Operational glass ceiling in the face of crisis?

Indicators of Political Will, Remedial and Coping Capacity? (Part #6)

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The arguments above suggest that humanity is faced with a form of "glass ceiling" to its efficacy, most notably with respect to remedial capacity and the political will to "marshal" resources for appropriate action. That military metaphor could well be undermining that capacity of response, as previously argued (Enhancing Sustainable Development Strategies through Avoidance of Military Metaphors, 1998; Mobilization for Alienation vs. Catalysis for Participation: the critical choice for the United Nations system, 1973).

The subtle nature of a "glass ceiling" has been extensively discussed in relation to the participation of minorities and women. It could be extended to the manner in which the engagement of unconventional cognitive resources is subtly and systemically deprecated and avoided (Tank Warfare Challenges for Global Governance; extending the "think tank" metaphor to include other cognitive modalities, 2019). So framed, it might then be asked what resources are not appropriately interrelated and focused in response to strategic challenges? Which resources are considered irrelevant and why?

Rather than the glass ceiling constraint on women, as notably explored by Elise Boulding (The Underside of History: a view of women through time, 1976), there is then presumably a case for a more general study of the Underside of Governance constrained by a more general form of glass ceiling. Operating "under" that constraint, then merits recognition of the manipulation of categories associated with The Art of Non-Decision-Making (1997).

Especially evident is the pattern of responses to a situation held to be "unacceptable" -- a term extensively used by authorities only too evidently unable to cope. Readily framed as effective, these are characterized by a panoply of forms of inaction: resolutions, condemnations, appeals, expressions of regret, and the like. These may well include appeals for the action by others. These are all modalities which are the antithesis of the "operacy" for which Edward de Bono has argued (Judgment, recognition and operacy, Extensor).

If the current situation, and the "operation" of the glass ceiling, ensures and reinforces what has been termed "subunderstanding", there is then a need for "polyocular vision" as argued by Magoroh Maruyama (Polyocular Vision or Subunderstanding? Organization Studies, 25, 2004).

Both the glass ceiling and subunderstanding offer the dubious implication that humanity's organizational capacity is constrained by a form of the Peter Principle. This is a concept in management developed by Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull (The Peter Principle, 1969). It observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to their "level of incompetence". In other words, an employee is promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a level at which they are no longer competent, as skills in one job do not necessarily translate to another. Is this equally the case with institutions of global governance?

Any such conclusion is consistent with various commentaries on the need for some form of "breakthrough", cognitively, institutionally or otherwise. Arguments for "action now" which fail to recognize the constraints noted above are then to be recognized as being as much a part of the problem as of any adequate remedial response. In this respect it is appropriate to recognize the etymological relationship between "will" and "volition" and how they are entangled in interpretations of "will to change" and "revolution" (Michal Kuz, Tocqueville's Dual Theory of Revolution, The European Legacy: Toward New Paradigms, 20, 2015, 1; Gregory Leadbetter, Coleridge and the 'More Permanent Revolution', The Coleridge Bulletin, 30, 2007; Jafe Arnold, The Multipolar Revolution: Syncretic Perspectives, Geopolitika, 2019).

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