I have never been much of a follower of management jargon. To me, good management is a matter of common sense but with the increasing rarity of that commodity I have turned to thinking about the theory of management - Journeyman style!
I have come to the conclusion that there are three basic types of management:
(1) Positive management - actions taken by managers which improve the situation.
(2) "Laissez Faire" - basically "do nothing and let the workers sort themselves out". Depending on the calibre of the workers, this may actually result in better results than (1).
(3) Negative management - actions taken by managers to interfere with the normal working of the organisation which results in worse results than if they had done nothing.
Sadly, I have to report that Follyville, which has so far generally exercised option 2 with reasonable success has now descended to Option 3 - Negative Management. I don't suppose it is intentional but it comes from not considering the outcomes or consulting the workers before decisions are made. The management and burghers of Follyville have always had a very blinkered "one issue" approach and the latest developments follow in this trend. The issue at the moment is saving money. It's the same everywhere in Local Government - Follyville is no different. But instead of asking the question "how can we sensibly save money", the word "sensibly" is left out. Result - negative management. Let me illustrate with a recent example.
Two officers of Follyville had been booked on a course in London. It was assumed that admin. would order them train tickets (as pre-ordering results in a saving on the full price). However, the day before they were due to go they were informed by management that there was no money in the training budget. There was, however, money in the mileage budget. Rather than going by train Officer 1 should therefore drive to Officer 2's house and then drive the two of them to Newbury Park underground station. From there they could get the underground train to their course.
Let's analyse this scenario:
Cost under normal arrangements -
2 x Train fare (including Travelcard) @ £50.20 = £100.40 (N.B. this would have been cheaper if tickets ordered in advance).
Cost under Negative Management arrangements -
97 miles mileage reimbursement @ £0.40 £38.80
Car Parking at Newbury Park £ 4.50
2 x Tube fare to Holborn £20.00
2 x 1.5 hours extra journey time @ £17.76 £53.28
______
Total cost £116.58
So a misguided attempt to save Follyville some money actually resulted in spending £16 extra plus considerable increased aggravation for the officers concerned in having to drive back in the rush hour, in the dark, in the pouring rain with all the hazards of road water and spray. Not a nice journey at all.