On 8 Aug 96 at 15:12, J C Howell wrote:
> Stanley Milgram performed a well known experiment some years back in
> which test subjects were asked to shock other subjects
> (confederates) in a supposed attempt to learn the effects of
> electric shock on learning.
snipped..
> The lesson taken from this is that people will comply with
> requirements that they would otherwise not do, simply because
> someone with assumed authority asked (told) theym to do so.
>
> Put people in a broken system and they will tend to do actions which
> they would otherwise object to, simply because "that's the way
> things are done here."
I am very familiar with the Milgram experiment, and others. You seem to be
extrapolating way beyond the data above, from the issue of
authority/conformity to broken systems. The very powerful variable
operating in the experiment had to do with personal face to face contact
between the authority and the participant.
That said, I agree with your other conclusions about systems, but am just
commenting on your use of the experiment.
Robert Bacal, CEO, Institute For Cooperative Communication
dbt359@freenet.mb.ca, Located in Winnipeg,Canada.
*For articles on management, change, training,communication, etc,
visit our home page at: http://www.winnipeg.freenet.mb.ca/~dbt359
--"Robert Bacal" <dbt359@freenet.mb.ca>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>