Hi, this is the conservative minute and I'm Dr. Carl Mumpower...

A limiting force that all organizations must guard against is the temptation to emphasize procedures over outcomes.   A focus on outcomes improves performance.  A focus on procedures is more about protecting the performer.  The end of the school year has provided us with a good example of procedures trumping outcomes.  End of grade tests are designed to measure student progress and thus teacher performance.  It's a good effort, but as with most plans coming out of distant bureaucracies, the devil finds a home in the details.  Curriculums are being designed to assure that students pass these tests - a mission where a procedure - the test - is at risk for crowding out the desired outcome - learning.  Once these tests are completed, teachers and students, per legislated schedules, are then stuck watching Kung Fu Panda reruns for two or more squandered weeks.  The waste of this bureaucratic indulgence is remarkable - offering a clear lesson for conservative thinkers in why procedures matter - but outcomes matter more... I'm Dr. Carl Mumpower and you just spent a minute with a candid conservative...

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