(no subject)
Nov. 20th, 2007 09:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pezRenji from TroikaAU is the personification of zen. And perfection. And utter coolness. And the cracking of random jokes. I've written fuck-all today but it's all in my head and he's funnily zen. Or zennily funny. I heart him already, even though really Sanada is the main character of this story. (Random: according to Client from a local government I bumped into today, "fuck-all" is French.)
One thing I've realised. If you've been on my flist for a year or so, you'd know my problem with car sickness and the whole "sopite syndrome". I haven't had it for a while, and there was no sign of it when sitting in my dad's car back in August and October. But recently there has been a lot of sitting in my boss's car to get to meetings, and I've realised, well, the quality of the ride really counts. My boss isn't a bad driver, but there is a lot more acceleration/deceleration, which makes me feel like crap. It's been almost five hours since I got out of his car this afternoon, and I'm still feeling really, really icky.
I really want to write, now, but my head's trying to prevent me from doing so. Sadness.
But I ♥ you guys. Keep talking about writing!
Ah, on a completely unrelated note, this is not specifically about the loss of personal data that's on breaking news right now, but I'm always a bit uncomfortable with government ministers resigning over a human error that happened very far down the chain and really very possibly is out of their control. People are always so quick to look for blame, to exploit chances to hurt the opposition party, when they have no way to guarantee that the same thing wouldn't have happened to them if they'd been in power.
Resigning seems an easy way out, really, because these ministers can easily come back with a different job title. But it's the hole it leaves when that person is needed the most, at a time of crisis. And how far can you chase the blame? If a gap year student finds work at a local government office, and whilst sending something out, forgot to follow the procedure, is it his fault, his line manager's fault, or the fault of the head of that local government? Does sacking/forcing someone from a senior position to resign make anything better? Does the one human error (you know you've once tried to send a letter out and forgot the stamp, come on) mean the whole system is in danger? That OMG, nobody in that whole department can be trusted anymore?
Of course, there are cases where someone high up is to blame because they hadn't followed procedures themselves, or hadn't implemented a system that they should adhere to. But I'm just not comfortable with people jumping up and down and calling for resignation the first moment anything goes wrong, regardless of the nature of the error. It's a very dangerous thing.
One thing I've realised. If you've been on my flist for a year or so, you'd know my problem with car sickness and the whole "sopite syndrome". I haven't had it for a while, and there was no sign of it when sitting in my dad's car back in August and October. But recently there has been a lot of sitting in my boss's car to get to meetings, and I've realised, well, the quality of the ride really counts. My boss isn't a bad driver, but there is a lot more acceleration/deceleration, which makes me feel like crap. It's been almost five hours since I got out of his car this afternoon, and I'm still feeling really, really icky.
I really want to write, now, but my head's trying to prevent me from doing so. Sadness.
But I ♥ you guys. Keep talking about writing!
Ah, on a completely unrelated note, this is not specifically about the loss of personal data that's on breaking news right now, but I'm always a bit uncomfortable with government ministers resigning over a human error that happened very far down the chain and really very possibly is out of their control. People are always so quick to look for blame, to exploit chances to hurt the opposition party, when they have no way to guarantee that the same thing wouldn't have happened to them if they'd been in power.
Resigning seems an easy way out, really, because these ministers can easily come back with a different job title. But it's the hole it leaves when that person is needed the most, at a time of crisis. And how far can you chase the blame? If a gap year student finds work at a local government office, and whilst sending something out, forgot to follow the procedure, is it his fault, his line manager's fault, or the fault of the head of that local government? Does sacking/forcing someone from a senior position to resign make anything better? Does the one human error (you know you've once tried to send a letter out and forgot the stamp, come on) mean the whole system is in danger? That OMG, nobody in that whole department can be trusted anymore?
Of course, there are cases where someone high up is to blame because they hadn't followed procedures themselves, or hadn't implemented a system that they should adhere to. But I'm just not comfortable with people jumping up and down and calling for resignation the first moment anything goes wrong, regardless of the nature of the error. It's a very dangerous thing.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-11-20 09:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-20 09:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-20 09:23 pm (UTC)Oooh, that sucks, about the car sickness. *pets* Feel better soon.
Heads do that sometimes. Bad them. *gives cookie*
♥?
no subject
Date: 2007-11-20 09:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-20 10:39 pm (UTC)Ha! Something on which I am finally qualified to talk!
It's a Compact, a very long standing one albeit more honoured in the breach in recent years. It goes something like this. Ministers take responsibility for cock ups in their Department, which used to mean resigning. In return, we never spill the beans on all the good advice they ignored for party political reasons, the cock ups they made, and the rows which take place between Ministers (also covered under the principle of Collective Cabinet Responsibility).
Looked at more generically, and setting aside scale, it's not that different from me having to apologise to someone we hadn't paid recently when it turned out that Tracey had been sending emails to the wrong address. The error had nothing to do with me personally but it was my team that made it, so I had to take responsibility. I'm then entitled (in my opinion) to give Tracey a right royal bollocking if I want to, but in private, just between us.
I'm also mildly curious about what consitutes junior civil servant in this instance, because our status tends to be relative. If I was leaking budget papers, I'd be called a senior civil servant. In other circumstances, I'd be middle ranking. I'm thinking that junior in this instance could be anything from HEO downwards - and Jane in my team is an HEO and she has written advice for (and sometimes accompanied) Ministers.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-20 10:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-20 11:00 pm (UTC)It's actually been ruled in law (in Japan, as it happens) that civil servants effectively sign over a chunk of their entitlement to free speech when they take the job. And we promise faithfully to work for whoever gets elected, whatever our own political views. Ministerial accountability is the other side of the deal.