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Organisational Mechanics

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Cigarettes and Alcohol

10 May, 2019 by James Lawther Leave a Comment

Prohibition Noun: The act of forbidding something, especially by law In 1919 the US government attempted to reduce levels of alcohol consumption.  They passed legislation that prohibited its production, transportation and sale.  The ban was almost complete, bar a few exceptions for religious and medical use.  During the 1920’s the U.S government spent about $220m […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: compliance, culture, human nature, management style, motivation, political intervention, reinforcing behaviour

Organisations Create Culture

22 April, 2019 by James Lawther Leave a Comment

Organisation noun /ɔːɡ(ə)nʌɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/ A group of people with a particular purpose, such as a business or government department. The way activities are managed and completed. synonyms: company, firm, concern, operation, corporation, institution, group, establishment Culture noun /ˈkʌltʃə/ The ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society. The way we do things round […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: conformity, culture, human nature, organisation

The U-Turn

29 January, 2019 by James Lawther Leave a Comment

Executive express There is a new model of executive saloon on the market. It comes with all the bells, whistles and gizmos: Adjustable heated leather seats with multipoint massage to reduce stress Drinks cabinet with crystal glass decanters and walnut inlay for further stress reduction Five litre super charged, turbo charged, fuel injected engine for […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: blame, culture, human nature

It Stands to Reason…

23 January, 2019 by James Lawther 3 Comments

Test and Learn

Books or concrete? Imagine you are on the board of an educational charity.  You are trying to improve the standard of education in Sub-Saharan Africa. How should you invest the charitable donations?  What would be the most effective way to spend the money? In his book Adapt, Tim Harford tells the story of the Dutch […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: assumptions, continuous improvement, human nature, learning, test and learn

The Frog, the Pig and the Princess

23 December, 2018 by James Lawther Leave a Comment

Muppet Personality Test

Order or chaos? In 2012 Dahlia Lithwick came up with the ultimate personality test. Forget Myers Briggs and Belbin, the true measure of who you are is the Muppet Test. Lithwick based the Muppet Test on her observation that there are two types of Muppet with two distinct types of personality. The ultimate personality test […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: group think, human nature, innovation, roles and responsibilities, stereotype, teamwork

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