Adversarial behaviour — the scourge of the Health Service

Abstract

One of Sir Michael Edwards' cardinal rules of good management is that no organisation can be successful if it tolerates internal politics. Manifestly one of the features of the UK National Health Service is that it is riven with internal politics. The tendency to indulge in internal political activity arises from the desire of individuals, departments and professional groups to protect and expand their own empires, spheres of influence and level of activity. It is said that this is a natural human activity and this may be so, but nevertheless if it is harmful to the organisation it is possible to temper and if necessary control it without, as so often happens, shedding blood in the process.

Citation

(1989), "Adversarial behaviour — the scourge of the Health Service", Journal of Management in Medicine, Vol. 4 No. 3, pp. 147-148. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb060541