In his Conference presentation Roger Latham said that behaviour is conditioned by the kind of organisations in which we operate. He had four propositions:
1. Governance – good or bad, depends on culture.
2. Our current organisations promote a poor cultural environment
3. Alternatives exist, but are not generally adopted.
4. We can no longer afford the luxury of the status quo.

Experience suggests that a rule-based system, on its own, is generally inadequate. What has happened in Westminster regarding MPs expenses is a classic example of the limitations of the rule-based culture, when it is not backed up with beliefs and standards that underpin behaviour in public life.

There is a need to move from machine type organisations to more organic forms which include three factors

• First, they have vision and purpose which is developed through shared values and is not imposed by a hierarchy.
• Second, information is open and accessible throughout the organisation — not seen as a source of power as it often is in hierarchical bureaucracies.
• Third, values and behaviours are key to their culture, not status and pay.

If an organisation operates on the traditional hierarchies of a machine world then it brings with it a portfolio of bad and challenging behaviour. “It’s long been my view that if you want to change the people, you have to change the system” said Mr Latham in his paper ‘The Governance Agenda in Modern Organisation — do we get what we deserve?’

Roger Latham is currently President of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)

Download additional documents:

• Roger Latham presentation