Thanks for the book suggestion TD.
DwainBowan - I was an apprentice in the UK nationalised telecoms industry when I was young. Diligence was frowned on. More than half the working day was non-productive spent in cafes or long tea breaks in smoke-filled cafeterias playing cards or in the pub playing pool.
It was almost impossible to fire anybody. Absolutely no motivation or ambition and the quality of service provided for the customer - who had nowhere else to go - was dreadful.