Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, I agree; that's why I've always thought of it as an amplifier for management. If you have good management that buys in, then everyone is more productive. If you have crappy management that doesn't, then they're given a tool to amplify the micromanaging and dispiriting aspects of the job.
Man. ^ This is a brutal revelation right now. Totally just opened my eyes to exactly why things have been going badly at work, despite formal process.
Conway's Law deserves a management corollary.