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What do good practices represent in the world of work?

“Good practices” are the dogmas of the world of work. They represent what is known to be the most effective, but whose effectiveness is generally not demonstrated in a rigorous manner.

What do good practices lead to?

To apply a rule instead of analyzing the situation.
A good practice is a bit like a cooking recipe, so we assume that you just have to follow it to get a good dish on arrival. In fact, this leads to focusing on the rigid and ultra-rigorous application of the recipe, for example weighing all the ingredients to the nearest gram, and losing interest in the final dish which is not good.

How reliable and effective are good practices?

In general, and in particular in the field of management, good practices are based on dogmas, not demonstrated, aimed at preserving and favoring the well-off, who are generally out of production, and making docile and passive those left behind, who are generally the operational ones. At this level, the correspondence between management and clergy is striking.

Conversely, in rare fields such as modern medicine, good practices are rigorously validated, and aim to guarantee quality practice by opposing the individual initiatives of original and non-rigorous, or overly ambitious, practitioners.

Who promotes new best practices?

Mainly people who belong to, or wish to bring about, a new clergy! There are consultants supported by laid-off people who see it as a convenient opportunity to find a comfortable career.

Why do the majority of individuals agree with not questioning good practices?

Four reasons:
This allows you not to get intellectually tired.
This allows you to access positions above your personal skills.
This allows you to focus more energy on the alliance game.
Last but not least, it allows for disempowerment.

Go deeper

View the article Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony published by John W. Meyer and Brian Rowan in 1977 in the journal American Journal of Sociology.

The book by Mats Alvesson and André Spicer The stupidity paradox: The power and pitfalls of functional stupidity at work deals with the same subject, in a more narrative form.

The problem of good practices in the world of work is exposed in the part 'Cognitive dissonance in the world of work' of chapter 3 'Cognitive dissonance' from the book From capital to reason.

Chapters 10'The journal of strategic reflections' and 11 'Operational control' from the book From capital to reason exposent une méthode pour passer des problèmes constatés à la mise en oeuvre d'une solution non dogmatique, via une réflexion stratégique organisée.

The Cochrane organization represents a good example of the heavy work necessary to rigorously validate knowledge or the relevance of a practice.