Performance Measures and Learning LO12264

Debbie Broome (debbieb@linux.plano.gov)
Wed, 29 Jan 1997 13:43:25 -0600

Replying to LO12224 --

John Constantine writes:

>Government bureaucracy is often guilty of duplicative, repetitive tasks
>operating in different programs and different departments for a number of
>reasons. Maintaining one's classification and salary range are but two.
>Reducing the likelihood of layoffs or RIF's is another. Maintaining the
>status quo is a third. I'm sure there are scores more, but the point is
>that information needs to be used for the purpose intended, which is tied
>to the "best operation" of the organization, and not for controlling
>people. Yet I'm afraid that is what is usually done, the data used by a
>supervisory level rather than by the front line unit to make improvements
>in the processes for which they are responsible.

John,

I must ask you on what facts do you base the above statements? Do you get
your information from personal experience? Newspapers, Television? All
bureaucracies, whether government or otherwise, can be associated with
dupliative, repetitive tasks. Four points: 1) all governments are not
bureaucracies and all bureaucracies are not governments 2)If most (and
maybe all) of our modern organizations evolved within the framework of
Newtonian physics, bureaucracy to some degree exists in most if not all
organizations as we seek to IMPOSE our organization and control, with
exceptions being the start-up company and small enterprises 3)Please don't
confuse "process" with bureaucracy. Governmental actitivites can take
longer because government (particularly the change process) is designed
for all customers to be heavily involved in the process (citizen
participation)not just one individual. Peter Block asserts that this
process orientation is something the privates could learn from government.
4)There is an incredible amount of learning and creativity occurring in
governmental organizations everyday, in partnership with our customers.

Debbie Broome

--
Debbie Broome			e-mail:  debbieb@linux.plano.gov
Assistant City Manager		phone:  972-461-7465
City of Plano Texas		fax:  972-423-9587
P.O. Box 860358
Plano, TX  75086-0358
 

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