Good Work

"It is of course not possible to summarize the results from so wide ranging a study and one, moreover, that is still very much in progress. We can say that professionals in most domains do have a clear vision of what constitutes good work and how it might be achieved, even as they recognize the challenges to carrying out such good work in the current milieu. Good Work is most readily carried out when the various interest groups are well-aligned - that is, when the long term professional mission, the individual practitioner, the current institutions and gatekeepers, the shareholders - in the case of for-profit enterprises- and the society's stakeholders all want the same thing from current work.

"In contrast, when there are wide disparities within and across these interest groups, good work is elusive. Nonetheless, even under less favorable conditions, some individuals and institutions succeed in carrying out good work and these exemplars serve to inspire others. Moreover, some individuals are actually stimulated by misalignment and proceed to 'right' the institutions in which they work or to devise new ones that realize their ideals.

"On a less positive note, many young workers feel that they cannot afford at present to be ethical as well as excellent. They believe that others around them are cutting corners all the time, and if they are to be successful, they must also sacrifice the means to achieve the desired ends. One day, they are confident, when they are in a position of power, they will be able to achieve and exemplify good work. This discouraging finding underscores the need for educational experiences that foreground goodwork as well as for periodic booster shots, should the image of good work become blurred. "

~From: About the GoodWork Project