In the fourth chapter, Bud tells Tom of a situation where a doctor from Europe was trying to discover why the death rate among woman giving birth was so high. As he goes on to tell the story to Tom, he says that no one knew what was causing the problem. Yet, the death rate was higher in one maternity section of the hospital than the other. In the section where midwives worked, the babies had a much lower death rate than the ward in which the doctors were working. When the doctor took several months off to work in another hospital, the death rate declined in the ward of the hospital where doctors worked. Later, the doctor discovered that the deaths of these women were caused by doctors spreading their germs to the patients. When he required doctors to wash their hands in a mixture of chlorine and lime, the mortality rate drastically decreased. Bud then informs Tom that organizations were infested with distorted perceptions of how employees and managers view themselves and the other workers, and like the doctors, they have no knowledge that they are spreading the disease. He explains that he is telling him of this, so he will be knowledgeable on the policies are …show more content…
While names can be difficult to remember, failing to even make the attempt to recall the names of workers demonstrates perceiving other people as merely material things and not as humans, which is an in the box thought process. Then, Tom questions how one can view workers as people without getting taken advantage of, and Bud proceeds to ask Tom a question about whether his viewing an employee as an object would inspire her to become more innovative about her work. Even when reprimanding an employee, a boss should make sure that their perceptions include seeing them as real people. Bud then encourages Tom to consider his company employees and how he perceives them (The Arbinger Institute,