ark@alice.UucP (Andrew Koenig) (02/06/86)
I have noticed the following things that very large organizations (such as Federal agencies) seem to have in common: 1. Nothing is ever permanent 2. Nothing is ever temporary 3. The older a bureaucracy is, the less its actual activities have anything in common with its stated purpose 4. Paperwork violations are viewed with a severity out of all proportion to their actual effect. Anyone care to propose others? (As an example of #2, I understand that England once established a civil service position whose holder was to watch the English Channel and ring a bell if Napoleon was coming. They finally abolished the post in 1945.)
earlw@pesnta.UUCP (Earl Wallace) (02/07/86)
You can add a few more laws...
5. Never do anything that might earn you respect and praise from your
subordinates. This action might cause your subordinates to believe
you're human and then they would goof off.
6. Never do anything that might earn you respect and praise from your
peers. This action might cause your peers to believe you're human
and then they wouldn't play golf with you.
7. Never do anything that might earn you respect and praise from your
boss. This action might cause your boss to believe you're human and
then he/she would fire you.
8. Make simple tasks complicated.
9. Make complicated tasks more complicated, go to step 9.
10. Make tasks when none are needed, go to step 8.ark@alice.UucP (Andrew Koenig) (02/08/86)
> You can add a few more laws... > > 5. Never do anything that might earn you respect and praise from your > subordinates. This action might cause your subordinates to believe > you're human and then they would goof off. ... and so on. But what I really want to see is things like Newton's laws of motion -- things that describe how bureaucracies actually behave, not rules for how one should behave.
verner@inuxh.UUCP (Matt Verner) (02/08/86)
> > You can add a few more laws... > > > > 5. Never do anything that might earn you respect and praise from your > > subordinates. This action might cause your subordinates to believe > > you're human and then they would goof off. > > ... and so on. But what I really want to see is things like > Newton's laws of motion -- things that describe how bureaucracies > actually behave, not rules for how one should behave. Andrew, If you really want to see Bureaucracies (intentionally capitalized) in action I recomend the movie _Brazil_ as a MUST see! It is absolutely the best depiction of 'Bureaucracy as Big Brother' as I have ever seen, read, or heard of. An extraordinary film. Matt Verner UUCP: ...ihnp4!inuxc!verner AT&T Consumer Products Laboratories AT&T: (317) 845-3631 P. O. Box 1008 Indianapolis, IN 46206 "The whole point of this sentence is to clearly explain the point this sentence is making."