I have a question regarding "management"...

[driver8]

I apologize to any DU'ers who work in a management capacity, but I have to ask this question:

When one is hired or promoted to a management position, what is it that causes his/her common sense to be expelled through their ass??

We have a small problem at work and we have asked for help from management. You would not believe the lame-ass, bullshit solutions they have come up with to save a thousand dollars. (I work for a major media company -- not some Mom n' Pop.) Unbefuckinglievable...

[GOPisEvil]

1. I have an answer I suspect to be the truth.

If you can actually do the job, you have no chance of being in management. You're too valuable.

If you can't, but can ingratiate yourself to upper management, you're management material.

I work for a major insurance company and I've noticed what you have.

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. You have defined the essence of what it takes to become management.

Guess that I why I am not management. Which I prefer to call manglement.

[LeftyMom]

3. To be management material means that you have the willingness to make others

roll on nails and broken glass and leap through flaming hoops to save the company a buck. Provided that the glass rolling and the leaping isn't overtime.

[necso]

4. It's the management culture.

Moreover, those selecting new "members" for admission into the group do this "selection" (to some degree; perhaps other-than-consciously) based on the candidates' "fit" into the group-culture (social selection essentially, but since new "fellows" are being selected, self-selection (selecting those who will form part of the group-self) is also a reasonable term). (Although viewing this selection as being done by the culture itself is not far afield.)

And once a person adapts to a (sub)culture ("cultural" awareness and conformity are "desirable" traits in this environment), it's generally clear what the culture demands, even without it being said (etc) -- and, of course, one is subject to being swept along by it -- like with any other cultural current.

This sort of (sub)cultural, social, and "self" selection is common across many (sub)cultural groups. But it has little to do with talent, ability to produce, etc -- and much to do with the extent to which one is an eager, eager-to-please, polly-parroting (taken broadly), careful-to-go-through-all-the-right-motions, posturing puppy.

However, such elites tend to do relatively well, and so many otherwise-decent people get entangled in them.

Of course, selecting those-like-us (or those-like-me) is a way to generate more of the same (whatever). And if there are problems in the group-culture (say, they don't know a thing about production), this is a way to perpetuate -- and exacerbate -- these problems.

Generally, there exists a significant risk that "higher" forms of selection end-up choosing those who are unfit by more basal standards. (For example, selecting those who can play-act very effectively -- but who cannot act effectively (efficiently, etc) -- instead of selecting those who can actually "make-the-kill" with minimum waste.)