The Peter Principle: in a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.
- How Many More Mike Browns Are Out There?: “A TIME inquiry finds that at top positions in some vital government agencies, the Bush Administration is putting connections before experience”
- Group Lists 13 ‘Most Corrupt’ in Congress: “A watchdog group, naming what it calls “the 13 most corrupt members of Congress,” is calling for ethics investigations of some of the most prominent leaders on Capitol Hill in a report to be released Monday.”
See also Bureaucracy and Edumacation.
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There seem to be mostly Republicans on the list. I’m inclined to think that the cause isn’t that Republicans are more corrupt than Democrats. It makes me suspicious of their mission in finding the “13 most corrupt Congressmen.”
I suspect it’s because if their mission was to find the “Corrupt Congressmen”, there would be 534 individuals listed.
The Peter principal does not apply to government, only the private sector.
In the private sector, people rise just to their level of incompetence, and generally not higher.
In government, they can shoot WAY past their level of incompetence. And get re-elected.
Jim,
Touche.
Using the term “Peter Principal” for the private sector has been effective for several decades. It is used to describe the phenomenon which occurs at the inevitable exhaustion of ones potential abilities and the tendency for momentum to carry one past those abilities within the private sector………..
There is a similar phenomenon that occurs within the public sector. A smart polititian, as the smart executive, learns to delegate and manage areas beyond their own potential in order to remain effective. However, eventually they tend to overreach even that ability…….
Perhaps we could coin a new term “The Bush Principal” for the intentional promotion or appointment of incometent people to high positions (not to mention its continuation of the double entendred name). This seems to be the excuse for each boondoggle of the current administration. The wrong intelligence, from the wrong people, interpreted incorrectly by the department headed by the incompetent. An attempt at plausible deniability for the results……..
But the key ingredient to be identified as a “Bush Principal” phenom is the reckless disregard for the end result as long as “someone else’s incompetence can be blamed”……..
For our conspiracy theorists out there – could the private sector be manipulating these incompetent promotions/appointments for their own means? And what pandora’s box are they opening in doing so. What are the results of their three wishes????????????
The only answer is to get to the polls………..
Finally, to answer the readers question – I vote my conscience for each vote I cast. I tend to vote republican. I voted for President Bush. Hey, we all make mistakes.
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