THE NUGGET
In a bureaucratic system, useless work drives out useful work
- Milton Friedman
EAT IN
Absence of accurate and precise way of doing things, higher commitment among the staff to be effective and efficient and more bureaucracy are the harbingers of an organization in peril.
Survival is intertwined with the drive to stay competitive. The keener the competition the more difficult it is for any company to survive without highly committed staff. The staff must be willing to “build to plans” and to make their company look good. Accuracy is the feeling and unspoken speech which shakes competition. Once competitors know that your product is qualitatively and quantitatively accurate, you are at the defensive seat as opposed to offensive seat.
It is not the theory and practice of bureaucracy that created administrative immobilism, it is the “man on the chair” whose management style does not match organization’s work culture,that gives bureaucracy a bad name. Having said this, it must be recognized that too much concern with details and application of rules and regulations, may amount to “big bureaucracy” hence obstructionist practices.
In sum, when the plans of action are right and the people to execute them are equally right and still more the management style and processes are sufficiently flexible and adaptable to changing needs of the organization, survival is almost always guaranteed.
TAKE AWAY
The bureaucracy consists of hired servants, aristocracy – of idols; and democracy – of idolaters
- George Bernard Shaw