Strategy

Met my friends S and L on my way home. They were apparently discussing something serious.

"Hey guys. What's up?" I asked.

"Our friend here is thinking of something for the coming RAE." L said.

(For those who are not familiar with our system, RAE in government hospitals stands for Resource Allocation Exercise. Yes, it means money. By a coincidence, RAE in the university means Research Assessment Exercise - another matter that attracts the attention of all academic staff. This is one of the rare occasions when the government and university staff seem to share the same interest.)

"Alas ... What's your advise?" I asked my cynical friend.

"I asked S to follow the successful strategy." L smiled.

"Is there one?" I was slightly amazed.

"Apparently yes," S said, "Find something that could reduce hospital stay or admission."

"That's not easy," I believe my point is obvious.

"That's not not easy - that's quite impossible if you want something that could permanently reduce hospital admission," L interjected, "But we just need something that works for a while, and it is not at all difficult to prove something - anything actually - works in the short run, when everyone is paying attention and extra effort on it."

"For example ...?" I asked.

"For example, find something that you are already doing, repackage, propose to find a dedicated person to do it in a more efficient manner so that hospital stay could be reduced - and there is a reason to ask for money and vacancy of promotion." L finished without taking a second breathe.

"I know your argument," and I saw what my friend was getting at, "After a few years, the money becomes regular and the senior post permanent. Who would remember or bother to make the effort to check whether the program continues to reduce hospital stay? After all, the situation would have changed so much that no one could prove anything."