New Orleans - A National Disgrace
Vicky Davis - Sept. 5, 2005
eyeswideoopen@yahoo.com
The incompetence of the U.S. government as graphically demonstrated in New Orleans in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina is symptomatic of a disease that has been affecting American performance for the last several decades. The disease is greed and jealousy. It causes a flight from quality and the result is incompetent organizations.
First, let’s take jealousy. The dirty dark secret in America is that not all people are created equal in intellect or ability. The egalitarian collectivists who seem to run things have successfully brow beaten people to the point at which it is no longer socially acceptable to notice and especially not to discuss or recognize the fact that there are differences in the capabilities of people. The height of this stupidity came a couple of years ago when a man with Downs Syndrome who wanted to be President was paraded around as an example of “Think It, Be It”. ( I feel some debate coming on concerning George Bush - but let’s let that one go for now).
The irony is that we revere extraordinary capabilities in the physical realm. Football, basketball and baseball players, etc. have been elevated to almost God-like status - and that seems to be ok. We don’t revere intelligence and creativity. We try to crush it before anybody recognizes its existence.
Experts - and I’m talking about the real experts.. not just the paper experts - stand out. They shine above the rest. A lot of the time, they are prima donnas. They know their worth to the organization and demand recognition of some kind for their efforts. In the collectivist’s world, this is a sin beyond all sins so these people must be eliminated. The government’s civil service laws, laws concerning affirmative action and the purchased management training tools like Total Quality Management have been the perfect tools to ensure egalitarian mediocrity. (The irony of TQM was that they were teaching corporate managers how to manage mediocrity).
So what happens in an organization lacking superstars but fully loaded with the ‘mediocre’? Management hopes that brain-sharing - the collective decision-making (i.e. committees) by 3rd rate employees managed by 2nd rate managers will produce 1st rate ideas, decisions and action. If the image of the Three Stooges comes to mind, then you have the picture.
The superstars who were pushed out of the organizations whose motto has always been - “Pay Me Now - Or Pay Me Later” simply formed consulting companies and waited for the inevitable phone calls for help. And this is where the greed part comes into play.
The first consultants into an organization are the best that a consulting firm has to offer. Lo and behold, the job gets done efficiently and at a good price - Praise Jesus. Once the organization enters into the contracting for services realm, that’s when the corruption begins because it is too tempting to pass up the kick back money for lucrative contract awards. The bigger the contract, the more kickback money and/or political favors are involved.
Of course consulting firms - like all for-profit corporations exist to make money: “Sell High, Pay Low” so once the relationships with consulting firms are established, they get rid of their superstars and start using Team 2 employees. By this time, both the management of the organization and the consulting firm are making big money by providing least quality services and employees so nobody complains when projects are botched. The solution is to form committees and hold meetings and produce reports of ‘Lessons Learned’ and everybody lives to screw up another day.
The disaster in New Orleans is the culmination of years of this cycle of collectivist egalitarianism, outside consultants and greed. In New Orleans, what we’ve all witnessed is the Stooges in action, nothing was happening, people were and are dying and the superstars? The few that have appeared on the scene shine brightly. It’s a national disgrace that we had to lose New Orleans to highlight the problem. Let’s hope that the ‘Lessons Learned’ are that quality matters and outside consultants and privatization are not the answer.
Vicky Davis
"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen." -- Samuel Adams
"It is better to die on your feet, then to live on your knees." - Emilio Zapata
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Vicky Davis - Sept. 5, 2005
eyeswideoopen@yahoo.com
The incompetence of the U.S. government as graphically demonstrated in New Orleans in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina is symptomatic of a disease that has been affecting American performance for the last several decades. The disease is greed and jealousy. It causes a flight from quality and the result is incompetent organizations.
First, let’s take jealousy. The dirty dark secret in America is that not all people are created equal in intellect or ability. The egalitarian collectivists who seem to run things have successfully brow beaten people to the point at which it is no longer socially acceptable to notice and especially not to discuss or recognize the fact that there are differences in the capabilities of people. The height of this stupidity came a couple of years ago when a man with Downs Syndrome who wanted to be President was paraded around as an example of “Think It, Be It”. ( I feel some debate coming on concerning George Bush - but let’s let that one go for now).
The irony is that we revere extraordinary capabilities in the physical realm. Football, basketball and baseball players, etc. have been elevated to almost God-like status - and that seems to be ok. We don’t revere intelligence and creativity. We try to crush it before anybody recognizes its existence.
Experts - and I’m talking about the real experts.. not just the paper experts - stand out. They shine above the rest. A lot of the time, they are prima donnas. They know their worth to the organization and demand recognition of some kind for their efforts. In the collectivist’s world, this is a sin beyond all sins so these people must be eliminated. The government’s civil service laws, laws concerning affirmative action and the purchased management training tools like Total Quality Management have been the perfect tools to ensure egalitarian mediocrity. (The irony of TQM was that they were teaching corporate managers how to manage mediocrity).
So what happens in an organization lacking superstars but fully loaded with the ‘mediocre’? Management hopes that brain-sharing - the collective decision-making (i.e. committees) by 3rd rate employees managed by 2nd rate managers will produce 1st rate ideas, decisions and action. If the image of the Three Stooges comes to mind, then you have the picture.
The superstars who were pushed out of the organizations whose motto has always been - “Pay Me Now - Or Pay Me Later” simply formed consulting companies and waited for the inevitable phone calls for help. And this is where the greed part comes into play.
The first consultants into an organization are the best that a consulting firm has to offer. Lo and behold, the job gets done efficiently and at a good price - Praise Jesus. Once the organization enters into the contracting for services realm, that’s when the corruption begins because it is too tempting to pass up the kick back money for lucrative contract awards. The bigger the contract, the more kickback money and/or political favors are involved.
Of course consulting firms - like all for-profit corporations exist to make money: “Sell High, Pay Low” so once the relationships with consulting firms are established, they get rid of their superstars and start using Team 2 employees. By this time, both the management of the organization and the consulting firm are making big money by providing least quality services and employees so nobody complains when projects are botched. The solution is to form committees and hold meetings and produce reports of ‘Lessons Learned’ and everybody lives to screw up another day.
The disaster in New Orleans is the culmination of years of this cycle of collectivist egalitarianism, outside consultants and greed. In New Orleans, what we’ve all witnessed is the Stooges in action, nothing was happening, people were and are dying and the superstars? The few that have appeared on the scene shine brightly. It’s a national disgrace that we had to lose New Orleans to highlight the problem. Let’s hope that the ‘Lessons Learned’ are that quality matters and outside consultants and privatization are not the answer.
Vicky Davis
"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen." -- Samuel Adams
"It is better to die on your feet, then to live on your knees." - Emilio Zapata
================
APFN-1 YahooGroups:
Subscribe: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/apfn-1/join
Unsubscribe: apfn-1-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
APFN MSG BOARD:
`In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.'
http://disc.yourwebapps.com/Indices/149495.html
APFN CONTENTS PAGE:
http://www.apfn.org/old/apfncont.htm
Without Justice, there is JUST_US!
[LEAK-GATE] INVESTIGATING THE WHITE HOUSE
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LEAK-GATE/
Find elected officials, including the president, members of
Congress, governors, state legislators, local officials, and more.
http://congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/
SUPPORT APFN
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/kenvardon.htm
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