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Feature
"Insanity --Bureaucracy, What's the
Difference?"
When an individual consistently behaves
in a way that is clearly out of touch with reality, we describe that person as
being; not of sound mind, mentally deranged, insane. But when an organization
consistently establishes work processes that are out of touch with reality, we
don’t call the organization insane. We call it bureaucratic and put up with it
as if it were a necessary evil of organizational life. It is not.
The principal cause of
bureaucracy is that rules of work (which must be followed whether they make
sense or not) are developed at a distance from reality. And, the primary reason
for this distance is that work processes are interdepartmental. They flow
through departmental boundaries with ease. Therefore, to find a person with
enough authority to revise a process means moving up in the hierarchy several
levels away from the work. The people who are closest to the work and have the
best handle on the reality of the work can only make limited fixes to the work.
Desk tidying they can do, but anything that would have an impact beyond their
work area is outside of their authority...
Read the
complete paper...
Musing
But Surely Some
Bureaucracy is Justified...
Today, most workers process
information - information to help some other worker do their job better
(hopefully). A problem is that few people, if any, in the organization
knows how the work gets done beyond their own desk -- people don't understand
how their work fits into a bigger process and whether their work and even the
process as a whole is necessary. How well an organization understands HOW the
work is done determines how effectively and efficiently it is run. How well
individuals understand their contribution to their organization contributes to
their self-worth. Bureaucracies, identified by rules, routine and rigid
hierarchical structure, reinforce this "isolation" condition.
A bureaucrat is defined as
"an official who works by fixed routine without exercising any intelligent
judgment." You decide.
If you have comments or
thoughts you would like to share with our readers, send them to:
Here's a
thought...
On the Road to Mastery
Business Process
Mastery Workshops
Three public workshop are scheduled this year in Dayton, OH...They will
include two days of learning how to understand and improve business processes followed by a day of
hands-on process mapping with Graham Process Charting Software the principal tool for understanding business processes.
The next workshop will be held March 22-24.
To register for a workshop, call us at
800-628-9558 or download our
fax
registration form.
Workshop schedule
Workshop details...
Software
See what's coming in Graham Process Mapping 7.0 which will be available at the
end of this month.
What's new in Version 7
Reading
Detail Process Charting:
Speaking the Language of Process
"While I consider Detail Process Charting by Ben B. Graham an
important addition to my reference library, it is more important to experience
what can be achieved when the techniques described in the text are actually
applied by an open, honest project team committed to improving their process.
The result is a visual that enables the team to redesign the process in a
collaborative fashion, significantly enhancing productivity while gaining buy-in
from those most affected by the change."
Lon Winton, Chief Information
Officer, Chesapeake Energy Corporation (Retired)
I wish you the
best with your process work.
Ben B. Graham
ben.graham@worksimp.com
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