Re: British management skills


"Roger Dewhurst" <dewhurst@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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onlyme wrote:
"MM" <kylix_is@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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"John McDonnell has been the Labour MP representing Heathrow for more
than 30 years and has seen numerous planning inquiries, management
changes and staff reorganisation at the world's busiest airport. He
said many Heathrow workers, past and present, had visited his weekend
surgeries to express concerns about T5. 'In the run-up to the opening,
a lot of people took redundancy or voluntary retirement,' he said. 'So
a lot of experienced people went in the restructuring while the number
of middle management increased. That's the basis on which T5 was
launched.'" [Guardian/Observer]

So there you have it. The number of middle management increased, while
experienced staff left. Ditto the railways, ditto the NHS. Ditto
wherever and whenever a failing British organisation is encountered.
And the managers get paid high salaries, are given unearned perks, and
will eventually receive copper-bottomed pensions. Meanwhile Britain
turns to *** and becomes the world's laughing stock.

MM


Totally agree.
As soon as 'management' became a seperate industry - the lid was on the
coffin!

In days of yore (well, not that 'yore'...I'm only going back to the late
1800's-early 1900's) the 'management' usually had intimate knowledge of
whatever industry they were involved in...be it roads, rail, bridge
building, building building....whatever.

For these early managers, their industry was their life's work - and
they
were desperate to see their projects succeed - as projects grew in size,
they were forced to become project manager...site supervisor - public
relations etc etc etc.....but they were still very much 'hands on' - and
carried with them a full grounding in that industry - and a vested
interest
in the project at hand.

Something changed - I'm not sure what - probably WW1?
But the balance certainly shifted in favour of people with no perticular
knowledge or interest in a project...who could 'hire' others to design
and
create it for them.
And managers were hired to oversee all this - who also knew *** all
about
the industry in question......the birth of 'management' as a seperate
industry.

It nauseates me to see twats such as Willy Whatshisname - in front of
the
press at T5 - accepting full responsibility.....when the net effect of
such
acceptance is no more than a red face!

OK - so he accepts responsibility....
Will he resign? NO
Will he forego his bonus this year? NO
Well, will he at the very least, forego this months salery?....WILL HE
***!

So what will he do?
Answer....he'll return to his management spreadsheets and meetings with
other managers...to try to find out what went wrong!

It's not really on is it?
Heads need to roll (In japan not too long ago, he would have had to fall
on
his sword...REALLY) - people need to be fully accountable, with the risk
of
failure carrying with it, the same consequences as our early innovators
were
faced with.
Time to get these bastards out of their ivory towers and down there
among
the workforce - desperate to see the project succeed. Thry want to be
managers do they?...Well get out there and fucking manage then!






I suspect that these things are all due to the 'management' culture. In
the days of our youth managers came from the public school educated
class who generally lacked intimate knowledge of the businesses to be
managed. In those low technology times things just bumbled along
without too many disasters.

When the public school educated class became politically incorrect the
MBA fad developed and a class of 'managers' appeared who were,
supposedly, trained to manage but knew nothing about the business to be
managed. It was considered that management skills were sufficient and
that managers could move from business to business without actually
knowing anything about them. Politicians fostered this being the
ultimate among managers knowing nothing about that which is to be managed.

In New Zealand there was no public school educated class of any
significance and accountants became the managers. We now have
everything run by bean counters! In the public service and quasi
government owned businesses political correctness ensured that women had
to have a large share of the top job. Thus we get stuck with female
bean counters who know less than nothing about what they are supposed to
be managing. The government of course is controlled by a bunch of butch
lesbians!

The germans and japanese got it right. Their managers tend to be
engineers!

R


We had it though....back in the days of Brunel (responsible for all mannor
of amazing engineering feats....Joseph William Bazalgette....the London
shithouse system (no small task!).....the canal builders....the great
shipbuilders....Joseph Paxton and Crytal palace. etc etc etc

The commonality?......all projects managed by accomplished engineers

The Titanic....a triumph of engineering...would not have hit the iceberg and
sunk - had it not been for management decisions re' the increase in
speed...and many wouldn't have died had it not been for another management
decision re' the number of lifeboats.....perhaps the Titanic disaster should
have been the wake-up call in favour of common sense over 'management?

But we had it all....right here on this small island - just 100-150 years
ago.
What the hell went wrong????????????


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