Most efficient bureaucracy:

India, Indonesia and the Philippines have Asia's most inefficient bureaucracies, with red tape a constant blight to citizens and deterrent to foreign investment, a survey said Wednesday.

Regional financial centres Singapore and Hong Kong have the most efficient bureaucracies, according to the survey of expatriate business executives by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC).

Government bureaucracies in some Asian countries have become "power centres" in their own right, allowing them to effectively resist efforts toward reforms by politicians and appointed officials, the Hong Kong-based firm said.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's failure to carry out reforms contributed to the resignation last month of respected finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who accepted a senior position at the World Bank, PERC said.

"Despite President Susilo's strong election mandate, he lacks the power to really shake up Indonesia's bureaucracy," the consultancy said.

Ranking 12 key countries and territories on a scale from one to 10, with 10 as the worst possible score, the business executives in the survey rated India as having the region's most inefficient bureaucracy.

India had a score of 9.41, followed by Indonesia (8.59), the Philippines (8.37), Vietnam (8.13) and China (7.93).

Malaysia was in sixth place from the bottom with a score of 6.97, followed by Taiwan (6.60), Japan (6.57), South Korea (6.13) and Thailand (5.53). Singapore was ranked as having the most efficient bureaucracy, with a score of 2.53, followed by Hong Kong with 3.49.

PERC said 1,373 middle and senior expatriate executives took part in the survey carried out earlier this year.

Singapore was also number one and Hong Kong was in third place globally in the World Bank's latest survey on the ease of doing business, which covered 183 economies.

In India, "politicians frequently promise to reform and revitalise the Indian bureaucracy, but they have been ineffective in doing so - mainly because the civil service is a power centre in its own right," PERC said.

Dealing with India's bureaucracy "can be one of the most frustrating experiences for any Indian, let alone a foreign investor," it added.

Bureaucratic red tape is both a "serious problem" in China and India, "but the differences in the political systems of these two countries have made inertia much worse in India than in China," it said.

In the Philippines, the government "goes through the motion" of addressing problems of bureaucratic red tape "but nothing has really made a dent in the problem," PERC said.

"Illegal fixing is well-entrenched in the Philippine bureaucracy," it said, referring to people called "fixers" who offer to facilitate transactions with government offices for a fee and often in collaboration with corrupt employees.

Revolution of Indian Politics By Jai Deo Tiwari

Bureaucracy:The backbone of efficiency as well corruption too:

http://books.google.co.in/books?id=6RkLVlONHyUC&lpg=PA273&ots=3HKpIhPl_Q&dq=top%2010%20efficient%20%20politicians%20of%20the%20world&pg=PA273#v=onepage&q&f=false

In Weber's analysis, 

A bureaucratic organization is governed by the following seven principles:

1. official business is conducted on a continuous basis
2. official business is conducted with strict accordance to the following rules:
   • the duty of each official to do certain types of work is delimited in terms of impersonal criteria
   • the official is given the authority necessary to carry out his assigned functions
   • the means of coercion at his disposal are strictly limited and conditions of their use strictly defined
3. every official's responsibilities and authority are part of a vertical hierarchy of authority, with respective rights of supervision and appeal
4. officials do not own the resources necessary for the performance of their assigned functions but are accountable for their use of these resources
5. official and private business and income are strictly separated
6. offices cannot be appropriated by their incumbents (inherited, sold, etc.)
7. official business is conducted on the basis of written documents.

Weber described the bureaucratic official as having the following characteristics:

• is personally free and appointed to his position on the basis of conduct
• exercises the authority delegated to him in accordance with impersonal rules, and his loyalty is enlisted on behalf of the faithful execution of his official duties
• appointment and job placement are dependent upon his technical qualifications
• administrative work is a full-time occupation
• work is rewarded by a regular salary and prospects of advancement in a lifetime career.

He also noted that an official must exercise his judgment and his skills, but his duty is to place these at the service of a higher authority. Ultimately he is responsible only for the impartial execution of assigned tasks and must sacrifice his personal judgment if it runs counter to his official duties.

Some specific advantages of bureaucracies include:

• Standardization of procedures creates the ability to easily pass knowledge to future workers as well as facilitating better communication among colleagues.
• Division of labor creates economies of scale within organizations, enhancing productivity.
• Formal hierarchy can also increase efficiency, as there is a clear chain of command eliminating the potential for some conflicts.
• Impersonal relationships also lead to easier dismissal of workers, which contributes to greater efficiency.

Despite many actual and potential drawbacks, bureaucracy is the most ubiquitous form of dividing labor among members of an organization, town, state, or nation. It is indeed the hallmark of modern society throughout the world. While bureaucracies may not always function in the ideal form that Weber described, when the people working within the structure live for the sake of others rather than for self-centered pursuits the bureaucratic system offers the most efficient method of maintaining a social institution.

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Bureaucracy

"After practical analysis of bureaucracy and with better governance we expect  much more better result "


E-Governance is a strong option to manage bureaucracy in most efficient way:
E Gonenrnance has proved boon...

No doubt. E Governance is the tool, which can monitor the corruption. The changes has been seen in various departments. It opens the door for perfect monitoring system. A common man can track the performance of officer and politicians. The government has the best option for improving the slow system of india by implementing E Governance in every department.

But we have a challenge to cover the huge population. Our IT engineer are very efficient. If they are given a chance they can manage it efficiently within a short span of time. Who can believe that sitting in a remote village where there is no light, no education, no road even then you can book ticket by Mobile. If you have applied for passport, your status has to be shown by officials. if a process is defined and we have the tools to execute these process, then the present mismanagement will be minimized.

I can give you true example of my Father, who is in Government job, was working very relaxed. After the computerization, he is working from 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM. Because they have to update all the transaction by today. No pending task, No customer and contractor will be asked to come next day.

There are only 5 computers, but every day it affects 500 population by making their process fast and accurate. In computerization system, there is option to track the exact efficiency of employees like in private organization. the same can be applied in Government also.

Revolution of Indian Politics By Jai Deo Tiwari