The use of statistics introduced a more democratic era, taking power away from the elite classes. But statistics have their own dark side and can't always be relied upon...
Measurement and number-crunching has taken on a new lease of life, with the emergence of new analysis techniques combined with real-time technologies. But sometimes hiding behind spreadsheets is taking the easy option and we need to come out and focus on the messy realities of business and life.
A crude example of how management by objectives can go wrong, courtesy of Scott Adams' Dilbert magazine:
"I worked as an accountant in a paper mill where my boss decided that it would improve motivation if he split a bonus between the two shifts based on what percentage of the total production each one accomplished. The workers quickly realized that it was easier to sabotage the next shift than to make more paper. Cow-orkers put glue in locks, loosened nuts on equipment so it would fall apart, you name it. The bonus scheme was abandoned after about ten days, to avoid all-out civil war."
And just when we thought we were in control of the numbers, maths takes on a new role - its being used to model words and even behaviour - Why Math Will Rock Your World, BusinessWeek Online, 13 January 2006.