"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing"
- Edmund Burke
(This is a little off topic in a political BLOG, but I think it addresses a source of some of the faults of the current administration. I also cite the "cure" BLOGs provide and the problem of not addressing the root cause of the disease.)
My Thesis:
Corruption is an inherent part of corporate and public systems because it is designed in by a current emphasis on narrowly defined metrics. Mediocre products, deception, and increasing polarization are the result of the success of an entire system rather than the failure of specific individuals.
At first glance this does not make sense. How could something be geared to producing negative and ultimately destructive results as an ultimate goal? What sane person would create processes that deliberately result in bad ... "products" ... "service" ... "policy" ... "government" ... "laws" ... (insert your favorite here).
The answer to this conundrum lies in the clever use of bureaucratic insulation. If no one has to take responsibility for project results, then no one has to make personal judgments or be held directly accountable.
A key term that must be defined is the corporate favorite; "metrics". By metrics, I mean a definable measurement used to gauge whether a process or product is better/worse over a period of time. This is attractive to those who must decide if what they evaluate is a success or failure because it offers the prospect of avoiding ... um ... "hard" decisions. (Bush reference intended)
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