Making bureaucracy work

Abstract

What gives bureaucracy such a bad name? Is it bureaucracy in itself, or the ghosts in the system who, in a million minor drifts, contribute to turning efficiency into red‐tape? Undesirable side‐effects need not be confused with necessary first‐level effects. There is nothing wrong with the bureaucratic system as such. Ultimately we could not work without it as it is the only known way of co‐ordinating vast numbers of people to treat mass problems. However, like any tool, it is only as good as the people who use it, and its results are largely linked to the very agendas of the users. Understanding what makes bureaucracy work requires a good look at the implicit biases in the bureaucratic model, mostly seeded by its various founders and theoreticians, as well as tackling pragmatic issues of creating and applying rules – and where and when to change them.