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Another Privatisation Success - N O T
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The problem lies with the concept of the word 'service' - as in, for example, National Health Service.
If you want to offer a service, then you have to put the provision of the service first, the costs second, and the notion of profit last, and least.
If you want to run a business, you put the notion of profit first, the cost second, and the provision of service last.
The issue occurs when you try to use the model of the second to run the first, because, not surprisingly, it falls apart very quickly.
Unfortunately, the concept of market forces has been, and continues to be, a cornerstone of Tory government thinking.
Their erroneous belief is that if you apply business practices to public services, you increase efficiency.
Time and again, this is proved to be wrong - because the concept is flawed, and no amount of re-trying makes it workable.
The bottom line is … the bottom line.
If you bring in a profit basis as the bedrock of the organisation, you instantly narrow the focus of every single manager in the organisation from the bottom to the top - think about the money.
They become tunnel-visioned, with their sights purely and entirely on saving money - often because, in the case of a company like Network Rail, saving money brings financial reward in the form of a bonus structure for managers, which leads them to look to cut costs at any and every opportunity.
And the biggest and easiest ways to cut costs is to trim the wage bill - employees being the most expensive aspect of any company.
And here we are - an organisation which should provide a service is being run as a company, and the result, predictably, is as outlined above - a shortage of staff, and a failing service.
And it is a service, and as such, should be run like one.
If you want to offer a service, then you have to put the provision of the service first, the costs second, and the notion of profit last, and least.
If you want to run a business, you put the notion of profit first, the cost second, and the provision of service last.
The issue occurs when you try to use the model of the second to run the first, because, not surprisingly, it falls apart very quickly.
Unfortunately, the concept of market forces has been, and continues to be, a cornerstone of Tory government thinking.
Their erroneous belief is that if you apply business practices to public services, you increase efficiency.
Time and again, this is proved to be wrong - because the concept is flawed, and no amount of re-trying makes it workable.
The bottom line is … the bottom line.
If you bring in a profit basis as the bedrock of the organisation, you instantly narrow the focus of every single manager in the organisation from the bottom to the top - think about the money.
They become tunnel-visioned, with their sights purely and entirely on saving money - often because, in the case of a company like Network Rail, saving money brings financial reward in the form of a bonus structure for managers, which leads them to look to cut costs at any and every opportunity.
And the biggest and easiest ways to cut costs is to trim the wage bill - employees being the most expensive aspect of any company.
And here we are - an organisation which should provide a service is being run as a company, and the result, predictably, is as outlined above - a shortage of staff, and a failing service.
And it is a service, and as such, should be run like one.
//And here we are - an organisation which should provide a service is being run as a company, and the result, predictably, is as outlined above - a shortage of staff, and a failing service. //
Nonsense! Lots of private companies provide services successfully. If they didn't, they wouldn't be in business for long.
I'm not sure it's fair to say that this company is 'failing'. It appears to be addressing its current problems. This is just another Canary squawk to have a dig at the government.
Nonsense! Lots of private companies provide services successfully. If they didn't, they wouldn't be in business for long.
I'm not sure it's fair to say that this company is 'failing'. It appears to be addressing its current problems. This is just another Canary squawk to have a dig at the government.
In my opinion the only way to run a service efficiently is as private concerns are run. It’s so very easy to waste someone else’s money.
I remember showing an NHS nurse the bill for my treatment at a private hospital – itemised to the last painkiller (if memory serves, Paracetamol charged at something like 10 pence each) and to pairs of rubber gloves used. She was horrified by the wastage in the NHS - and rightly so.
I remember showing an NHS nurse the bill for my treatment at a private hospital – itemised to the last painkiller (if memory serves, Paracetamol charged at something like 10 pence each) and to pairs of rubber gloves used. She was horrified by the wastage in the NHS - and rightly so.
"In May, forensic bosses said there were delays of at least three months but Andy Berry, from the Police Federation, said investigators had told him about a six to 12-month wait for digital material."
. . . which would appear to be BETTER than before privatisation in many parts of the country. (e.g. the Metropolitan Police were experiencing delays of over 18 months in the processing of digital material prior to privatisation).
. . . which would appear to be BETTER than before privatisation in many parts of the country. (e.g. the Metropolitan Police were experiencing delays of over 18 months in the processing of digital material prior to privatisation).
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