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What do good practices represent in the world of work?

“Good practices” are the dogmas of the workplace. They represent what is reputed to be the most effective, yet their effectiveness is generally not demonstrated in a rigorous manner.

What do good practices lead to?

To applying a rule instead of analyzing the situation.
A good practice is somewhat like a recipe, so one presupposes that following it will result in a good dish. In fact, this leads to focusing on the rigid and ultra-rigid application of the recipe—for example, weighing every ingredient to the gram—and disregarding the final dish, which may not be good.

What is the reliability and effectiveness of good practices?

In general, and particularly in the field of management, good practices are based on unproven dogmas aimed at preserving and privileging those in power, who are generally outside production, and making the marginalized passive and compliant, who are generally the operational staff. At this level, the correspondence between management and the clergy is striking.

Conversely, in rare domains such as modern medicine, good practices are rigorously validated and aim to ensure quality practice by opposing the individual initiatives of original and imprecise practitioners, or those who are overly ambitious.

Who promotes new good practices?

Mainly those who belong to, or wish to establish, a new clergy! One finds consultants supported by dismissed employees who see it as a convenient opportunity to find a comfortable role.

Why do most individuals agree to the non-questioning of good practices?

Four reasons:
It avoids intellectual fatigue.
It allows access to positions above one's personal competence.
It allows more energy to be focused on alliance-building.
Finally and above all, it enables the abdication of responsibility.

Deepen

Consult 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 issue of good practices in the workplace is addressed in the section 'Cognitive Dissonance in the Workplace' of chapter 3 'Cognitive Dissonance' of the book From Capital to Reason.

Chapters 10 'The Strategic Reflections Journal' and 11 'Operational Control' of the book From Capital to Reason present a method to move from identified problems to the implementation of a non-dogmatic solution, via organized strategic reflection.

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