Why do governments — and for that matter, most organizations — resist admitting mistakes, even old ones? (And why do they keep repeating the same mistakes?) A recently-released British historical document suggests part of the reason. The Guardian reports on a note written by Margaret Thatcher less than a year before she became Prime Minister […]
Tag: bureaucracy
Words newly banished in Britain
Britain’s Local Government Association has issued its new (2010) list of “250 words the public sector shouldn’t use.” The Association’s announcement mentions a few highlights from the list: Trialogue Wellderly Goldfish bowl facilitated conversation Tonality Webinar Under-capacitated Clienting
The lazy bureaucrat problem
The lazy bureaucrat problem is ancient, as old as bureaucracy itself. In the 1990s, mathematicians decided to look at the problem. They have since made progress that, depending on your point of view, is either impressive or irrelevant. Four scientists at the State University of New York, Stony Brook issued the first formal report. The […]
Certificate of granularity
Miss Conduct obtained this tin of John McCann Steel-Cut Oatmeal. She writes: “Note the “Certificate of Uniformity of Granulation” on the back, attested to by not one but three officials: men, bureaucrats yet, who literally felt their oats.”