Everyone knows examples of Kafkaesque situations, like being sent from pillar to post by bureaucratic organizations or policies and rules that result in exactly the opposite of what was intended.
Often not only the so called 'client or customer' but also the executing employee feels being victimized by higher powers. Top down instructions like in this Happiness campaign force a way of behavior that constrains people from critical thinking and acting upon that thinking.The structure tends to be hierarchical and centralist, sometimes even similar to the communist party in the former German Democratic Republic. Trying to buy a luxury product, like a TV-set, or acquire a right in such cultures requires the patience of ages.
What a contrast to the bottom up initiatives of citizen participation. They pave the way for some kind of inversion of control, which ultimately will have a breakthrough in organizational culture as well. After all, real transformation is hard to achieve if a C2 (Command & Control) attitude prevails. Customer satisfaction and loyalty, as well as employee retention and productivity require an attitude of attention that has the potential of making people really happy.
In such situations one will find the tree of knowledge not standing desolated in the desert. Instead one will see knowledge flowing though the veins of the whole organization and the entire network.The service value chain and the decision and regulatory management chain are integrated and constantly updated, thus preventing these Kafkaesque situations.
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