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464 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
Managers have a strong incentive to worry more about constraints than tasks, which means to worry more about the processes than outcomes. .;.. It is hard to hold managers accountable for attaining a goal, easy to hold them accountable for conforming to the rules. (p. 131)Almost all of the examples used are from U.S. federal agencies, but many of these lessons are applicable to the smaller bureaucracies at which many of us work. Thinking of my own work, I probably define the key tasks of my job differently than my manager would. Additionally,
There is a kind of Gresham's Law at work in many government bureaus: Work that produces measurable outcomes tends to drive out work that produces unmeasurable outcomes. (p. 161)I've found that's the case; things that can't be measured, quantified, and compared tend not to get much attention or emphasis. (That's why functionaries, including clerks at McDonalds, are often unfriendly--it's difficult to measure friendliness or its impact on the bottom line.)