Listening to a recording of some consultants talk about how the NHS needs to be more efficient like banking.
Obviously, these people have never worked in either Gov or banking before. I would be gobsmacked if the NHS (despite the waste) wasn't vastly more efficient than banking.
Obviously, these people have never worked in either Gov or banking before. I would be gobsmacked if the NHS (despite the waste) wasn't vastly more efficient than banking.
I can understand an argument that the NHS needs to be more efficient - we all do. I'm sure that NHS staff are perfectly capable of finding ways to do this if people would stop meddling with artificial markets etc.
But to compare to banking. Oh my, that's just farcical.
But to compare to banking. Oh my, that's just farcical.
What people seem to get confused about is they think of the market as some Darwinian competition of survival of the fittest ... survival of the least incompetent is more apt. It's fine to be highly wasteful in industry as long as your competitors are. No-one gains an advantage.
Why do you think these companies panic when Amazon starts looking into their industry? We all know how horrendous waste is in most industry.
The difference with Gov is you have forcing functions like MPA, NAO or Spend Control to keep some sort of sensible challenge in play.
The difference with Gov is you have forcing functions like MPA, NAO or Spend Control to keep some sort of sensible challenge in play.
But alas, in many industries, even those most basic ideas of doing a pre-mortem and then post-mortem as vehicles for learning and challenge are sadly missing. Many companies can't even describe their users needs, let alone their value chain or anything more complex.
So yes, a bunch of consultants comparing the NHS to banking is just a prelude to some "market" argument ... it's devoid of any reality, any understanding and ... well, if you do want to make the NHS more efficient then I'd start by firing all the external management consultants.
X : All of them?
Me : Well ... all of those who think the "market" is the answer to everything.
Me : Well ... all of those who think the "market" is the answer to everything.
X : You don't believe in the market?
Me : I view the market as a tool, not a value or a belief or a force for good or evil. There are moments where the tool is useful and others where it simply isn't. I'm more of the Deng Xiaoping school of thought - does it catch mice?
Me : I view the market as a tool, not a value or a belief or a force for good or evil. There are moments where the tool is useful and others where it simply isn't. I'm more of the Deng Xiaoping school of thought - does it catch mice?
