Are They Really That Stupid?

About twice a year the business group I work in changes it name! The name is always very long and requires an acronym so we can all say it. The group never changes, the people are the same and the projects are the same but the name changes.

I have two theories about why this happens.

1. Upper/middle management is doing a great job at hiding the fact that the group has not generated a marketable product since before 2000. They accomplish this by changing the name of the group and telling upper/upper management that they have taken care of the lower performing group.
2. Management has nothing better to do but sit in a room and think of new names for the group. They when they do think of a new name they can report that they made efficiency changes and decreased costs and increased productivity by reorganizing the group. The next time they ask management will simply change the name again and the benchmark is reset again.

Sadly both theories could be true to a given extent and I actually feel that in most cases it is a combination of both. What makes me laugh every time is that when this is presented to the group all the rank and file employees do not care but management seems to think that they have done something that is revolutionary and is going to change the business operation for the better.

Does your business group change it’s name often?