I never learned whether that particular organizational fad stood up to enquiry and observation over time, but I always found it plausible (as well as the Dilbert extension where "we just find incompetent people and sent them straight to management"). When people in in over their heads, they act increasingly irrationally.
One of the common things is to identify some less-important competency and begin to insist that it is the most important part of the job. It's a marker, actually. When someone is insisting on unimportant stuff, it's a sign they are dimly aware they are in over their head.
Yeah, we're living that right now.
