DON'T YOU BELIEVE IT... FRONT OFFICE GOOD, BACK OFFICE BAD

摘要

The current political climate is providing a bumper crop of Really Bad Management Ideas. Like the notion that we can save pots of cash and maintain decent levels of public services by protecting 'front line' operations while cutting the 'back office'. This doesn't work, in the public or private sectors. Here's why...It's bad for productivity. Sales is clearly a 'front line' function, so we protect it while cutting the back office. Who needs all those useless paper-pushers, frittering away their days sending out invoices, getting bills paid and making sure that purchasing is scheduled so that we can actually supply what we have sold?