I've not read it, but have you come across The Unaccountability Machine, by Dan Davies? He has a terrific substack, which makes me think it must be a terrific book...
Having read it, it is indeed terrific! While perhaps not fulfilling in terms of solutions presented, it does give as complete and accounting (pardon the pun) of the problem facing large organizations as possible in a book for popular audiences
Hah, I wish! It would appear that it’s undergoing some kind of re-release, after originally releasing last year. I had an existing love of cybernetics and was a fan of Dan’s blog, so I ordered from the UK on Blackwell’s, making me one of a few American’s to have a copy apparently. I’d recommend a preorder then, since the original version is unavailable
If you're looking for more sources on the vertical diffusion of responsibility and managers outrunning their mistakes, I came across the same concept in a sociology of work class I took back in 2000, in Robert Jackall's book Moral Mazes: The World of Corporate Managers. Given that it's stuck with me for 25 years now, I'm giving it a strong but foggy recommendation.
I've not read it, but have you come across The Unaccountability Machine, by Dan Davies? He has a terrific substack, which makes me think it must be a terrific book...
Having read it, it is indeed terrific! While perhaps not fulfilling in terms of solutions presented, it does give as complete and accounting (pardon the pun) of the problem facing large organizations as possible in a book for popular audiences
Are you friends with the author? Amazon says it won’t be released until April.
Hah, I wish! It would appear that it’s undergoing some kind of re-release, after originally releasing last year. I had an existing love of cybernetics and was a fan of Dan’s blog, so I ordered from the UK on Blackwell’s, making me one of a few American’s to have a copy apparently. I’d recommend a preorder then, since the original version is unavailable
Thanks for the recommendation. I hadn’t heard of it before; I’ll check it out.
If you're looking for more sources on the vertical diffusion of responsibility and managers outrunning their mistakes, I came across the same concept in a sociology of work class I took back in 2000, in Robert Jackall's book Moral Mazes: The World of Corporate Managers. Given that it's stuck with me for 25 years now, I'm giving it a strong but foggy recommendation.