This month at the Carnival of the Bureaucrats we review founding documents of bureaucracy. Perhaps the most important historical moment in bureaucracy was the drafting of a document whose first paragraph includes this exalted statement: “When in the course of bureaucratic events it becomes necessary for an organization to sacrifice some of its members, a decent respect for the opinions of those in charge of reviewing operational procedures requires that the bureaucrats whose job assignment includes making the relevant decisions should declare the causes which impel them to throw members of their organization under a bus.”
Bureaucrats today celebrate this important documentary principle. Consider the Duke lacrosse rape hoax. In circumstances of gross procedural injustices and an astonishing lack of credible evidence of rape, Duke Chairman of the Board Richard Steel reportedly explained that it would “best for Duke” if Duke students were forced to endure a rape trial.
At least some of the facts of Duke’s actions have been submitted to the candid world. To me, these actions indicate contempt for legal due process, wanton disregard for truth, extreme prejudice, and major injuries to Duke students. I thus believe that Duke’s bureaucratic leaders should draft a document detailing why the harms to these Duke students were “best for Duke.”
The important work of drafting and editing documents takes time. Fortunately, educational administrators comprised 51.4% of persons with full-time professional positions in higher education in 2006 (survey results). Thus, among persons holding full-time professional positions in higher education, administrators have finally surpassed faculty members. The future looks bright for bureaucratic education. In this increasingly competitive environment, Duke should work hard to build upon the Duke community’s past successes and to insure a high institutional ranking in the future.
Medical study of a French civil servant with a tiny brain has produced an important scientific insight:
“What I find amazing to this day is how the brain can deal with something which you think should not be compatible with life,” commented Dr. Max Muenke, a pediatric brain defect specialist at the National Human Genome Research Institute.
While persons with tiny brains are quite common, bureaucratic functioning is truly remarkable.
All bureaucrats experience a few days of discouragement at some time before they receive their 25-year service pin. Geek poetry can help address this temporary condition. For mournful reading I recommend Epitaph for DOS Gamer.
Cooper at Intelligent Essays describes FBI Intelligence Reform. He notes:
The main objectives undertaken by the FBI include intelligence structural reorganization, a communication and computer network overhaul, and management retraining.
Gathering management for several weeks of offsite retraining often sharply increases staff productivity.
In a related post, Louise Manning at The Human Imprint discusses management commitment. Management commitment includes:
The development of a management infrastructure to implement the actions necessary to achieve organisational goals and objectives and to deliver products and associated services that consistently meet customer requirements
More managers need to be committed.
Roger Shuy at Language Log defends bureaucrats. He declares, “Most of them [bureaucrats] were really nice folks, just like the rest of us.” We have no doubts about the first clause of that sentence.
Tim Bray at ongoing offers thoughts on business. He observes:
The free market is a wonderful thing in the abstract and in its way a triumph of human creativity. But it is a profoundly unnatural creation and would self-destruct by this time next year without those oh-so-despised public servants standing there with the guns.
Government regulators do not “intervene” in the economy. Government regulators are a vital part of the economy. Show some appreciation for government regulators today!
That’s all for this month’s Carnival of the Bureaucrats. Submit your blog article to the next edition using our carnival submission form. Submissions should conform to the Carnival’s regulations. Past editions of the Carnival of the Bureaucrats can be found on the Carnival’s category page.
“I thus believe that Duke’s bureaucratic leaders should draft a document detailing why the harms to these Duke students were “best for Duke.””
It’s the bureaucratic equivalent of fighting against grade inflation.
The stunning thing about the Duke fiasco is that the allegations of one liar can have such credibility and travel so far to disrupt people’s lives with no check whatsoever.
Cow would like to think that is because we’re such a trusting and innocent society. Unfortunately it appears more of a political agenda.
Moo!