Management Theory and it's Application

A letter to the Times from Mannie Sher of the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations caught my eye when I noticed these comments;

"For nearly 80 years the Tavistock Institute has researched group, organisational and community behaviours and their relation to leadership and followership dynamics. It has never found that leadership or management can be “taught”, despite the appeal of contemporary theories. " "The critical gap in management training is in the area of experience. Gaining knowledge from “experience” involves struggle and application, not swallowing well-crafted theories designed by others"

This was prompted by a previous article regarding the baby P affair where a 17 month old baby was subjected to unimaginable cruelty by its parent and guardian under the noses of Haringey council Social Services Department.

The article in question by Andrew Billen began with this telling phrase;
"It was John Humphrys on the Today programme who last autumn summed up the tragedy of Baby P. Exasperated by an apologist for Haringey Council, who smugly claimed that it had followed procedures, he thundered: “And the end of this perfect paper trail is a dead baby.” "

All the compliance and process in the world will not substitute for commitment from someone that takes their personal responsibility seriously.