[sustran] Facing the Harsh Reality of Dysfunctional Organizations

[Todd Alexander Litman]

Victoria, British Columbia is considered one of the world's most 
livable cities, but it also has problems with public urination 
(http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=b3d6a1b2-0f66-4529-8ba7-f9b5ae55f299 
), ugly and disorderly development, homeless people crowding 
sidewalks, and the perception that government is inefficient due to 
multiple, conflicting levels of government and inefficient 
institutions. I've worked in developing countries and know how 
difficult it often seems, but such conditions also offer the greatest 
potential for cost-effective improvement. For example, several very 
poor and corrupt cities have implemented BRT systems which include 
both physical improvements and reforms that reduce conflicts 
(including violence) and corruption within the bus industry - the key 
is to find an ownership and payment structure that rewards operators 
based on service quality rather than simple volume. I was recently 
delighted to hear that South Africa is implementing such a system 
(http://itdp.org/STe/ste23/johannesburg.html ) which should 
significantly reduce transport problems and improve mobility for 
economically disadvantaged people, and we hope will inspire similar 
systems in other African countries.

If you only see problems and negative examples you are overlooking 
the many, many opportunities and successes. My advice is to approach 
these problems with a positive attitude and apply "change management" 
techniques (see http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm114.htm ). An excellent 
resource is "Sustainable Transportation: A Sourcebook for 
Policy-Makers in Developing Countries," by the Sustainable Urban 
Transport Project (www.sutp.org), which includes modules on 
institutional reforms and enforcement practices, in addition to my 
own module on Mobility Management (available in English, Spanish and 
Chinese). The, admittedly substantial challenges we face make the 
successes even more satisfying!


Best wishes,
-Todd Litman


At 03:33 PM 4/17/2007, Jonathan E. D. Richmond wrote:

>On my flight from Chennai to London today I found myself seated next to
>the vice-president for US operations of one of India's most significant
>companies. A perceptive and sophisticated individual, he provided me
>insight into many realities of Indian business, government, and social
>life. We talked about management and mismanagement -- where things work in
>India, where they fail. He did not mince his words in describing failings,
>and smiled when I told him about the response on this list to my
>truthtelling.
>
>My views about the tragedy of cities of despair such as Chennai are
>unchanged: the place is mostly a dump, as I said, people urinate in the
>street making large areas stink, development is ugly and disorderly, and
>the system of corruption that prevents changetaking place is alive and
>well. The poor sleep out on the streets, their children looking frail
>sprawled out on the pavements at night. What future can these children
>have without the promise of an adequate education or a government with the
>decency to care about them?
>
>So I continue to believe that before a city can plan for itself, it must
>be able to keep its public toilets clean and other basic public services
>running, and it must try to remove at least some of the corruption which
>gets in the way of productive change. Leading Indians are quite convinced
>of this need, and Westerners connected with development must move from
>futile academic thinking to facing the harsh reality of dysfunctional
>organizations filled with dishonest people which are in need of basic
>reforms. So, be unhappy about being told the truth if you like -- but
>understand that hiding distasteful realities helps perpetuate them.
>
>                                       --Jonathan
>
>
>-----
>Jonathan Richmond
>
>1 (617) 395-4360
>
>e-mail: richmond at alum.mit.edu
>http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/
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Sincerely,
Todd Alexander Litman
Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org)
litman at vtpi.org
Phone & Fax 250-360-1560
1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, CANADA
"Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"

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