Friday, March 07, 2014

The Bureaucracy Battle


What amazes me is how many good civil servants stick it out, and deliver needed services despite work conditions that constantly trip them up. They deserve medals. But they’re not proof of a working system, but of the extraordinary strength of human character. Imagine what good they could do if they were free to roll up their sleeves and take responsibility.

Philip K. Howard on attracting good people to work for government.
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2 comments:

Crusty Old HR Manager said...

Yes, but beware the good intentions of those in power. In my beloved state of Arizona, our Governor has championed "Four Cornerstones of Reform" to include state personnel reform which sweeps all state agencies under one personnel system. Where I once had autonomy to hire, promote, discipline, and fire employees, I did so carefully, thoughtfully, within the boundaries of federal and state law, and with the best interests of my agency and its constituents at the center of every decision. Today, after "personnel reform", I must wade through three additional layers of bureaucracy in order to accomplish the same. I cannot fire someone for threatening his/her supervisor with bodily harm until the case is reviewed by others. Would you want to work for such an organization? The entire exercise has resulted in a complete and utter bankruptcy of common sense. I used to love my "government" job because it challenged me. Now it suffocates me. Do I stay and continue to fight off becoming part of the problem, or do I leave this job purely out of self preservation? Government employment could be so awesome if it weren't for the government.

2:30 PM
Michael Wade said...

Crusty,

That doesn't sound like fun. Too often the cure is worse than the disease. Organizations have a tendency to centralize and often that is destructive. In some areas, such as EEO investigations, it can make sense but in others it just adds bureaucracy.

Michael

6:21 AM

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