The Squeaky Wheel in the Bureaucracy
We are confronted with complaints and problems every day. For the most part, though, we ignore them and with good reason. Sometimes the problem is a fluke caused by the randomness of life. Sometimes the problem is exaggerated by a frustrated and venting individual. Sometimes the problem is already being addressed and it’ll just go away.
But, every now and then a problem is real and warrants our attention. We usually determine that a problem is real when the problem repeatedly affects us. After that, we must address it. Hit traffic at 8:30 on a given road once, it’s a bad day. Hit it repeatedly and one has to come up with a new travel plan.
With bureaucracy, though, often problems need to be addressed by a number of individuals in a chain of command. This results in only severe problems being addressed.
For instance, say one’s chain of command is 4 people. The lowest man on the totem pole runs into a problem. He ignores it twice, but after a third time, he reports it to his supervisor. Now that has become a single problem for the supervisor. He ignores it twice, but after a third time, he reports it to his supervisor. Of course, for him to hear the problem three times, the lowest man must experience it 9 times. The supervisor’s supervisor also needs to hear it 3 times in order to report it to the top of the totem. The top man has to hear 3 times to take action. The poor lowest man has now experienced the problem 81 times and has annoyed his manager 27 times about it. Their relationship probably isn’t great.
This bureaucracy does have some advantages. It probably leads to resources being used to address the worst problems first. Also, the problems that are addressed are in all probability actual problems. So, in systems like, say, the judicial system (despite the numerous stories to the contrary), this means that police are probably arresting multiple offenders and that multiple offenders are going to jail.
On the other hand, unique, complicated and nuanced issues are unlikely to ever be solved or treated fairly as someone in the bureaucratic line will filter them out. Only actions that occur numerously and that can be explained quickly and concisely will ever be addressed. The squeaky wheel does get the grease eventually, but only long after it has annoyed everyone near it greatly.
But, every now and then a problem is real and warrants our attention. We usually determine that a problem is real when the problem repeatedly affects us. After that, we must address it. Hit traffic at 8:30 on a given road once, it’s a bad day. Hit it repeatedly and one has to come up with a new travel plan.
With bureaucracy, though, often problems need to be addressed by a number of individuals in a chain of command. This results in only severe problems being addressed.
For instance, say one’s chain of command is 4 people. The lowest man on the totem pole runs into a problem. He ignores it twice, but after a third time, he reports it to his supervisor. Now that has become a single problem for the supervisor. He ignores it twice, but after a third time, he reports it to his supervisor. Of course, for him to hear the problem three times, the lowest man must experience it 9 times. The supervisor’s supervisor also needs to hear it 3 times in order to report it to the top of the totem. The top man has to hear 3 times to take action. The poor lowest man has now experienced the problem 81 times and has annoyed his manager 27 times about it. Their relationship probably isn’t great.
This bureaucracy does have some advantages. It probably leads to resources being used to address the worst problems first. Also, the problems that are addressed are in all probability actual problems. So, in systems like, say, the judicial system (despite the numerous stories to the contrary), this means that police are probably arresting multiple offenders and that multiple offenders are going to jail.
On the other hand, unique, complicated and nuanced issues are unlikely to ever be solved or treated fairly as someone in the bureaucratic line will filter them out. Only actions that occur numerously and that can be explained quickly and concisely will ever be addressed. The squeaky wheel does get the grease eventually, but only long after it has annoyed everyone near it greatly.
posted by American Dilettante at
4:53 PM
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