A snatch from UP.
Leadie posts a doozy.
Quote:
undertake additional research to develop a greater understanding of the issues underlying the rating of ‘dissatisfied’ and ‘very dissatisfied’ ",
- create new positions for "Stakeholder Engagement Group Manager", "Designated Aviation Medical Examiner (DAME) liaison officer", "Industry Relations Officer",
- "A culture change process is underway within CASA to drive continuous improvement and strengthen commitment to consistently meeting service delivery timeframes",
- "CASA will develop a new Service Charter ..."
- "... established the Director’s Advisory Panel to provide him with informed, high-level advice.",
- "... established a Stakeholder Engagement Group that provides dedicated stakeholder engagement functions",
- "... key manuals are being revised and updated to ensure there is standardised, current information on rules, processes and how assessments are undertaken."
Straight out of the Bureaucrat's Big Book of Looking Busy. Chapter 3 of that book, which Chapter is headed Responding to Reports by Looking Busy, is very instructive (reproduced with permission of the copyright holder):
Quote:
As we saw in Chapter 2, there are many "look busy" activities that can be undertaken at a bureaucracy's own initiative - conducting "reviews" and "restructuring" and gathering "data" etc. However, external matters may occasionally produce findings and recommendations that may be inconveniently valid and may require "work" to address. We have used the provocative word "work" deliberately, to focus Busy Bureaucrats on the point that although these circumstances create a threat, they also create an opportunity.
The Busy Bureaucrat will be left with a choice on how best to look busy: Reject and cast doubt on the credibility of the report's author/s, findings, data set, sample group, methodology etc, or accept the finding/s recommendation/s in whole or part and "commit to action". The first option is ostensibly attractive because it does not involve work. However, the second option has not only the advantage of making a Busy Bureaucrat look busier when s/he is not (Rule 2 from Chapter 1), but also provides scope for increasing the size of the bureaucracy (Rule 1 from Chapter 1).
The key to taking the opportunity created by this threat, and thereby to look busier and increase the size of the bureacracy, is to commit to impressive action that includes the creation of positions that have the name of the action that the bureaucracy will pretend to take. Examples of those actions follow. We have added efficiency scores, out of 100, that are usually achieved against the "Bigger Bureaucracy", "Look Busy" and "Delay Tactic" criteria discussed in Chapter 1:
- Create new positions that have names like "Stakeholder Engagement Group Manager" and "Industry Relations Officer" - BB: 100; LB 30; DT 100 [Editor's comment: This "action" is often undervalued as a DT. However, the appointees to these positions will always need many months to settle in and get across the facts and the options.]
- Establish a "Stakeholder Engagement Group" that pretends to provide "dedicated stakeholder engagement functions" BB: 10; LB:70; DT:60 [Editor's comment: meetings are always a good 'look busy' tactic but stakeholder groups generally include stakeholders who eventually realise it's just a 'look busy' tactic.]
- Establish an "Advisory Panel" to provide "informed, high-level advice" to be considered and rejected if inconvenient - BB:10; LB:20; DT:100 [Editor's comment: Low BB if, as is usually the case, the panel comprises 'outsiders'. However, solid DT gold.]
- Pretend that "a culture change process is underway to drive continuous improvement and strengthen commitment to consistently meeting service delivery timeframes" - BB:0; LB:40; DT:70 [Editor's comment: A brave option to take, because almost nobody thinks anything but "BS" when they hear "culture change" and "continuous improvement" these days.]
- Develop a new "Service Charter" and pretend that it means something - BB:0; LB: 40; DT: 50 [Editor's comment: A DT to be used as a last resort. Nobody believes this BS any more.]
- Undertake additional research to develop a greater understanding of the issues - BB:20; LB0; DT: 60 [Editor's comment: A good LB option, but its DT value depends on whether the issues are already obvious to even a moron.]
- Revise and Update "key manuals" to ensure there is "standardised, current information on rules, processes and how assessments are undertaken", so these can be used as "evidence" to "prove" that everything is "OK" - BB:10; LB:100; DT 75. [Editor's comment: A potentially rich source of busy work and delay.]
Leadie posts a doozy.
Quote:
undertake additional research to develop a greater understanding of the issues underlying the rating of ‘dissatisfied’ and ‘very dissatisfied’ ",
- create new positions for "Stakeholder Engagement Group Manager", "Designated Aviation Medical Examiner (DAME) liaison officer", "Industry Relations Officer",
- "A culture change process is underway within CASA to drive continuous improvement and strengthen commitment to consistently meeting service delivery timeframes",
- "CASA will develop a new Service Charter ..."
- "... established the Director’s Advisory Panel to provide him with informed, high-level advice.",
- "... established a Stakeholder Engagement Group that provides dedicated stakeholder engagement functions",
- "... key manuals are being revised and updated to ensure there is standardised, current information on rules, processes and how assessments are undertaken."
Straight out of the Bureaucrat's Big Book of Looking Busy. Chapter 3 of that book, which Chapter is headed Responding to Reports by Looking Busy, is very instructive (reproduced with permission of the copyright holder):
Quote:
As we saw in Chapter 2, there are many "look busy" activities that can be undertaken at a bureaucracy's own initiative - conducting "reviews" and "restructuring" and gathering "data" etc. However, external matters may occasionally produce findings and recommendations that may be inconveniently valid and may require "work" to address. We have used the provocative word "work" deliberately, to focus Busy Bureaucrats on the point that although these circumstances create a threat, they also create an opportunity.
The Busy Bureaucrat will be left with a choice on how best to look busy: Reject and cast doubt on the credibility of the report's author/s, findings, data set, sample group, methodology etc, or accept the finding/s recommendation/s in whole or part and "commit to action". The first option is ostensibly attractive because it does not involve work. However, the second option has not only the advantage of making a Busy Bureaucrat look busier when s/he is not (Rule 2 from Chapter 1), but also provides scope for increasing the size of the bureaucracy (Rule 1 from Chapter 1).
The key to taking the opportunity created by this threat, and thereby to look busier and increase the size of the bureacracy, is to commit to impressive action that includes the creation of positions that have the name of the action that the bureaucracy will pretend to take. Examples of those actions follow. We have added efficiency scores, out of 100, that are usually achieved against the "Bigger Bureaucracy", "Look Busy" and "Delay Tactic" criteria discussed in Chapter 1:
- Create new positions that have names like "Stakeholder Engagement Group Manager" and "Industry Relations Officer" - BB: 100; LB 30; DT 100 [Editor's comment: This "action" is often undervalued as a DT. However, the appointees to these positions will always need many months to settle in and get across the facts and the options.]
- Establish a "Stakeholder Engagement Group" that pretends to provide "dedicated stakeholder engagement functions" BB: 10; LB:70; DT:60 [Editor's comment: meetings are always a good 'look busy' tactic but stakeholder groups generally include stakeholders who eventually realise it's just a 'look busy' tactic.]
- Establish an "Advisory Panel" to provide "informed, high-level advice" to be considered and rejected if inconvenient - BB:10; LB:20; DT:100 [Editor's comment: Low BB if, as is usually the case, the panel comprises 'outsiders'. However, solid DT gold.]
- Pretend that "a culture change process is underway to drive continuous improvement and strengthen commitment to consistently meeting service delivery timeframes" - BB:0; LB:40; DT:70 [Editor's comment: A brave option to take, because almost nobody thinks anything but "BS" when they hear "culture change" and "continuous improvement" these days.]
- Develop a new "Service Charter" and pretend that it means something - BB:0; LB: 40; DT: 50 [Editor's comment: A DT to be used as a last resort. Nobody believes this BS any more.]
- Undertake additional research to develop a greater understanding of the issues - BB:20; LB0; DT: 60 [Editor's comment: A good LB option, but its DT value depends on whether the issues are already obvious to even a moron.]
- Revise and Update "key manuals" to ensure there is "standardised, current information on rules, processes and how assessments are undertaken", so these can be used as "evidence" to "prove" that everything is "OK" - BB:10; LB:100; DT 75. [Editor's comment: A potentially rich source of busy work and delay.]