0705 - Staffing

The Staff here at the Objective Observer works well together. In some other and larger organizations, business seems to be conducted smoothly, and often profitably. Although the high officers of many businesses receive ridiculously large sums for their services, if they don't produce, in the course of time they are dismissed, often with the same ridiculous sums. But, they are sent away. Somehow, many Government bureaucracies in the U.S., and, yes, elsewhere (meaning Anguilla) just never seem to get it right, even when the Government is in the hands of a party that claims to be pro-capitalist efficiency. Politics of course prevents tossing out incompetent appointees such as Secretaries of Defense, and the Constitution of the U.S. does not permit mere incompetence from justifying the removal of a President, naming no names. And then, everywhere it is an enormous task to dismiss a civil servant, however non-civil and non-servile. In other words, if you are going to mess up, get a Government job.

In most elected offices, the public continues to vote for the same officeholders, however hypocritical or even corrupt. There is the Democratic Congressman who kept a lot of cold cash (claimed to be bribes) in his freezer, there is the oh-so-pious Republican Senator who just admitted to using ... er ... "escort services" from a DC Madam, and there have been several noisy preachers in the U.S. who bought similar goods. Those thus exposed provide amusement, but note that they are shamed not for incompetence, but for naughtiness. If you check out the state of affairs in New Orleans, for example, the same incompetent Mayor has been re-elected, and the murder rate is doing splendidly. The hugely expensive reconstruction seems to be going nowhere there, although this week's news is that they finally got rid of a lot of ice they've been holding since the flood. (The Katrina flood, not the one with Noah.)

The ravening news hounds in the U.S. do some good service in exposing pork politics, but Anguilla doesn't have such a pack. And even in the U.S., where the Dems have just recovered the majority by exposing bridges to nowhere, they can't wait to start their own filching from the public purse. They seem to think, and they may be right, that it helps them to be re-elected. But, why aren't the Dems screaming about the incompetencies in repairing New Orleans? Could it be that some of the incompetents are, well, Democrats?

That may be sufficient moaning about bad staff performance. Let's turn to possible cures. Start with the bonus system, so popular among business execs. At the end of the year, bonuses are passed out, and presumably those with the best results get the best loot. That doesn't work too well in corporations, and it hasn't been easy to apply to, say teachers and schools. The problem is the club is closed, and the judge-ers are just about the same as the judge-ees. Or then there is the reverse, the stick instead of the carrot, where the worst results get pay cuts or demotions. Again, if one had independent judges applying the sanctions, it might work. But there aren't any– or rarely any. You don't sanction your buddies in the club.

Another solution tried but found wanting is the contracting-out of parts of the public business. Current reports from Iraq seem to confirm that this has led to waste, influence on awards, and poor performance. A fine independent Inspector General in Iraq has reported on this (and he was so good they tried to get him sent home), but it hasn't improved things. Who watches the watchers?

This leaves us with only the solution practiced by the OO Staff. Believe it or not, our Staff is self-policing and each member criticizes the others. Yes, it's tough duty, but it works.

Next time: Eccentric [OO #706]