Symptom: Priorities are set for each provider group (rather than for each fund of time or money).
Priorities must be set at the level of spending power (a customer's budget), never individually for each provider group. If provider groups face differing priorities, teamwork will be severely hampered.
In the internal economy, spending power (e.g., chips that represent people's hours) must be separated from headcount. Spending power belongs to customers. Headcount is an expense to suppliers.
Once pots of spending power are identified, a "purser" can be designated to set priorities for each pot. The pursers' priorities apply to the entire organization, not just one provider group within it. And so long as all of the pots of spending power add up to the available resources (i.e., demand and supply are in balance), priority conflicts within each provider group should be minimal.
