The fear and guilt culture is not unique in organizational life. It could be argued that, given the legacy of Taylorism, that still prevails in many organizations, fear and guilt is often a preferred method of motivating employees. Think for a moment how performance management systems are designed and implemented…

My opinion is that pathology sets in when fear and guilt are used exclusively to effect social control over employees/members, and where ex-communication is the ultimate punishment. The most extreme example of this kind of pathology is fundamentalist type organizations, cults etc.

While not all organizations suffer from this kind of pathology, it might be useful to look out for the following characteristics:

• Reactive energy – working to please the boss, rather than the customer

• Information, status and privilege are used as a form of social "currency" to reward and punish

• Proximity to the people who have control over information determine the extent to which the employee/member can get things done

• Access to these individuals also elevate people who have relatively little formal authority to key players that need to be handled with much care (think of the secretary of such managers - they often wield extreme power because they control the flow of information, access etc)

Ultimately this culture becomes a huge, but destructive bureaucracy where those who have power can arbitrarily take decisions, withhold information, decide which customers and other stakeholders receive attention etc. The bottom line for such bureaucracies is that they will eventually be overtaken by talent friendly and innovative organizations, mainly because they are more responsive to the customer and stakeholders and also empowers employees.

It might be good for employers, leaders and managers to realize that from a human relations perspective no relationship is sustainable if it is based on fear and guilt...

Article Source:www.skills-universe.com

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