“The purpose of bureaucracy is to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline”—Jim Collin
A universal truth is that a disease can only be cured when the correct diagnosis is made. This implies that whenever a problem occurs, its solution can only be found when its reason is rightly deciphered. Once that is determined, a suitable treatment can be contemplated or the entire issue written off for being incurable. So, as human society evolved from very simple to highly complex with the present-day model of countries, cities and a host of organisations, the dire need for management led to the formation of what we understand as bureaucracy.
The principal purposes of bureaucracy envisage many aspects that include implementation of law and policies with members of society being engaged to carry out all sorts of jobs. These enable efficiency in both governments and large organisations helping to provide essential services, maintaining order, managing large workforces, consistency in delivering with standardised procedures thus ensuring transparency and under ideal circumstances, as well as generating self-operating systems requiring minimal human interference. Where such a situation prevails, life for everyone becomes smooth and easy.
For continuity of objectives, organisational memory and record-keeping, the bureaucratic role is very important. Therefore, regardless of who is acting in the capacity of a leader and without the necessity of specific persons, the affairs of government or organisations remain undisturbed as the laid-down rules are consistently observed. An objective bureaucracy that draws its authority from formal rules and procedures is a means to eliminate chances of nepotism, favouritism, unjust victimisation, thus making sure that decisions made are logical and impartial.
While in the private sector, bureaucracy is imperative for general discipline, keeping employees productive and streamlining processes, the public sector’s matters are complex covering a vast variety of subjects requiring special expertise, competence and unique abilities to enable implementation of policies, laws and decisions made by elected public officials. In other words, the entire bureaucratic structure is designed to carry out the task of running the government, providing services and facilitating people. If these objectives are truly at the core of each bureaucrat’s heart and mind there is no reason why a country cannot prosper and why the people of that country cannot be but satisfied and content with the performance of its officials, both elected and unelected.
This endless trail of inefficiencies and plundering of public money can never end where civil servants have no fear of accountability and are in servitude to their political masters in complete ignorance of people’s woes
Whereas Max Weber envisioned a Weberian bureaucratic model based on hierarchy, specialisation, division of labour and set rules, the Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli’s acquisitive model is quite distinguishable. In his 16th-century work, The Prince, he wrote that authority and power were not contingent upon morality. According to Stanford University, Machiavelli believed that a law was only as effective as it was enforceable. In the treatise he writes, "Since there cannot be good laws without good arms, I will not consider laws but speak of arms."
As a result, Machiavelli considered the use of power to be the main vehicle of political activity, which all rulers are supposed to understand. This emphasis on power reflects a self-perpetuation argument. This claims that bureaucratic institutions are difficult to terminate and end up exerting influence over other branches of the government. Therefore, it has no incentive to be efficient with its resources.
As much as one would like to see a Weberian model of administration in Pakistan, the fact remains that our country is a classic example of the Machiavellian principles of governance in which the entire state apparatus is moulded to harp the tune of those in power. Facilitating the public is off the grid because anyone in the topmost to the lowest position is nothing less than a pharaoh seeking to show their muscles to those who approach them.
The simplest tasks are portrayed as most cumbersome with members of the public running from pillar to post to get them done. It is assumed that citizens should be well aware of regulations even if public servants have no inkling either of their duties or jurisdictions. People are obligated to pursue them consistently without expecting a response unless ‘extra’ efforts are made to have things done notwithstanding violation of law. This kind of attitude is smearing Pakistani bureaucracy that is expanding day by day due to the introduction of more and more regulatory authorities.
"The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy."—Oscar Wilde
While private sector employers come down harshly with delinquent workers, with rare exception to the rule, civil servants easily get away with their incompetence, indiscipline, lack of prudence, harassment of the public, misuse of powers, loss of revenue, violation of law, misdemeanour and everything which is not tolerated in the private sector. All because the system through which they are recruited is outdated and not in line with the concept of the right man for the right job.
This endless trail of inefficiencies and plundering of public money can never end where civil servants have no fear of accountability and are in servitude to their political masters in complete ignorance of people’s woes. Undoubtedly, the benefits they derive for licking their boots can be capable of overturning the fortunes of their families but the curses they receive from the public can deprive them of their peace of mind and health, a small price which they could be subjected to for destroying this nation.