Procedures are killing individual initiative
Processes should be the guard rail (preventive), not the train rail (prescriptive).
Not what you know but who you know
In Southern European countries such as Italy, Spain, and France, bureaucracy dominates the majority of organisations, compromising efficiency and productivity. In these hierarchical cultures, the person who “knows best” is determined by position in the chain of command.
A higher rank automatically implies that subordinates are assumed to have inferior knowledge, skills, and capabilities. Employees are expected to do exactly as they are told, without doubt, let alone openly questioning orders or prescribed procedures.
Management effectively switches off the brains of employees, resulting in organisations using only a fraction of their potential — comparable to a multi-core computer running on a single CPU core, or a V12 race engine running on one cylinder.
Processes should be the guard rail (preventive), not the train rail (prescriptive)
In these cultures, people are often hired through personal connections rather than because they are the best qualified for the job. Employees are expected to follow procedures blindly and execute orders without reflection.
This largely explains why, economically, these Southern European countries lag behind Western European countries, where delegation and empowerment allow organisations to reach their full potential.
