…to talk among yourselves.
The topic is:
Pournelle’s Iron Law of Bureaucracy.
…in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. Examples in education would be teachers who work and sacrifice to teach children, vs. union representative who work to protect any teacher including the most incompetent. The Iron Law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions.
Pournelle’s Iron Law of Bureaucracy is that in any bureaucracy, the people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy itself always get in control, so that those dedicated to the goals the bureaucracy is supposed to accomplish have less and less influence, and sometimes are eliminated entirely.
*heh*
X-posted from third world county.us
June 29, 2006 at 2:29 am
i think thats interesting and ill use it as an example in the future
July 28, 2006 at 3:43 pm
A bad union rep does not mean that unions are bad ideas. In certain environments where management hostility and volatility cannot be reasonably kept in check, a union can provide its members the stability and protection that all employees seek from any employment situation, union or otherwise. In my case, I work for a government agency where the management is elected officials, some of whom would make decisions that are politically popular with their financial backers but fiscally and morally unsound. A union can ensure that these issues are brought to light, that contract negotiations are done fairly, and that harassment or termination for the sake of a vote doesn’t occur. I work diligently to minimize waste and streamline bureacracy, all the while working for 25% less than my private sector counterparts. I am a government employee and a union worker.
July 28, 2006 at 4:27 pm
Mac, what you say may well have validity, but it does not address the fundamental issue addressed by Pournelle’s Iron Law: bureaucracies (or, really, just about any extended organization of endeavor) tend to become kakistocracies devoted to the furtherance of the organization itself without regard for its stated goals or purpose.
A couple of blatant examples spring readily to mind: Congress and NASA.