Having worked in a large corporation (not Fortune 500), in higher
education, and in government, and now for a non-profit, this thread
interests me no end.  The corporation's focus was clear -- its product, its
ability to compete (even if it meant an apparent waste of resources), its
profitability, and its goodwill (image, reputation, etc.)  Working with
government at every level drained its resources unnecessarily.  In higher
education, the product remains unclear and the key professionals (faculty)
resented "efficiency."  Again, significant resources were tied up in
accounting for whatever government support and grants came down the
pipeline.  Heading a state government museum agency meant diverting staff
and administrative time to "feeding the bear" with paperwork, sitting in on
brain-numbing workshops and conferences, and spending countless hours
haggling over the kinds of purchases that are unique to museums.

Our CPA firm has warned us that it lacks the staff and expertise to provide
the mandated government-style audit if we were ever to obtain a grant from
the NEH.  We don't even have the staff time to prepare an application for
such a grant anyway. Enough said.
----------
<snip>
>Betty Brennan <[log in to unmask]>
> My 2¢ worth as a small business owner:   Having filled
> out tons and tons of paperwork for government jobs (plus dealings with
> Fish & Wildlife, IRS,...) as compared to working with smaller
> institutions (i.e. museums, small corporations, ...) the amount of waste
> in government related work makes me cringe.

It takes a great many well paid government employees to review that
paperwork, raise questions, summarize, analyze, collate, categorize,
distill, report, and actually approve for payment/reimbursement/whatever.
These are all good people, I hasten to point out, but the focus is on
process, not product.
Ross Weeks