Beware bureaucrats

The Road Goes Ever On
    By Rob Huelin

Shhhh! Don't say it out loud. There might be one sitting near you at dinner, waiting for you to break a Rule, hoping for an opportunity to protest.

"Hey, my club reserved WLH 112 for 8 p.m., so you can't use it, even if you have been here for four hours. I expect you to go down the hall to one of the other rooms so that I can use this room--because I have it reserved."

I'm sure that many of you will recognize this conversation and know to apply the properly whiny tone of voice when you read the quoted lines. Some of you may not have encountered this situation, so I will give you another.

Student: "Look, officer, we've reserved every room in these six buildings with the registrar, and we'd like to leave the door open so these high school students can get in for their activity. So, could you please stop closing the door?"

Cop: "Sure kid. I have a job to do, so close the door."

Student: "But officer, I have a key. Even if you close it, I'm just going to open it again. Can't we work out a compromise?"

Cop: "I don't care. I have to close the door or I get in trouble. And if I find it open again, you're going to have to come with me."

Aggravating, isn't it? Worse, both of these cases are regularly defended as examples of people "just doing their job." Sorry, I don't buy it at all. Doing your job should never mean a blind commitment to an ideal, principle or remote authority. Even the most justified authority derives its power from the consent of those subject to it. But try to tell the bureaucrat that and you won't get anywhere. Why? The very nature of the bureaucrat, who is:

a) inflexible, even in the face of common sense, reason, and determined, intelligent opposition.

b) dependent on an arbitrary application of authority, whether that means claiming the power of the registrar, the government, or the police captain. In each case, the authority cited is treated as inviolate and perfect. Furthermore, the authority cited is almost never consulted or present to make an actual decision.

c) afraid of consequences and panicky. The cop doesn't want to get yelled at, the financial aid officer is wary of her boss, and that really annoying desk clerk who refuses to deal with your complaint is so afraid for his job that he clings to the only guidelines he can remember, no matter how inapplicable they may be.

Thus, whether it means you moving all twenty of your singers down the hall to the empty room that the other people refuse to use, or opening the same door fifty times, the bureaucrat causes inconvenience, irritation, and frustration, all in the name of upholding authority.

How can we avoid bureaucrats? Unfortunately, it isn't possible. There will always be people who are stubborn, petty, or just plain dumb. Those folks will always use Rules like a club, and they will always resort to the overarching threat of power when faced with opposition. Using common sense, compassion and patience when dealing with problems is the means to avoiding that bureaucratic pitfall. For readers who are guilty of these transgressions or who think I am being unfair to those who must enforce the Rules, I have to say: Hope is not totally lost. Yes, the Rules exist to make solving conflicts easy and fair. But that does not mean that the Rules are always right, fair, or useful. It does mean that reference to the Rules should begin conversation, negotiation, and effective problem solving.

So the next time you budding Yale bureaucrats find yourself quoting the Rule Book, try a different approach. Look at the situation, listen, remain calm and find a middle ground. More often than not, that solution will conform to the Rules and you will have exercised your authority in the best manner possible: intelligently.

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