I have no idea into the authenticity of ownership of the quote. All instances I saw where quoted was attributed to the so called Roman statesman. It became prominent during the hay day of TQM - Total Quality Management. McDonnell Douglas Corp., Douglas Aircraft Co., 3855 Lakewood Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90807 attempted it back in the late 1980's, lost $330,000,000 in its first quarter implementing it. Management said it was the cost of doing business. 5 years later, they became a subsidiary of the Boeing Corp.
They went from over a dozen mainframe computers to 4, took away E-mailing privileges from all engineers except managers (I found it so convenient to E-mail someone in another department a question, then get a reply back later that day or next morning, telling them to visit, use the phone or use speed memos (the 3 part handwritten form), but then management told all us all that all they saw was a sea of people walking outside, to stop all unnecessary trips to others. They also liquidated the company store saying it was a waste of company and employee time to maintain. (Maintaining employee moral appeared to be a waste of money. The floggings will cease when employee morale improves. )
Then the Federal Government attempted the same experiment about 10 years later. The problem in both cases was not the employees. Rather, it was how things are managed. That experiment failed as well.
Whoever wrote that statement, it is true. In both cases, the next statement became true:
https://www.mit.edu/people/dmredish/wwwMLRF/links/Humor/Administratium.html
Administratium - New chemical Element Discovered
The heaviest element known to science was recently discovered by investigators at a major U.S. research university. The element, tentatively named administratium, has no protons or electrons and thus has an atomic number of 0. However, it does have one neutron, 125 assistant neutrons, 75 vice neutrons and 111 assistant vice neutrons, which gives it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by a force that involves the continuous exchange of meson-like particles called morons.
Since it has no electrons, administratium is inert. However, it can be detected chemically as it impedes every reaction it comes in contact with. According to the discoverers, a minute amount of administratium causes one reaction to take over four days to complete when it would have normally occurred in less than a second.
Administratium has a normal half-life of approximately three years, at which time it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which assistant neutrons, vice neutrons and assistant vice neutrons exchange places. Some studies have shown that the atomic mass actually increases after each reorganization.
Research at other laboratories indicates that administratium occurs naturally in the atmosphere. It tends to concentrate at certain points such as government agencies, large corporations, and universities. It can usually be found in the newest, best appointed, and best maintained buildings.
Scientists point out that administratium is known to be toxic at any level of concentration and can easily destroy any productive reaction where it is allowed to accumulate. Attempts are being made to determine how administratium can be controlled to prevent irreversible [brain] damage, but results to date are not promising.
WOW!!!! I cannot explain to you how perfectly descriptive this is of the place I work! The name outside has changed 4 times in just the last 11-12 years, and every time those in charge become ever further removed from the reality of the production floor, and the new policies they implement get more absurd. Where once we went 36 consecutive months with 100% on time delivery, the goal is now 97%, and we have not made that in a long time. And through it all, somehow, its always the fault of those who actually do the producing. Never mind that, as we have tried to explain, it is now (at least) twice as hard physically to achieve the same result we did just 5-6 years ago because of the policies set forth from on high.