在台灣要找到對政府施政能讚不絕口的人，應該是屈指可數吧。畢竟歷經了兩、三次的政黨輸替後，不論是藍綠兩黨的執政表現，都是很難讓人用滿意來形容。
除了民政服務單位外，一般市井小民實在很難一窺公務部門的運作機制。這本《公門菜鳥飛》提供了一個簡便的切入點，讓外界能瞭解進而理解公務員的柴米油鹽。雖然將問題簡化成「千錯萬錯都是政府怠惰」、「公務員都是不做事的米蟲」能讓小老百姓有一時的情緒出口。但對於各項問題的解決和改善，卻沒有任何實質上的助益。不滿政府在執行政策上的滿頇與緩慢，或許可以先由瞭解公門中人的思考模式做為起點，找出雙方對話的適切頻率。
其實書中所講述的一些造成公務人員效益不彰的牽制因素，在私人企業也無法避免地時常遇見。為考核而考核的KPI、重視數字指標忽略核心精神的執行態度，都是讓事情只能做完，但不能做好的原因。大把的時間用在應付民代、上級長管交辨的事務，讓公務員從人民的公僕轉型成上級的僕人。瑣碎的考核、報告與會議，佔據了第一線人員的工作時間，有意義的事做不了，無意義的事做不完。加上專業外包讓公務員喪失磨練的機會，導致為廠商馬首是瞻，無法累積核心職能的情況下，別說主導創新，連基本的廠商稽核都力有未逮。這些描述真的讓身在私部門的我不禁失笑，台灣的組織文化或許在公、私部門之間有種另類的默契。
這本書推薦給關心台灣這塊土地的社會中堅，畢竟政治為管理眾人之事，一舉一動都能牽累你我日常生活。只有政府職能的日益改善，我們才能有機會過好日子。雖然無法一夜之間美夢成真，但相互理解至少是跨出了第一步。如果家裡有小孩又期待他們去考公家機關的家長，更一定要買一本來詳細閱讀，好歹也知道是把自家小孩推向那種火坑(笑)
In Taiwan, it is probably hard to find many people who have nothing but praise for the government's performance. After all, after two or three changes of political parties in power, it is difficult to describe the performance of either the blue or green party as truly satisfying.
Except for the public service offices that ordinary people have to deal with, it is actually very difficult for most people to understand how government agencies work. This book, **《公門菜鳥飛》**, provides a simple way to get started and helps people outside the government understand the everyday life of civil servants. It may give ordinary people a temporary way to vent their anger by simply saying, "The government is always to blame" or "Civil servants are all lazy people who do nothing." But this does not really help solve or improve any of these problems. If we are unhappy about the government's slow and inefficient way of carrying out policies, perhaps the first step is to understand how people inside the government think and find a better way for both sides to communicate.
In fact, some of the factors mentioned in the book that make civil servants less effective can also be found in private companies. KPIs that exist only because someone needs to evaluate employees, and an attitude that focuses too much on numbers while forgetting the real purpose of the work, are both reasons why things may get done but not done well. A great deal of time is spent dealing with elected representatives and handling requests from higher-level managers. As a result, civil servants gradually change from being "public servants" who serve the people into "servants of their bosses." Small-scale evaluations, reports, and meetings take up so much of the frontline staff's working time that they cannot finish the meaningful work, while they can never finish all the meaningless work. On top of that, outsourcing professional work takes away opportunities for civil servants to develop their own skills. They end up following contractors' decisions instead of leading the work themselves. Without the chance to build up their own core skills, it is hard to expect them to lead innovation. Sometimes, they may even struggle to carry out basic inspections of contractors. These descriptions really made me, as someone working in the private sector, laugh. Perhaps there is a strange kind of understanding between the public and private sectors when it comes to Taiwan's organizational culture.
I would recommend this book to people who care about Taiwan and its future. After all, politics is about managing matters that affect everyone, and every decision made by the government can have an impact on our daily lives. Only by continuously improving the government's ability to serve the people can we have a better chance of living better lives. Our dreams may not come true overnight, but mutual understanding is at least a first step. And if you are a parent with children and hope they will one day take a government job, you should definitely buy a copy and read it carefully. At the very least, you will know what kind of "fire pit" you are pushing your own children into. (LOL)
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