The Lines of Bureaucracy-Models of Inefficiency

Bureaucracy can be difficult to deal with. Waiting in lines, filling out large forms, waiting weeks for a response, and trekking down to some physical location can be pretty tough. Where we experience bureaucracy we generally feel annoyed and sometimes devalued as a person. The modern conveniences of this century sometimes feel absent when large clunky operations grip with white knuckles to ineffective models. Those organizations that don't change eventually are buried in history. 

You know you are standing in one when everything looks worn out, old, and dilapidated. Bureaucracy breeds incompetence and stakeholder indifference that manifests in general customer annoyance. Bureaucracy become inefficient because it 1. ignores the legitimate complaints, 2. monitors the wrong things, 3. delays decision making, and has 4. biased oversight (Prendergast, 2003)

Bureaucracies have many layers of management but are ultimately separated from the needs of their stakeholders. Their operations are often inefficient and costly leading to incentives for additional waste and inefficiencies. The effectiveness is weak and the outcomes are poor. One of the only benefits it provides is control based upon rigid rules and policies.

These types of businesses can be found anywhere but often are found more in government than anywhere else. Even though we know poorly management branches cost taxpayers a fortune to continue to run inefficiently it is possessed in seeking resources to feed its needs. These resources become wasted in programs that don't work and within the operational inefficiencies embedded in layered management and bloated departments.

There are ways to improve bureaucracies by borrowing from modern business techniques. The advantages of continuous updating and improving help to ensure that ultimately stakeholder needs are being met. In government bureaucracies politicians and government decision-makers have a responsibility to ensure that their oversight is using tax payer money in the most efficient manner as possible through increasing departmental performance. Bureaucracies in the business world have nearly all been wiped out by more efficient models.

Prendergast, C. (2003). The Limits of Bureaucratic Efficiency. Journal of Political Economy, 111 (5).

Customer Service Failure and Recovery

One of the worst things a business can do is lose trust and credibility with their customers. It happens all the time and it can lead to a lifetime of lost sales. Each customer should be treated with respect and poor customer service shows that the customer not only not important but also artificially inflates the need of the company and/or the employee. When service "slip ups" occur a faster recovery is necessary to keep the revenue stream.

Customers are spending their money and time and desire to be treated with respect. As purchases are either based in their self-perceptions or needs poor customer service leads directly to a sting of the ego. It is kind of hard to get them to make additional purchases if that ego sting destroys the excitement and enthusiasm of buying the product in the first place.

It is important to understand that a single service mistake can damage the impression of the entire business. Perhaps they had great customer service throughout the entire process but it was the last person on the phone that did the absolute wrong thing. In this case, all of the great care the customer received went out the window.

People don't differentiate between an individual and the organization. A single rude interaction with a company worker represents the entire organization in the mind of a paying customer. The best way to enrage someone is to devalue them and their worth. Providing perfect customer service delivery every time is important for retaining business and earning big dollars.

Recruitment and training are essential for customer service delivery development. Without the right kind of personality coming in training will do little to change their perception of themselves versus others. Once you hire the right kind of personality it is necessary to train them on how to handle customers and how to fix problems. Customers want an immediate solution to calm the nerves and will stew about problems the longer they fester under a lack of representative conciseness.

Using Green to Create Functional Workplaces

Green is an eco conscious color that can tell a lot about a business and their working environment. Plants have many purposes that include workplace aesthetics as well as psychological comfort to workers. In a world where packing people into cubicles and personal space is declining it is important to enhance the aesthetics of the workplace to reduce stress and improve productivity.

According to a Public Health Report regular contact to nature can promote workplace health and reduce stress (Largo-Wight, et. al. (2011). People are biologically and psychologically designed to be around and in nature.  As workplaces become more compact and corporate we are less connected to our natural history and this can produce anxiety. 

There is little doubt that fundamental changes in society has produced large changes. There are simply more people, more things to do, more distractions, less time, and more pressures. Yet there is no reason to remove nature from our surroundings. That is the last thing we want to do. 

Companies can consider the benefits of using plants to create aesthetically pleasing businesses that look rich and well manicured. Boring corners can be spruced up with a potted plant and windows can be dressed up with flowers. Solid interior design should include some greenery and well placed foliage. 

It isn't all about how it looks. Using plants, pictures, and other nature connecting aesthetics can improve performance. When people are stressed and feel like they want to bail out of the workplace they are not likely to perform at their highest. Reducing stress and increasing performance through aesthetic adjustments can be beneficial in the long run. 

Largo-Wight E; Chen WW; Dodd V; Weiler R, Public Health Reports (Washington, D.C.: 1974) [Public Health Rep], ISSN: 0033-3549, 2011 May-Jun; Vol. 126 Suppl 1, pp. 124-30; Publisher: Association of Schools of Public Health; PMID: 21563720;

Making the Most of Your Time

Time is a limited commodity. We have choices between time and projects. Without some level of guidance in our lives and goals we can be wasting time on things that are not important to us, our companies, or society. Knowing what you want to accomplish and putting together some goals helps in aligning your time appropriately.

You define goals in your daily life and you can define goals for your career. Career goals are accomplished through your work. Ensuring that you understand your job and what is needed to succeed can be helpful in obtaining your career goals.

On any given day we have work to do that is both tedious and time consuming. We might procrastinate on that work hoping that it will magically disappear. Instead of being proactive we start wasting time on less important projects an activities that do not help our career or our goals.

Take a few moments and think about what is important to you. This could be anything that includes money, family, recreation, travel, etc... Then think about what is needed to obtain those things. You will need to know how much time and effort is needed.

In the work place your goals should align to the needs of the organization. If your organization requires a certain sales quota, or other activity to succeed, the majority of your time should be spent there. Other types of maintenance work may be necessary but should be minimized as much as possible.

Factors that Influence Veteran Tansition from Military Service to Higher Education

Transition from military life to higher education can be a difficult one. People make assumptions all the time of veterans and their difficulties. Coming from high organized and often dangerous environment veterans understanding of the world is very different than that of the traditional college student. They were forced to grow up quick and college becomes another major hurdle for them.

In university life, people are expected to be free thinkers. This may not be the case in everyday life, workplaces, or social circles but in our university work we are expected to think for ourselves. Military personnel were not expected to be free thinkers and the idea could be alien to certain members of the enlisted ranks. Their lives revolve around what is termed Total Institution.

Total Institution means that the person lives under authority, works in a batch of others, formal rules, and a general exclusion of knowledge over decisions (Goffman, 1961). The person lives within a collective of others that requires working as part of a unit and following commands without questioning the bigger picture.

Students are the opposite. They are expected to question their environment, decisions, and choices. People are fed knowledge regardless of whether or not they have the capacity to understand or take responsibility over that knowledge. Students often learn to be responsible only to themselves and take care of their own needs unlike the military where one is expected to sacrifice.

Military veterans moving into higher education often experience difficulties in task cohesion, structure, anxiety, experiences and social cohesion (Naphan & Elliot, 2015). Getting military students together into a group can be helpful. Both virtual and/or physical groups can help veterans rely on each other and work through adjustments.  They can share resources and work together on projects.

Goffman, E. (1961). Asylums: Essays on the social situation of mental patients and other inmates. New York, NY: Anchor Books.

Naphan, D. & Elliont, M. (2015). Role Exit from the Military: Student Veterans' Perceptions of Transitioning from the U.S. Military to Higher Education. The Qualitative Report, 20 (2)

Dealing with Disgruntled Students-Feedback, Tips and Tone

Students can get upset when their expectations are not met. The very nature of giving feedback and pushing others to grow can be difficult in a higher education setting where fragile egos can be broken. Giving accurate feedback can break perceptions of perfection leading to frustration and anger as the next step for some students. Showing them how to improve and communicating in a way that lessens their fear can be difficult.

It is important to provide accurate feedback to ensure that the student not only is getting a high quality education but they are also given an avenue for channeling their frustrations. If there isn't adequate feedback the professor becomes the target of student frustration as the student seeks to avoid responsibility for poor work.

It is often easier to blame others than it is to blame ourselves. When we blame others we have no need to change, grow, or develop. Emotionally we are "off the hook" as all of the problems are the direct result of the professors grading. Over time students may find themselves unable to compete in a bigger market.

Beyond simply providing accurate feedback and methods for improving professors should also learn how to communicate in a way that empowers the student to take control over their education. Positive tone and demeanor can help students palate the feedback but also feel as though they can master the skills needed to succeed.

Frustration is a natural part of learning, blaming others is easy to do, but growing takes courage. Professors are not only administrators of classrooms but also administrators of student growth. Through providing solid feedback, tips for improvement, and a positive tone in communication they can bridge the natural gaps between a knowledge seeker and a knowledge provider.

Organizations with a Purpose

Organizations with a purpose are more likely to succeed than those who don't. When organizations think beyond their current position they can aspire to higher forms of performance and attract top talent that ensures their goals are met. When organizations become a collection of process and procedures without a higher order function they begin to decline in performance and relevance.

Successful organizations should have a purpose that draws people to a shared vision.  A purpose should be "brief, clear, and realistic, and it also should convey a representative picture of the future while enabling and appealing to employees, customers, and the broader community
Schultz, 2014)." The purpose becomes the overriding goal that people can believe in. 

Example 1: The purpose of a recycling center may be to create a greener community. They way the do this is by getting the community involved in recycling, putting out bins, and incentivising returns. The center's daily operations are designed to support its purpose. If its purpose was to only make money it would lose stakeholder support. 

Example 2: The purpose of the Justice Department is to create a safer community through the accurate dispensing of justice. The process of arresting, trying, and convicting offenders is only one of the many functions that can help in achieving its purpose. If the operations begin to be more important than its purpose, it will lose community support. 

The purpose gives the organization something to strive toward. This greater vision helps to ensure that its daily operations align with a better future outcome. The purpose guides daily decision-making and helps to chart strategic plans to achieve its purpose.

When policies & procedures become the main purpose the organization is doomed to eventual failure. Daily operations are its most important function and reconfirm itself creating a closed system that will become more irrelevant each year. People within the organization have no vision and begin to cannibalize the system.

 In the first example the manager of a recycling center may use the size of his paycheck and the size of his department as a reference of performance while in the second example an officer might look at the amount of arrests made as a metric of performance. The functions supersede its vision and become more of a resource for personal gain than fulfillment of a greater cause.

Successful organizations have a purpose that makes its way into a clearly articulated vision that people can follow and believe in. Stakeholder  vision is stronger as interested parties support the overall purpose of the organization and encourage ever improving operations to achieve that purpose. Employees can take pride in the work they do and maintain their motivation beyond the monetary benefits they may gain.

Schultz, J. (2014). Framing the Organization’s Purpose with Its Ultimate Goals in Mind. Global Business & Organizational Excellence, 33 (3).