"By their very nature bureaucracies have no conscience, no memory, and no mind."
I've been trying to remember this quote. I found it striking when first told it but I'd partly forgotten it so it's taken a while to track down. It’s by the American anthropologist Edward T. Hall, although I still can’t find where he wrote or said it
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A collection of decisions by individuals who may or may not know what other decisions anybody else made, unconnected and unaware of the whole picture.... until eventually it has its impact outside.
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This might help:
Paraphrasing Exercise | GSI Teaching & Resource Center (berkeley.edu)
Which points to: Edward T. Hall, Beyond Culture, Anchor Publishing, 1977, p. 219
Interesting that the common quoted "quotation" is in fact a paraphrase.
Jan
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Great research Jan, thanks so much for this!
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Hi Richard,
I'm glad I could help
Jan