Procrustean
Etymology
From the Greek myth of Procrustes, who offered travelers a bed and then made them fit it — stretching those too short and cutting down those too long. His name means roughly "the stretcher." A Procrustean rule does the same violence to whatever it measures.
adjective · /pro-KRUS-tee-un/
Forcing diverse things or people into one rigid standard, ignoring their real differences.
What it names
The metric, policy, or system that insists reality must fit the model, rather than the model fitting reality.
Example
Ranking every employee on one number is a Procrustean metric that flattens very different jobs.
Related idea
One-size-fits-all is the plain-English version; Procrustean adds the note of quiet violence.
See also