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articles:how_diffusion_of_responsibility_destroys_quality [2020/06/19 10:13] – created rrandall | articles:how_diffusion_of_responsibility_destroys_quality [2022/03/15 22:12] (current) – [How “Diffusion of Responsibility” Destroys Quality] rrandall | ||
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- | ====== How “Diffusion of responsibility” Destroys | + | {{ : |
+ | ====== How “Diffusion of Responsibility” Hinders | ||
- | In the science of social psychology, there is a phenomenon called “[[https:// | + | In the science of [[https:// |
- | In many organizations, | + | In many organizations, |
* Manuals / Procedures / Work Instructions / Plans | * Manuals / Procedures / Work Instructions / Plans | ||
* Engineering Change Requests (ECRs) and/or Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) | * Engineering Change Requests (ECRs) and/or Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) | ||
* Drawings / Schematics | * Drawings / Schematics | ||
* Inspection Reports | * Inspection Reports | ||
- | * Certifications | + | * Certifications |
- | The more people who are required to approve (“sign off” on) on various documents prior to their release, the greater the diffusion of responsibility. This is a strategy consciously used by many insecure (or inept) managers to create a sense of “plausible deniability”. If a mistake is made, then the manager has multiple candidates upon whom to assign blame (in order to protect himself or herself from being held accountable). | + | The more people who are required to approve (“sign off” on) various documents prior to their release, the greater the diffusion of responsibility. This is a strategy |
+ | |||
+ | ===== How does “Diffusion of Responsibility” Destroy Quality ===== | ||
As a QMS auditor, I’ve reviewed many released documents that had gone through several levels of review, performed by multiple people, and yet were released rife with obvious errors. In many instances, the reviewers lacked the qualifications (knowledge, skills, and abilities) to ever have been assigned the responsibility to provide any sort of meaningful review. | As a QMS auditor, I’ve reviewed many released documents that had gone through several levels of review, performed by multiple people, and yet were released rife with obvious errors. In many instances, the reviewers lacked the qualifications (knowledge, skills, and abilities) to ever have been assigned the responsibility to provide any sort of meaningful review. | ||
- | In some instances, the manager was not given hiring authority and was simply assigned the role of managing incompetent staff. Frustrated with the personnel that they’ve been assigned, and lack of support from senior management, these managers often see the “Diffusion of responsibility” as the best way to protect their job. | ||
- | In other instances, it is the managers who lack the competence to manage their personnel and processes. This leads to frustration amongst their staff, who embrace a “Diffusion of responsibility”, as the best way to protect their jobs. And making matters worse, when incompetent managers need a team to accomplish some goal, they often (whether knowingly or not) intermix good (competent) employees with incompetent employees. This results in “good” employees doing all of the work while the incompetent employees (aka " | + | In some instances, the manager was not given hiring authority and was simply assigned the role of managing incompetent staff. Frustrated with the personnel that they’ve been assigned, and lack of support from senior management, these managers often see the “Diffusion of Responsibility” as the best way to protect their jobs! |
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+ | In other instances, it is the managers who lack the competence to manage their personnel and processes. This leads to frustration amongst their staff, who embrace a “Diffusion of Responsibility”, as the best way to protect their jobs. And making matters worse, when incompetent managers need a team to accomplish some goal, they often (whether knowingly or not) intermix good (competent) employees with incompetent | ||
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+ | Depending upon the job market, the frustrated “good” employees (who actually do the majority of the work) will often seek employment elsewhere. Upon recognizing that employees are leaving the company, incompetent, | ||
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+ | ===== Countering the “Diffusion of Responsibility” ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | One of the BEST ways to counter a “Diffusion of Responsibility” is for management to assign accountability and responsibility to specific individuals. And, of course, actually hold individuals accountable for their performance. This is easily accomplished through the adoption and deployment of “Responsibility Assignment Matrices” (RAMs), such as the [[https:// | ||
- | Depending upon the job market, the frustrated “good” employees (who actually do the majority of the work) will often seek employment elsewhere. Upon recognizing that employees are leaving the company, incompetent senior management typically initiates programs to better “engage” employees. These programs often include establishing goals and evaluating managers on their level of employee retention. Eventually, this results in a business filled with both incompetent management and an incompetent workforce. Quality deteriorates and business eventually fails. | + | [[https:// |
- | The ONLY way to reverse this course is for management to assign accountability and responsibility to specific individuals. And, of course, actually holding individuals accountable for their performance. This is easily accomplished through the adoption and deployment of “Responsibility Assignment Matrices” (RAMs), such as the RACI Chart. | ||