“Bureaucracy is a specific form of organization defined by complexity, division of labor, permanence, professional management, hierarchical coordination and control, strict chain of command, and legal authority”*. Now isn’t that a mouthful?
We’ve all had to deal with various forms of bureaucracy at some time or another. Being sent from point A to B and back to A again without any visible results. It’s annoying, but in the end it usually works out.
I suppose every country does its best to make ‘their’ bureaucracy the best. You know, the most red tape, lethargic, undemocratic and the most incompetent. Some are more successful than others.
Switzerland
I’ve found Switzerland to be relatively straight forward when trying to get permits, passes and whatever other official papers you need. Sure, you’ve got lines and waiting time. Quite often all you have to do is take a number and wait until it pops up on a sign. That may take awhile but it’s usually a one stop deal. The nice thing is that the signs that point you in the right direction are in at least 2, if not 3 or 4 different languages.
Germany
I can’t comment on any personal run-ins with German bureaucracy. A German friend of mine told me that Germans feel comfortable in Italy because they have similar administrations. Unfortunately, that says a lot about German bureaucratic organization.
Italy
A while back I overheard two second generation Swiss Italians talk about the postal service in Italy. The man complaining had been in Southern Italy on vacation. One day he sent a package to Switzerland. Nothing spectacular about that. Like everyone else he waited in a long line and when it was his turn he was able to send his package. All was good.
The next day he had another package to send. Like the day before, the post office was full but again he waited patiently in line. When it was finally his turn the person behind the window told him he was at the wrong window. The window he was at was only to send letters, packages was at the other window. He should go wait in that line.
‘But wait, you sent my package yesterday. You know how to do that, where’s the problem?’
‘Of course I know how to do that. But that was yesterday. I do letters here today and packages are at the other window.’
So the man had no other choice but to go wait in the other long line. Before he was even halfway to the window in the other line, both the counters pulled down their shades. It was time for a coffee break. Everyone had to wait for the two men to finish their coffee. The Swiss Italian yelled something to the effect ‘You can drink your coffee later, there are lots of people waiting! No wonder nothing ever gets done in Italy!’ The shade was raised quickly and the man said ‘Stop yelling, otherwise we will take an extra 10 minutes.’ I assume he eventually got his package sent.
The Twelve Tasks of Asterix
A great example of bureaucracy is in the 1976 film The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (Les Douze travaux d’Astérix).
In the film Asterix and Obelix must complete 12 tasks. The 8th task is to get permit A38 in a building called “The Place That Sends You Mad”. They are sent from room to room and window to window from one clinically unhelpful person to the next. The process can make anyone go mad, hence the name. Finally the pair outsmart the bureaucracy by beating them at their own game. They ask about a fake permit that makes the staff go mad asking each other about the unknown permit. In the end the Perfect gives them the permit A38 just to stop causing problems and get rid of them.
This is the 8th task (in German):
Greece
I think the epitome of bureaucracy can be found in Greece. My brother-in-law lived in Greece. If you live there, boats are almost a must. Officially all boats must be registered, so he set off to get that done. At the first counter he was able to get the correct papers to fill out. Then he had to go to the next counter for an official stamp that showed the papers were filled correctly. He was then sent to the a third window for payment.
That counter accepted no cash, only bank receipts that showed he had paid. Telling them he could pay cash didn’t help. They would not accept cash. Period. He had to go to the bank but the bank was across town and about to close. Rules are rules. He had to wait until after the weekend before he could go to the bank and make the payment. Then he went back to the third counter to get his validation of payment and go to the fourth counter. There he finally got his boat registration. It took 4 days to do what should have taken 10 minutes.
Another time when he was in Crete the authorities told him that he couldn’t leave the port. It seems his boat papers weren’t in order. They said he had to go to Athens to get the correct approval. Somehow, obviously without his boat he got to Athens. There the staff told him that it was impossible to get the approval until they saw the boat in their port. After all, how could they approve something they hadn’t seen?
Checkmate.
*Definition from Encyclopedia Britannica
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