Not-so-heavenly hierarchy: How to combat "rank-based abuse."
9/15/2003
"Pulling rank" is one of life's oldest abuses of power. It happens where bosses take credit for the ideas of their underlings, and when doctors speak harshly to nurses because they can. Rankism is on a par with racism and sexism and its ubiquity doesn't make it OK, according to Fuller, a former president of Oberlin College. The purpose of his book, he writes, "is to shine a spotlight on rank-based abuse, to learn to recognize its various faces, assess its costs, and conceive a world without it." Though he skimps on practical tips that business people could use, he tackles the overall problem very well, with chapters on "The Toll of Rank Abuse" and "The Nobody Revolution: Overcoming Rankism," among others. "The fact that life isn't fair doesn't mean we have to be unfair to each other," says Fuller. This book is a step toward highlighting the subtle injustices that all people who've worked in organizations will recognize.