The bureaucracy has been badly bruised. When and this happens regularly there is conflict between the bureaucracy and the politicians the normal response of the political system is 'either him or me'. There is no debate on the honesty or the correctness of the individual. Political power is unreasonable and many a bureaucrat has suffered the consequence of what the public representative forces on to his political bosses. Economics may have to and has in fact settled for a relegated position in the matters of governance. Can we then say that the change in society may come from outside government circles and therefore one may have to settle for minor modifications overtime. In Pakistan, there is a nexus with so-called religious forces also and to muddy the waters some more there are all kinds of tribal, caste and ethnic aspects that make governance difficult. One has only to see what happens when an ordinary statement is made. All the factions start a noise for there is really no sense in their madness. These micro changes may arrive piecemeal from the sectors that are outside the purview of the state. However, the institutional changes that may be sought may prove illusive and perverse. To assume that the sectors outside the government will be any better than those within the country is an illusion that we must get rid of. Nothing comes to society by itself and of its own volition. There are micro politics that re-imagines and reconstructs relationships between individuals but when it comes to doing that at the macro level the situation changes drastically. Institutions may seem to be elusive and when these elusive institutions do not work then frustration and ill will surface in society. In politics, perception is more important than actual facts. With the system going the way it is the externalities become more important than the power players in the system. General Zia took the matter further and tried to create a constituency in conjunction with the religious factions in the country.
What kind of a mind is applicable to the problems of Pakistan? Is there anything that can change the attitude and values of the people in power? Can the politicians lead from the front? Can they make the system viable and perhaps more importantly can they take detached decisions? Since everything is in transition - especially all social sciences - the requirement is to find new ways and means to stop the shifting and transfer of money from the public exchequer to the personal pockets of the individuals. Money is the infidel in the system. Brothers fight and as one CBR (now FBR) chief told the Prime Minister that for the industrialists to cough up some money will be difficult. They had told the chief that they considered money as their father.
What are the management principles that are applicable to the management of the country? How does one get the best out of its people and be fair at the same time?
Can the political bosses get the people to be motivated and to be passionately involved in the governance of public affairs? Do our political bosses know their team? Can they add synergy to the system? Can they deny their own from any goodies that may be given to these relatives? The questions come fast and quick. What happens to the country when criminality is visible and is not apprehended? Well, what happens is that there is a wave of crimes that happen and these are not taken to their logical conclusion. It is happening in Karachi these days. The criminals are doing what they want to. The police that are supposed to do their bit are not up to the mark. Reasoned management of the country's natural resources is another matter.
Management and psychology are pretty well intertwined. Economics and psychology are very much linked together as is also law and the other sciences. So as one Harvard professor puts it there is no subject that is pure anymore. Even a natural science like physics is now muddied and the theories now up for grabs. Newton's laws of dynamics are already a matter of the past and Einstein is now under attack. So why are we in Pakistan bothered about economists and the purity of things? What works but for that culture to develop supercilious idiots, in whichever management field or line department, have to be made to realise their duty and their tryst with destiny.
If I were to go through the given asset list of the governing people of this country then I would be surprised if the tally of assets of 10 people were not more than the GDP of the country. How then those that have already milked the country, of whatever ilk, can be asked to correct the course of this country. It is a difficult act to follow. Difficult because of the ego of these individuals and the manner in which they tout this ego. In cricket, whenever we went to a big time match the players were always asked to play within their limits. That is only possible when one is in an introspective mode; when one is able to see one's mistakes. Correction can only come if the country's top echelons are positively involved in the country's welfare.
How can those stationed in Islamabad know what is happening in North and South Waziristan (they do not know what is happening five kilometres or so) if they have never been there and do not know the aspirations of the people of that part of the country. The fact is that what our state functionaries say something and conveniently forget the same when it comes to making it happen. The long lines for gas are an example. Regulatory authorities are damned. The Ogra, Pemra and other regulatory authorities will never deliver come what may. These organisations are managed by sinecure retired bureaucrats who are busy trying to stay afloat. Their own censorship system is absent. The Planning Commission is no better. The line departments may be and are even worse. Every time one has a question to ask they fall sick - from either migraine that lasts for a year or piles and thus does not allow them to sit. They may have enjoyed 14 years of pensioned job with both sicknesses but when asked to state what they have done they will show you a lot of holes in their socks.
One facet of management that could add to the capacity to work in any organisation is missing. This was rather primary form that one talked off. What will happen when they have to tackle difficult situations and give guidelines to their colleagues as to the manner in which the trend and the direction of policy to go. Life of the country is threatened and if one expects the current lot to take evasive action to save it, please forget it. Hope cannot be built unless something tangible takes place. Shall we go on in this pathetic manner? Possibly so.