Bureaucracy is the anti creativity [1]
Bureaucracy has an array of meanings and applications. I primarily think of it as the framework to implement and process, directives from policy makers to the public and will use it as such over the next few pages. I have identified several areas of exploration within the framework of bureaucracy. They begin with the creativity involved in policy creation; continue on with the details of bureaucracy, leading to efficiency and a broad overview of some of the positives and negatives in the bureaucracy framework.
Policy making is an incredibly creative process, from idea generation and expression, to persuasion, adaptation and finally ratification those involved are consistently looking for the answer to how to go about what is needed next. Policy makers have a framework they must follow in policy creation however that framework excludes the informal and subtle activities that are necessary for policy ratification, therefore leaving a huge expanse for creativity. Bureaucracy is the anti creativity. The development of the bureaucracy was creative. With a bit of imagination one could even theorize that bureaucracy was developed by political figures as a protective system, designed to protect them from potentially unstable political environments. Bureaucracy and creativity collaborate whenever a new policy is introduced in the system. After these points of entry creativity on all practical levels is over.
Bureaucracy has developed into an expansive and detailed framework where each person knows there role and the steps they must follow when fulfilling their role. In many countries it is standardized and predictable if not efficient. Bureaucracy is the epitome of a formal organization. Dr. Co, Dean of UP NCPAG said in one of her class lectures that this standard or rule is what makes public administration universally applicable and regarded as a science. Policy implementation has been developing into modern bureaucracy for centuries with early stages visible within the church. The rationale behind this rigid and formal process is that it will enable distribution of authority and tasks, allowing for transparency and large scale administration activities. Distributing authority to appointed or hired personal has raised some questions in democratic societies regarding representation of the people in government. These factors have come together to create a bureaucracy that has eliminated creativity.
With the creativity gone efficiency suffers. In distributing tasks layers have developed within the system creating a bureaucracy that is seen as inefficient and ineffective. I read in an online news source called marketing week that: bureaucracy is; having to wade through pages of complex instructions and processes. The primary objective of, implementing and processing policy, is fulfilled through a detailed step by step formula where each participant has a specific role. Clear participant role formulas, are a business strategy primarily used to reduce or eliminate uncertainty in the environment. This specialization requires numerous people to be involved in every process thus leading to a time delay.
In many systems specialization has proved to be the most efficient and effective way to deliver a product, think Mc Donald’s. In many bureaucracies’s however the service or product does not pass directly from one person to the next, it is often required to receive review or validation before its next stage. The process of passing becomes disjointed when all officials are not working in a line. Service and products have to pass from one building to another, one office to the next; this requires the use of another medium, a courier, phone call, e-mail or other such source. This added medium increases time and inefficiency.
As specialization has become further cemented in today’s bureaucracy it has increasingly suffered from the restriction of human behavior. Humans are innately creative. Giving those working in a bureaucracy freedom intensifies the previous question of appointed or hired governmental personnel in a representative democracy, simultaneously creating the possibility for the innate human creativity to come into practice. Bureaucracy is not however a lost cause of restriction and specialization.
Benefits of bureaucracy can include job creation, accountability, traceability and academic logic. In many nations government employs close to 1/3 of the work force, a fully flushed out bureaucracy giving many employment options. Clear job roles remove any questions about who was responsible for a specific stage of a process. Any action has a clear path to follow enabling (those who wish to know) tracing of movement. Many academics have put thought and logic into the creation of the bureaucracy concept providing sound logic and examples of its effectiveness.
Alternately, bureaucracy can result in many ways the opposite of its benefits. Overly large government sectors have resulted in over budget government and unstable economies. Bureaucracy has a lack of accountability. When everyone is involved no one is responsible or accountable for the whole, in some systems resulting in slow delivery, poorly done components and even failure to respond. Academics who have praised bureaucracy are matched by those who critique finding faults not only in the structure but great flaws in practice. Humanity is a difficult aspect to fully predict and understand. When creating a framework that is greatly dependent on human behavior and response many assumptions and risks are involved. Educated measures can be taken however only in practice will the inconsistencies be found. Bureaucracy suffers from numerous human behavior responses, the negatives which I have expanded upon in the preceding paragraphs.
Bureaucracy is greatly intertwined in our society and it is hard to imagine a world without it. That in mind I would support a system that enable greater creativity. Finding a balance of good service delivery, sound business practice, minimization of systematic negatives and creativity is a task that will require concentrated and deliberate effort to achieve. Bureaucracy is not a lost cause the strength and achievements of the system have created a strong system that will withstand future revisions and developments.
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