Some Statistics on People and Organizations LO27753

From: Fred Nickols (nickols@att.net)
Date: 02/04/02


Responding to Scott Simmerman in LO27722 --

Scott observes that "while I have seen many articles and authors refer to
"lots of statistics" that support the need or the correlation between
treatment of people and productivity, my direct requests to those folks
have been met with the comment that "there ARE lots of statistics" but no
one seems to have any." He goes on to cite some that he has.

As an unrepentant critic and cynic, I'll hazard a guess as to why
statistics like those Scott cites are widely available (usually
consistent) and rarely acted upon:

         Generally speaking, statistics are used to support existing
policies, actions and philosophies. If statistics exist that call current
courses of action into question, they will likely be ignored. If
statistics exist that suggest initiatives that are not consistent with
current courses of action, they will be ignored. In short, statistics are
to buttress and defend, never to call into question.

Regards,

Fred Nickols
nickols@att.net
"Assistance at A Distance"
http://home.att.net/~nickols/articles.htm

-- 

Fred Nickols <nickols@att.net>

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