Problem
Excessive paperwork
Nature:
The burden of excessive paperwork is more than just a financial and time-consuming inconvenience. It cause delays which may inhibit entrepreneurial motivation; international trade of raw manufactured or cultural goods; the distribution of food aid; and, in cases of law, medicine, and social services, could constitute the difference between life and death. Incidence:
In 1984 in Lima, Peru, an entrepreneur registered his new clothing factory. It took him 289 days to complete the 310 required steps; and the paperwork involved, if stretched end to end, would have extended 30 metres. Also in Peru, the owner of a bus company spends 46 hours a month completing government demanded paperwork; and in and average year the Peruvian legislature issues almost 20,000 laws, decrees, and edicts, all of which must be written down. A 1985 report in the UK found many jobs had been lost and/or small businesses closed because of the reticence of owners to tackle all the governmental paperwork; and in Australia, excessive paperwork can lead to delays in search response time (by the government-controlled Search and Rescue operation) for people lost at sea, sometimes resulting in their deaths. Broader Problems:
Excessive bureaucratic requirements for welfare benefits Narrower Problems:
Proliferation of documents from international organizations Related Problems:
Complex government regulationsProliferation of printed matter Aggravates:
Untidy offices Values:
Excess Subject(s):
Management → AdministrationProblem Type:
F: Fuzzy exceptional problems Date of last update
20.04.1998 – 00:00 CEST