ABSTRACT
David Roberts was a successful middle manager in a large manufacturing company. He was in his mid-thirties and keen and enthusiastic. He had attended management courses and read many of the recommended texts and so was familiar with the writings of the currently popular management gurus. As do many managers he felt that much of this was common sense, although some of the more ‘far out’ ideas did not seem to have much application to his situation. However, he conscientiously tried to apply their recommendations in his daily dealings with his subordinates. Thus he spent time considering how to motivate them and how to improve the attitude of those members of staff who seemed less involved with their work than could be deemed desirable. As a result of his efforts the department ran well and he was respected and generally liked by his staff, nevertheless there were certain problems which did not seem to be solvable. One or two members of staff kept up a steady work pace but no amount of exhortation or driving could increase this, even in emergencies. He had suspicions that one or two others were spending more time chatting with their colleagues than was perhaps desirable, and there was poor old Jim who always seemed to get hold of the wrong end of the stick. However much time he spent on these issues nothing ever seemed to change.
