense of a Business Anthropologist" brings together observations on organizational dynamics from a variety of far-more-experienced practitioners of productivity and survivors of corporate negligence. An essay intended to accompany the presentation follows.

Social sciences are moved forward “[by] debates and conversation … active and empowered [we] enter … the world of intellectual exchange [in a] never ending conversation” (Graff & Birkenstein, 2014, p. 13). I hope to ferry a travelers along, as I put in my oar (Kenneth Burke as cited by Graff & Birksenstein, 2014) to this indefinite flow of discourse. This collage of quotes was gathered from theorists representing many disciplines, from economic philosophy, to medical anthropology, statistics and econometrics to management consulting and organizational design. Intersecting the academic output of these varied authors I’ve identified a thick discourse (i.e. “thick description”, Geertz 1973) of discontent in the way American organizations manage themselves, most saliently stated by the medical doctor Paul Farmer: “we’ve met the enemy -- he is us” (cited by Igoe, 2014).

Our protagonists in this struggle want to remind us that our minds are prone to wander to conclusions often contrary to the goals we set for ourselves, and the systems we plan with the best of intentions often devolve in an “abundance of waste” (Ohno, 1978/1988). These are reasonable missteps for any human being, as any single mind has limited effectiveness in the management of complex systems: as an individual attempting to lead, it is easy to forget that “what you see is all there is” (Kahneman, 2011, pp. 85-88). Organizational leaders have had a difficult time in the past (Drucker, 1946/1993, pp. 306-309) acknowledging the great responsibility they carry in the context of their host community, as an employer, as a producer and as a consumer of resources. Managers have misunderstood their role in production frequently wasting efforts on motivating their direct reports when they should be managing the complexity of the systems that shape performance (Deming, 1994).

Deep within the narrative of American exceptionalism is a misunderstanding of efficiency, a thought that inhibits our potential as innovators, a vicious circle that has fed on our cognitive illusions for over a hundred years. We have been “socialized for scarcity” (Paul Farmer, quoted by Igoe, 2014), we believe scarcity is real, and even if it is not, it is necessary to keep us from being too wasteful. This popular peccadillo passed down through generations has become the common sense of American culture: we shall aim for the biggest bang for the buck, because it’s an either-or situation and there’s no room for failure. Ironically, there is and always will be waste in the system, there is and always will be failure, and our fear of failure is what drives us away from the empirical improvements we would be making if we simply took heed of the advice of many an organizational expert, themselves shaped by experience and a lifetime of overcoming obstacles.

The means and methods of innovation are now well known, we’ve been in a state of abundance for a century; a material abundance in the age of mass production, an abundance of labor in the reintroduction of lean production, and an abundance of information in this age of knowledge production. With many predecessors, I too hope to convince people to identify the true wastes in their systems of production, and understand the path to humane development begins with a full understanding of human dignity.

Deming, W. E. (1994). The new economics for industry, government, education. Cambridge, MA: MIT Center for Advanced Engineering.

Drucker, P. F. (1993). Concept of the corporation 7E. Piscataway, NJ: Transaction Publishers. (Original work published 1946).

Igoe, M. (2014, Dec 15). Paul Farmer: 'We've met the enemy — and he is us'. Devex. Retrieved from https://www.devex.com/news/paul-farmer-we-ve-met-the-enemy-and-he-is-us-85081

Geertz, C. (1973). Thick description: Toward an interpretive theory of culture. In The interpretation of cultures: Selected essays (pp. 332-355).

Graff, G., & Birkenstein, C. (2014). They say / I say: The moves that matter in academic writing 3E. New York: WW Norton and Company.

Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Ohno, T. (1988). Toyota production system: Beyond large-scale production. (Trans.). (Original work published 1978)