How Does the Public Sector Deliver?

Tim Carpenter LPUK

Martin, this is because they are bureaucrats. A bureaucrat is someone who is paid because there are problems to solve. However, solving those problems is not in their interests, as it will mean the dismantling of their empire. Problems being "dealt with" but getting bigger are a "mother lode". They want to manage, not resolve.

It will require a culture change for sure.

Beer Moth

As expensively as possible, after as many meetings as possible.

Naomi Muse

As the UK has become more dependent on the public sector nanny culture, it has also become more obsessed with the form of process rather than focusing on an objective.

The classic example that follows the throwaway comment, 'You couldn't make it up.' is that of firemen who will not step in to help a drowning man, and so on.

Normal humanity has been subsumed into a series of allowed and disallowed processes which serve no objective but the mantra of following the 'policy'.

The question that should be asked of 'What is the goal of the policy?' is not asked although it should be.

All public sector work should be decided upon having asked three basic questions which successful business and entrepreneurs ask:

1. Where are we now?
2. Where do we want to be?
3. How do we get there from here?

The steps become clear and the tangential thoughts that can divert the objective can also be stopped in their tracks, with the simple question:

Does that help us to get where we are going?

If the answer is 'No' then the clarity of vision remains focused on the goal.

Even private sector institutions focus on process and policy rather than customer service, and doing the job the best.

Michael Booth

OFSTED is a case in point: inspect schools, find some that are failing so re-inspect. Justify your position by 'being tougher' in the next round of inspection and so raise the inspection threshold. Result - more failing schools. Keep doing it and lo, even more failures, so we really do need OFSTED, don't we?

Noa Zrk

"Professor David Sims of Cass Business, however, cut through the consensus of criticism by suggesting that a historic error had been made at the end of the 1970s when the busted model of Britain's manufacturing industries was imported to the public sector".

Well at least that maligned manufacturing sector actually produced something which earned money, generating wealth and prosperity. The public sector then was largely confined to doing what it is best fitted to; emptying the bins and fixing potholes in the roads. There were no Chief Executives and Delivery Directors drawing £250k per annum.
These unnecessary tiers of management complemented the rivers of social legislation flowing from an increasingly socialist 1970's Parliament, allied to the imported 'busted model' of Industry was the over-weening power of trade unionism, incubated and indulged in local government as it destroyed its private sector host.

Useless, expensive, unproductive, the public sector is all of these. worse, it has destroyed the social structure, economy and very culture of the UK by the total bureaucratization of the day to day aspects of our existance.
If Gordon Brown and his statist goons have driven the top down vision and legislation for the 'liberal progressive' communisation of Britain, its bottom up implementation has been achieved by the ever growing army of public sector drones, willing collaborators in their own enslavement.

Gravesend

I work, and have worked for the public sector for some 20 years.

I could bore you all about the changes over that period, none of which have been for the good.

But a small vignette.

I work in a team of just two . However we have a line manager who, just, manages(?) us. His colleague on £35K, also has only two staff to manage. His hours of attendance are 10 until 3 . Our building is full of such examples. The officers on the ground enforcing the law are miniscule compared to the tail of self perpetuating , mediocre , risk averse place men who have an easy life and only wish for a quiet career.