Institutional inertia

Wow. I love this even though it depresses me. I saw this behavior at the Agency when I was there almost a decade ago.

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Comments (4)

  1. Ogre wrote::

    Once an institution develops career tracks, it is doomed. I note with horror the percentage of civil servants in the Agency who have no background (or apparent interest) in science and engineering.

    Lawyers and accountants are very good at lawyering and accounting, but not so great for exploring the universe.

    Monday, February 9, 2009 at 9:47 pm #
  2. sisiggy wrote::

    Oh! The institution-speak! My ears are bleeding!

    Tuesday, February 10, 2009 at 8:26 am #
  3. simon wrote::

    Same over here. We’re not paid to think. Things have to be done the way they’ve always been done.

    Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 4:20 am #
  4. Frédérique wrote::

    I am all of a sudden counting my blessings.
    My Very Big, Institutional, Governmental workplace is admittedly not doing so well, with the same constant backlog of about 2-3 months* ever since I started a year ago. We recently got a new Branch Manager, and she is committed to making things better – including asking every single staff member for their ideas. The crazier the better as far as they’re concerned, they want solutions and inspiration, from the tiny everyday problems to the big operational ones. And the administration is actually acting on those suggestions!

    Thanks for making me see how lucky I am – it did need to be pointed out.

    *I work for immigration, and a 3-month backlog means people wait for 3.5 months before hearing about their work permit, and employers wait for 3.5 months before their new employee’s allowed to work… not good for the economy.

    Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 3:42 pm #