(02-14-2019 07:47 PM)bullet Wrote:  Work is moving to open offices. People demand immediate action with their constant e-mails. The emphasis on teamwork means endless meetings. There is no administrative support so all but the top execs are doing more and more clerical tasks.

So people are involved in trivia and constantly distracted.

Much of that is frankly our own fault. The word NO has made it's way out of the vocabulary. We're also our own worst enemy when it comes to making promises. A customer enters panic mode and has a "hot" order or needs to "expedite" and we think "servicing the customer" equals dropping everything and immediately going into "hair on fire" mode to get them what they need. What we've actually done is set the bar so that customer now EXPECTS that level every time they cry wolf.

“Poor planning on your part does not necessitate an emergency on mine.” No truer words yet we've decides to completely ignore them.

Teamwork.... Blame the damn Millennials. No one wants to do the work. No one wants to make decisions and/or accept responsibility. The beautiful thing about "teamwork" is that when "it" hits the fan the team can cover their collective asses by claiming it was someone elses fault. The finger can be pointed, excuses can be made, and no one is blamed.

The PERFECT example of this is ISO. Talk about a system that is entirely based on covering your backside and defusing blame. Have a problem and as long as you "followed the procedure", they can literally do nothing but write a "corrective action" that's then sent to a committee to determine if there's any changes needed to said procedure. After that determination is made, the committee needs to rewrite the procedure and submit it for approval to ensure it keeps with ISO guidelines. Once said procedure is approved, it needs to be notated and updated then sent to another committee so those involved can have a "training" to communicate the procedure update to those affected. Those affected then need to sign a form stating they were trained and were properly informed of said procedural change which is then copied and kept in the ISO manual and the employee file.

Oh, did I mention that in said reviewing committee, EVERYONE who is even slightly affected needs to be asked for their "input" on the situation.

Best part is that most average companies need to hire at least 1-2 people to keep track of all the damn paperwork generated by ISO. Hiring people that require salary and benefits that have ZERO value added to the process.

And one wonders why everything has turned into a cluster "F" time & money pit.....



Honestly though, is that any worse than the good old days when a decision being made meant having someone to throw under the bus if the plain went off the rail? Same old CYA, different paths.

At least the old way was quicker and easier.