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From: [log in to unmask]
Dear all, received this from a colleague and thought it might ring a bell
with most folk - whether NHS or no, no disrespect intended to this venerable
site, but hey we all need a smile now and then!
Retyped from a Haematological Paper 1995
"ONCE UPON A TIME"
It was resolved to have a boat race between a Japanese team and a team from
the National Health Service. Both teams practised long and hard to reach
their peak performance on the big day they were as ready as they could be.
The Japanese won by a mile
Afterwards the NHS team became very discouraged by the result and morale
sagged. Senior management decided that the reason for the crushing defeat
had to be found and a working party was set up to investigate the problem
and recommend appropriate action.
Their conclusion was that the Japanese team had eight people rowing and one
person steering, whereas the NHS team had eight people steering and one
person rowing.
Senior management immediately hired a consultancy(!!!!** )company to do a
study on the
team's structure Thousands of pounds and several months later they concluded
that 'too many people were steering and not enough rowing'.
To prevent losing to the Japanese next year, the team structure was changed
to three 'Assistant Steering Managers', three 'Steering Managers' and a
'Director of Steering Services'. A performance and appraisal system was set
up to give the person rowing the boat more incentive to work harder.
The next year the Japanese won by two miles. The NHS laid off the rower for
poor performance, sold off all the paddles, cancelled all capital investment
for new equipment and halted development of a new canoe. The money saved was
used to fund higher than average pay awards to senior management."
D.M,P. November 1995
See what I mean?
Sue
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