Putt's Law and the Successful Technocrat: Difference between revisions
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Putt's Corollary means that "incompetence is flushed out of the lower levels" of a technocratic hierarchy, ensuring that technically competent people remain directly in charge of the actual technology while those without technical competence move into management. There are various other corollaries dealing with the interaction of corporate [[hierarchy]] and [[technocracy]]. |
Putt's Corollary means that "incompetence is flushed out of the lower levels" of a technocratic hierarchy, ensuring that technically competent people remain directly in charge of the actual technology while those without technical competence move into management. There are various other corollaries dealing with the interaction of corporate [[hierarchy]] and [[technocracy]]. |
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The same effect of [[Negative selection (politics)|negative selection]] improving an organization's stability was formulated as [[The Dilbert |
The same effect of [[Negative selection (politics)|negative selection]] improving an organization's stability was formulated as [[The Dilbert principle]] in the 1990s. Putt's complaint about ''The Dilbert Principle'' book by [[Scott Adams]] is that while that book provides useful insights for non-managers, it provided little insight for ambitious employees who aspire to advance into management.<ref>Archibald Putt. ''Putt's Law and the Successful Technocrat: How to Win in the Information Age'', Wiley-IEEE Press (2006), ISBN 0-471-71422-4. Preface.</ref> |
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The 1981 reviewer of the original book in ''[[New Scientist]]'' grouped Putt's law together with the [[Peter Principle]], [[Parkinson's Law]] and [[Stephen Potter]]'s [[Gamesmanship]] series as "P-literature".<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=EIZI3TDTGTsC&dq=%22Putt%27s+Law+and+the+Successful+Technocrat%22+1981&q=Putt%27s+Law#v=snippet&q=Putt%27s%20Law&f=false John Walker, review in New Scientist, October 1981, p. 52]</ref> |
The 1981 reviewer of the original book in ''[[New Scientist]]'' grouped Putt's law together with the [[Peter Principle]], [[Parkinson's Law]] and [[Stephen Potter]]'s [[Gamesmanship]] series as "P-literature".<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=EIZI3TDTGTsC&dq=%22Putt%27s+Law+and+the+Successful+Technocrat%22+1981&q=Putt%27s+Law#v=snippet&q=Putt%27s%20Law&f=false John Walker, review in New Scientist, October 1981, p. 52]</ref> |
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The final article in the 1976-77 RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT magazine series came out in December 1977. It was authored by W. D. Rowe.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}} The article's title was "Law of the estimated fact". It carried the subtitle: "Beware of giving the 'ball park' estimate; if it's credible, it will be accepted and disseminated as fact. Rowe's Law continues advice for the professional initiated by Archibald Putt" It is unknown if W. D. Rowe is Archibald Putt. There is a book partially authored by a W. D. Rowe titled: "GALVANIC AND PITTING CORROSION--FIELD AND LABORATORY STUDIES: ASTM STP 576, Two symposia of 1974 Materials Engineering Congress ASTM, Detroit, Michigan 22–23 October 1974". Someone named W. D, Rowe also wrote a book titled "Energy Risk Management". This does give credence to the theory that W. D. Rowe wrote the Putt's Law series of articles. |
The final article in the 1976-77 RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT magazine series came out in December 1977. It was authored by W. D. Rowe.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}} The article's title was "Law of the estimated fact". It carried the subtitle: "Beware of giving the 'ball park' estimate; if it's credible, it will be accepted and disseminated as fact. Rowe's Law continues advice for the professional initiated by Archibald Putt" It is unknown if W. D. Rowe is Archibald Putt. There is a book partially authored by a W. D. Rowe titled: "GALVANIC AND PITTING CORROSION--FIELD AND LABORATORY STUDIES: ASTM STP 576, Two symposia of 1974 Materials Engineering Congress ASTM, Detroit, Michigan 22–23 October 1974". Someone named W. D, Rowe also wrote a book titled "Energy Risk Management". This does give credence to the theory that W. D. Rowe wrote the Putt's Law series of articles. |
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==See also== |
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*[[Dilbert Principle]] |
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*[[Peter Principle]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 21:40, 17 March 2013
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| Author | Archibald Putt (pseudonym) |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Dennis Driscoll |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Industrial Management |
| Publisher | Wiley-IEEE Press |
Publication date | 28 April 2006 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 171 pages |
| ISBN | 0-471-71422-4 |
| OCLC | 68710099 |
| 658.22 | |
| LC Class | HD31 .P855 2006 |
Putt's Law and the Successful Technocrat is the title of a 1981 book, credited to the pseudonym Archibald Putt. It is based upon a series of articles published in Research/Development Magazine in 1976 and 1977.
An updated edition, with the added subtitle How to Win in the Information Age, was published by Wiley-IEEE Press in 2006.
Putt's Law
The book discusses the fundamental observation, dubbed Putt's Law:
- "Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage and those who manage what they do not understand."[1]
The book also discussed a number of related laws, particularly "Putt's Corollary", which is more formally known as the "First Corollary to Putt's Law":
- "Every technical hierarchy, in time, develops a competence inversion."[1]
Putt's Corollary means that "incompetence is flushed out of the lower levels" of a technocratic hierarchy, ensuring that technically competent people remain directly in charge of the actual technology while those without technical competence move into management. There are various other corollaries dealing with the interaction of corporate hierarchy and technocracy.
The same effect of negative selection improving an organization's stability was formulated as The Dilbert principle in the 1990s. Putt's complaint about The Dilbert Principle book by Scott Adams is that while that book provides useful insights for non-managers, it provided little insight for ambitious employees who aspire to advance into management.[2]
The 1981 reviewer of the original book in New Scientist grouped Putt's law together with the Peter Principle, Parkinson's Law and Stephen Potter's Gamesmanship series as "P-literature".[3]
Identity of Archibald Putt
Before the 2006 updated book on Putt's Law was released, there was speculation that Archibald Putt would reveal his true identity. In an audio interview with IEEE in 2006, the author discussed why he continues to use a pseudonym.[4] In that audio interview, his voice was disguised to more completely assure his continued anonymity.
Archibald Putt is only identified on the book's cover as a man whose contributions to science, engineering, and research/development management are well known. He is further identified as someone who has served on government advisory committees and held executive positions in an unidentified large multinational corporation. The book states that he holds a PhD degree from a leading institute of technology.
The final article in the 1976-77 RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT magazine series came out in December 1977. It was authored by W. D. Rowe.[citation needed] The article's title was "Law of the estimated fact". It carried the subtitle: "Beware of giving the 'ball park' estimate; if it's credible, it will be accepted and disseminated as fact. Rowe's Law continues advice for the professional initiated by Archibald Putt" It is unknown if W. D. Rowe is Archibald Putt. There is a book partially authored by a W. D. Rowe titled: "GALVANIC AND PITTING CORROSION--FIELD AND LABORATORY STUDIES: ASTM STP 576, Two symposia of 1974 Materials Engineering Congress ASTM, Detroit, Michigan 22–23 October 1974". Someone named W. D, Rowe also wrote a book titled "Energy Risk Management". This does give credence to the theory that W. D. Rowe wrote the Putt's Law series of articles.
References
- ^ a b Archibald Putt. Putt's Law and the Successful Technocrat: How to Win in the Information Age, Wiley-IEEE Press (2006), ISBN 0-471-71422-4. page 7.
- ^ Archibald Putt. Putt's Law and the Successful Technocrat: How to Win in the Information Age, Wiley-IEEE Press (2006), ISBN 0-471-71422-4. Preface.
- ^ John Walker, review in New Scientist, October 1981, p. 52
- ^ 2006. IEEE Spectrum Radio. April 1
External links
- Archibald Putt: The Unknown Technocrat Returns (spectrum.ieee.org)