DailyPost 2248
GOVERNMENT AS AN ORGANIZATION!
Governments are the most rock solid of organizations, more so the democratic, known to humans ever. But then what is the reason for innumerable challenges the governments face as an organization compared to any other organization. Does it not have the glue of an organization? What we are talking about is the government limited to the council of ministers and not the bureaucracy supporting it. The political executive of the nation so to say, both at the federal level and the provincial level. The battle cry of cooperative federalism has been talked about every now and then for a very long time now, when one government meets a road block created by the other. Have you heard of such roadblocks within any organization?
Governments like any other organization has a method of entry and exist and the individual should have a level of expertise which matches the job assigned. When this qualification is not there, then how do you select people, unfortunately the heads are also selected in a similar manner, elected and at times nominated in the same manner. The high command takes the call. The entry and exit are only on the political equations, whims and fancies of larger-than-life leaders or on the capabilities of anyone to win elections or sway the votes considerably. Politics is the only running thread through the government, governance and the complete arena of decision and its execution.
All these equations have nothing to do with organizational culture, its capability to deliver and ability to keep improving upon its delivery. Ironically, the boss and subordinate relationship is at the core of every organisation. Here either all are on their own in almost every way or at times fall under complete control of the leader. While the ministers keep evaluating their subordinates, the permanent bureaucracy, who evaluates their performance? Is there a well-structured system of their performance appraisal of ministers, which is objective and in tune with their job description and delivery? Reward and punishment based on performance is the name of the game in every organization, how can the most important of all organizations play a different tune.
If the political executive’s working hours, leave, travel etc could have been decided based on their official requirements and engagements, the fate of the governments would have been different. Performance has never a point to ponder on, it would never be, government is an appendage to the political relationships within a political party and political considerations outside of it. Expecting the government to work as a team would be aiming for the stars. And expecting the federal government and all the state governments to work as one team, would be reaching out beyond the stars. Has India governance ever seen PM and CMs working as one team working day in and day out to make governance happen at the least to the level where it can be felt. On the contrary, we have seen governments going to courts against each other when people have been lying in lurch of death.
GOVERNMENTS ARE ORGANISATIONS AT WAR, WITHIN AND WITHOUT.
Sanjay Sahay