Pleasing Their Masters?

July 25, 2010 6:57 PM

Is there any research that has been done on the idea that lower, subordinate offices aspire to, or are geared (through staffing, logistically, policy or philosophically-wise) to, if not emulate, please its higher office, regardless of its technical mission?

I'm thinking about how bureaucracy works and how before much of a technical mission can be accomplished in a subordinate office, how it seems some political need must be satisfied in a higher office. At least that's my assumption. The people in the higher office are there, assumedly, because they are in some way, more competent and deal with more important things than the lower offices which serve them. In a brutal way, this would seem to make them, better. So do lower offices seek the favors of higher offices, sometimes despite, mission or whatever?

posted by CollectiveMind to Work & Money (4 answers total)

"The people in the higher office are there, assumedly, because they are in some way, more competent and deal with more important things than the lower offices which serve them."

Or they just got there via the Peter Principle.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:15 PM on July 25, 2010 [1 favorite]

Um, I'm not entirely sure what you're asking but everybody's got a boss. Make your boss happy or you end up fired, it's not so complicated.
posted by ghharr at 7:20 PM on July 25, 2010 [3 favorites]

I don't understand your question, but your primary job at work is to please your boss, if you work in a hierarchical organization.
posted by dfriedman at 7:37 PM on July 25, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm a 20 year bureaucrat in a huge organization (DoD). Don't understand your question, though.
posted by fixedgear at 3:09 AM on July 26, 2010 [1 favorite]