Bureaucracy

Last week we asked the following in our weekly quiz:

"What traits indicate to you you have run into a genuine bureaucrat?"  The answers included:

They love to bloviate even if they don't realize they are, using words like: bottom- line, synergy,etc.

They rarely ask YOU for YOUR opinion. They always have theirs and are eager to "educate" you. 3. Would not know what it means to say "I was wrong" if their life depended on it. 4. Yes men/women by nature. Classic arm-wavers in the sense of taking pitifully, insignificant action on superior's initiatives. 5. Shamelessly take credit for others work and in some cases overt about it, asking others to work on a "special project" that they are too incompetent to solve. 6. Have a license plate on their golf cart of their position (VP) to make sure others are aware of their importance. 7. It is always about them. 8. Power centric who likes to make all the decisions without even understanding the problem! 9. Thrives on firing people and probably has a board hidden of his/her victims. Wow- I could go on forever!!

A person who users all the latest buzz words

They dress to impress

Llack of imagination, preference for hierarchy and a "closed" door policy, needed systems in place to tell if something is "right" rather than having direct knowledge.

Making suggestions that make no sense to someone on the front line...

Time delay and extra work they are the plug in the pipe.

One who redoubles the effort when they have long since forgotten the original aim.......

Some bureaucratic quotes: “We cannot meet 21st Century challenges with a 20th Century bureaucracy.” – Barack Obama, US Presidential candidate, in his Nomination Acceptance Speech “Any sufficiently advanced bureaucracy is indistinguishable from molasses.” – Unknown “Bureaucracy defends the status quo long past the time when the quo has lost its status.” - Laurence J. Peter (1919 - 1988) “We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming.” - Werner von Braun commenting on bureaucracy “To get the attention of a large animal, be it an elephant or a bureaucracy, it helps to know what part of it feels pain. Be very sure, though, that you want its full attention.” - Kelvin Throop "Bureaucracy is the enemy of innovation. It breeds mediocrity." - Mark Shepherd, executive

They will make excuses or think up reasons to not carry out a project or improvement from someone who is actually trying to make the company better so they won't be "outshined".

Almost anyone who needs to go ask their boss for permission to do something. I.E., the inability - or unwilligness - to make a decision and then face the consequences.

They have shoes so clean that you can see the refection of the sun setting on the corporation on them.

stubbornness

Creates useless work for others.

More forms, spreadsheets and nothing to do with the customer or the bottom line!

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