Procedures are killing for individual initiative

Not what you know but who you know

In Southern European countries like Italy, Spain and France bureaucracy rules in the majority of organisations, compromising efficiency and productivity. In these hierarchical cultures the one who has knowledge and is right is determined by the position in “the line”. Higher in rank automatically implies that subordinates have inferior knowledge, skills and capabilities. Employees are expected to exactly do as their boss tells them, without even having doubts, let alone openly questioning the orders and prescribed procedures. Management has completely turned off the brains of their employees resulting in an organisation using only a small part of its potential, like a multi-core computer running on one CPU core only or a V12 race engine running on 1 cylinder.
Processes should be the Guard Rail (preventive) not the Train Rail (prescriptive) – 4X

In these cultures people are hired via their personal connections in an organisation, not because they qualify best for the job. They only have to work according to procedures and just follow orders their bosses think. This for a large part explains why economically these Southern countries are miles behind Western European countries, where Delegation and empowerment let organisations reach their full potential.

Sources:
The Australian Psychological Society - Forensic psychologist Nathan Brooks research