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I am almost sure that you have been through the situation of complaining to a company representative about his/her company’s mistake or shortcoming and got this justification ‘I totally understand your point … but it is not my fault, I already forwarded your issue to department X and they are just sleeping on it.’ And it is not only a customer – company interaction; it could be a company – company situation as well. Are you working in a company where your manger is always shouting in meetings something like: ‘I do not give a damn about department Y; we have to finish our part and throw the ball in their field, they are the ones causing the project delay.’ Now this is what I like to call ‘Passing the Ball’ theory; the responsibility is the ball, and the different departments are the players!!
I believe such examples reflect a major defect in any organization’s structure. Not only that, they also reflect a major flaw in any organization’s internal values and overall culture. How horrible the defect is and how is it possible to fix it depends on how big the gap is.
In company – company situations; ‘passing the ball’ theory will result in a crippled work flow, many clashes between the various departments, popularity of back stabbing between staff, and a clear deviation from the organization overall strategy. After all, everyone is actually following his own agenda and trying as much as possible to clear his/her own field.
In company – customer situations; in addition to the above, we have the severe hit on the organization brand equity, image, and its credibility amongst its customers. Such incidents if repeated will result in nothing rather than customers switching over to competitors.
Someone would argue that we are not living in Utopia; such incidents happen all the time in all companies because avoiding responsibilities is a human nature after all. I can’t totally agree with this logic. However, responsible companies usually detect the development of such behavior in its early stages and deal with it right away. They consider it against their culture and internal values. Top management practically avoids it and not only preaches about it because managers understand the long term effects of such behavior on the company.
Moreover, this behavior usually appears to the surface whenever problems kick in! Pointing fingers and accusations start to fly all over the place. Interestingly, it is not only taking place in the professional life; it is happening in schools, universities, and even within the one own family!
So … when was the last time you passed the ball?
Actually, it’s called “Passing the Buck”.
Harry Truman had a sign on his desk in the white house which said “The buck stops here!”
Hello Mohamed …
You’re right, ‘pass the buck’ is another phrase used to describe the same situation. However, I would still rather use ‘pass the ball.’ I do not claim copy rights over using it though; actually I was discussing its implications with a couple of friends, but you could say that I theorize it later on 🙂
And most importantly; ‘pass the buck’ origin goes back to the Poker game, so it is not that suitable to my culture 😉
Thank you for stopping by, Mohamed … and hope to see you around some more …
Salam alukoum ..
I really like . you’ve mention an important point which I think in my point of view it’s the main reason for such behavior. it’s “organization’s structure”
my answer to your quistion .. altought I am not working but I do it between time and other . even in home I do it a lot some times loudly ….. so I get out of responsibilty when I face such problem ….
regards,
Abdulmalik
Hi Abdul Malik …
Indeed … it is structural and cultural problem!
And hey … we’ve all ‘passed the ball’ sometime in our lives 🙂