The Abilene Paradox and Other Meditations on Management

163 Pages·1988·10.193 MB·English

by  Jerry B. Harvey

COMPASSIONATE
INSIGHTS
INTO
THE
CRAZINESS
OF JERRY B. HARVEY
ORGANIZATIONAL
LIFE
THE
AND OTHER MEDITATIONS ON
MANAGEMENT
ISBN 0-669-19179-5 >$19. 95 us
D
o you sometimes feel that your office
isn't a place of business but a
madhouse in disguise? Do you shake your
head in disbelief as you and your
colleagues work long hours on senseless
projects? Is risk-taking so discouraged that
mediocrity becomes the order of the day?
If all this sounds familiar, your company
may well be embarked on "a trip to
Abilene."
When Jerry Harvey first coined the phrase
"Abilene Paradox" in a 1974 article, he set
off shock waves in businesses all across
America that are still being felt today.
Using a common family experience to talk
about our daily experiences at work, he
pointed out that events frequently gather
momentum and take on lives of their own,
despite the fact that nobody wants to take
part in them. He also observed that the
same process is enacted in a great many
formal organizations, such as corporations,
religious organizations, and voluntary and
governmental institutions. The phrase hit a
nerve in offices around the country:
Suddenly, managers from throughout the
world were sending Harvey letters about
how their organization seemed to be well
on the road to Abilene, pouring time and
money into projects that everyone knew
wouldn't work.
Now, Jerry Harvey once again rocks the
business world. In this new book, he offers
a series of insightful and often
uproariously funny "meditations" on the
craziness of everyday organizational life.
With stories and events familiar to each of
us (but presented in a wholly different
way), The Abilene Paradox reveals how
organizations continually set themselves
up for failure by fostering alienation,
distrust, deceit, and a fear of risk-taking
among their members.
In his meditations, Professor Harvey asks:
' Is your company on its way to Abilene?
(continued on back flap)
The Abilene Paradox
and Other Meditations
on Management
The Abilene Paradox
and Other Meditations
on Management
Jerry B. Harvey
#lff%
~/11\\~
Lexington Books
D. C. Heath and Company • Lexington, Massachusetts • Toronto
m association with
~
University Associates
San Diego, California
Chapter 2 .is adapted by permission of the publisher, from J Harvey, "The Abilene Paradox: The
Managemeht of Agreement," Organizational Dynamics, Summer 1974 © 1974 AMACOM, a division of
American Management Associations, New York. All rights reserved.
Chapter l is adapted by permission of the publisher, from J Harvey, "Organizations as Phrog Farms,"
Organizational Dynamics, Spring, 1977 © 1977 AMACOM, a division of American Management
Associations, New York. All rights reserved.
Chapter 8 is adapted, by permission of the publisher, from J Harvey, "Encouraging Students to Cheat:
One Thought on the Difference Between Teaching Ethics and Teaching Ethically," Organizational
Behavior Teaching Review 9(2), 1984. Copyright 1984, all rights reserved and "Learning to Not Teach,"
Organizational Behavior Teaching Review 4(3), 1979. Copyright 1979, all rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataklging-in-Publication Data
Harvey, Jerry B.
The Abilene paradox and other meditations on
management.
Bibliography: p.
I. Organizational behavior-Moral and ethical
aspects-Anecdotes, facetiae, satire, etc.
2. Management-Moral and ethical aspects-Anecdotes,
facetiae, satire, etc. I. Title
HD58.7.Hl76 1988 658'.00207 88-45176
ISBN 0-669-19179-5 (alk. paper)
Copyright© 1988 by Jerry B. Harvey
All rights reserved. No pan of this publication
may be reproduced or transmitced in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopy, recording, or any information storage
or retrieval system. without permission in writing
from the publisher.
Published simultaneously in Canada
Printed in the United States of America
International Standard Book Number: 0-669-19179-5
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 88-45176
Tbe paper used in tbis publication meets
the minimum requirements of American National Standard
for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Macseria ls, ANSI Zl9.48-1984.
ISBN 0-669-19179-5
88 89 90 91 92 8 7 6 5 4 l 2 I
Contents
Acknowledgments
Vil
I. Introduction
2. The Abilene Paradox: The Management of Agreement I 3
3. Organizations as Phrog Farms 37
4. Management and the Myth of Abraham; or,
Go Plant a Cabbage on God's Behalf 47
5. Captain Asoh and the Concept of Grace 59
6. Eichmann in the Organization 73
7. Group Tyranny and the Gunsmoke Phenomenon 107
8. Encouraging Future Managers to Cheat I 2 3
Notes 139
Selected Readings 145
About the Author 151

Acknowledgments
A
LTHOUGH I take full responsibility for the content of these essays
turned-sermons, many others have contributed to them directly
and still others have made indirect contributions, the character of
which some of the contributors themselves may be unaware. I would
like to express my particular appreciation to some of them.
I am grateful to Bill Dyer, a long-time colleague and friend who
originally gave me the idea for the book, although I doubt that he
remembers doing so. Specifically, he suggested that I put together a
collection of my writings so that my children and, as yet, unborn
grandchildren might someday understand more about me and what I
do for a living than they now do. As I remember, the gist of his
recommendation was, "You have always been a little weird, and a
compilation of some of your work might help them comprehend
your more blatant peculiarities."
Peter Vaill, another colleague and friend, probably has contributed
more to the content of the book than anyone other than myself. He
has discussed ideas with me, composed memos, written poetry, pasted
articles on my door, suggested sources of information, read drafts, and
provided encouragement. On several occasions, he has also refused
invitations to have his specific contributions formally acknowledged,
sometimes with the statement, "Who wants to be associated with
that?"
Erik Winslow, John Lobuts, Bill Halal, David Brown, Tony
Petrella, Warner Burke, Vlad Dupre, Martha Williams, Ira Iscoe, Jay
Hall, Sue Eichhorn, and the late Gordon Lippitt have provided the
same sort of good-humored collegiality, friendship, and support.
Albert Gross helped me revise and shorten my initial manuscript so
v111 Abilene Paradox and Other Meditations on Management
that the final book could attempt to meet the needs of the broadest
possible audience of managers. To say that I appreciate the competent
care with which he did his work would be a substantial under
statement.
Those familiar with my inattention to detail will know how appre
ciative I am for the competent research and editorial assistance of
Cathy Brooks, Connie Bender, Colleen Jones, Sharon Peruzzi
Strauchs, and John John.
I also want to offer my thanks to the many students and clients who
have contributed to my work over the years.
Regardless of what others have given to it, the book is dedicated
with love to Beth, Scott, and Suzanne, who serve as daily reminders
that God's love receives expression in the most wonderful human
terms.
1
Introduction
M
Y DAUGHTER Suzanne has long been the gnostic of our family.
For example, shortly after her seventh birthday, she returned
from church services and confronted me with the question, "Daddy,
what if God is a mouse?"
Being a college professor with a Ph.D. in psychology and having
read more than a little in such disciplines as psychiatry, group dynam
ics, organizational theory, religion, philosophy, and physiology, I feel
that I am reasonably well prepared to answer questions that deal with
human behavior, management, and comparative theology. For
reasons known only to God (or mice), however, I did not feel ade
quately prepared for Suzanne's metaphysical onslaught. Therefore,
trying to maintain the semblance of decorum required of any self
respecting father who doesn't want his daughter to discover early in
life that his wing-tip shoes cover feet of clay, I replied with what I
thought, under the circumstances, was admirable calmness, "What do
you mean, 'What if God is a mouse?"'
"Well," said she, "if God is a mouse, aren't we wasting a lot of time
going to church? And even if we do go, shouldn't we be putting
cheese in the collection plate? A mouse wouldn't want money."
"Suzanne," I responded, feeling my studious, self-assured facade
beginning to crumble, "you can't ask questions like that. You just have
to accept the fact that God is God. I mean, you can't bound around
the house willy-nilly, questioning the existence of the One Who Put
Us Here. You simply have to accept the fact that God exists and go
from there."
Then, experiencing a renewed sense of confidence-stemming from