Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: SUNDAY, February 3, 1991 TAG: 9102040272 SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: F-2 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Personification of the problem merely causes people to be counterproductive and create excuses. Certainly mistakes will happen, but more often than not, the cause is a failure of management, such as inadequate orientation of the employee to the job or ineffective communication between boss and worker. The astute manager will focus not on "who," but on "how" an unwanted event happened, and investigate the circumstances. The focus should be on the action, not the actor.
When the question of "Who done it?" arises, it should be in a detective novel, not a newspaper. Most bosses are poor sleuths anyway. R. CRADY ADAMS SALEM
Editor's note: The objective is to tell the reader as specifically as possible how the error occurred, not to embarrass the person responsible.
by CNB