MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

Cognitive rules and culture
national colleagues take a harder line on some of these things --
it's frustrating. (Interviewee K)
Many perceived constraints are recognised by managers as being
similar to those experienced by managers in other sectors – time,
resources, stress, for example. Two managers felt that the quality of
staff was an issue for them:-
Well, we have got this general problem where there are a lot of
people who are cruising. If you have been in the job a long time
and you can do it with your eyes shut -- and what I always say in
a different context is that my worry is that we may miss the
revolution when it comes because we are so used to it never
happening. (Interviewee B)
There was some reference to performance management having been
an issue, but in the context of a wider historical malaise:-
There has been quite clearly a lack of management discipline in
all the unions, a lack of recognition that people are in managerial
positions and so we have not had a process of very clearly
identifying objectives for the organisation and we have had no
record of performance management and we have had a
somewhat less than satisfactory approach to management and
financial information on which debate decisions (Interviewee G)
Sentiments that were shared in rather more cynical terms:-
There is no effective management there, you know. We just
kept pissing into the wind all the time. I never knew whether I
was doing the right thing or the wrong thing, I could never
achieve anything. (Interviewee A)
Very few managers in UNISON articulate the lay member structure as
being a constraint on their management, other than in some specific
circumstances:-
You might know what the General Secretary wanted but to be
able to deliver it was difficult because these people were actively
briefing against him. With some lay members it was almost a
badge of honour to defeat the General Secretary. You can't
manage an organisation like that. (Interviewee A)
Lay member behaviour is an issue in another sense:-
The full time officers, as I was saying before, they use judgment.
And they are not always right. Many times they can be wrong
but the lay members will remember when they are wrong and
not only bring it up with the full time officer who was wrong but
bring it up at regional level, bring it up at national level, and it's
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