Social loafing

Makes sense. CSCO found out as much recently. Chambers set up boards and councils to have collaborative leadership of technology groups rather than top down management. Reports are it led to less accountability and, I imagine, a "loafing" effect.

Two years later and the stock has lost half its value, market share is slipping away. So now the boards and councils are being vaporized... along with a few thousand employees.

Pair programming done right has some pretty effective counters to this:

* Time passes much more quickly when you have an audience you want to impress. * You're less likely to waste time surfing the web when you're working with someone. * If your pair thinks you're drifting off, they can say "how about you drive for a while."

Of course it's easily defeated if both people decide to slack.