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Despite the fact that during the past four decades Iran has been hit by various natural disasters, the earthquake in Kermanshah and the recent floods across the country once again showed different manifestations of \u2018heyati\u2019 management. \u2018Heyati\u2019 refers to groups or delegations who gather to mourn the death of Imam Hossein during Muharram. These disasters also highlighted the inefficiency and unskillfulness of the Iranian government and its institutions as well as the establishment. This has created dissatisfaction among people living in the various flood-stricken areas of the country.
\nBut that was not the whole story. Official organizations also started criticizing the process of delivering aid to those who suffered in the floods. For example, Iran\u2019s Red Crescent Society expressed dissatisfaction with the \u2018undesirable process\u2019 of getting aid to the crisis-stricken city of Pol Dokhtar and to other flood-stricken areas. Meanwhile, disputes in the media between the government and the IRGC heated up, with each one accusing the other of \u2018unskillfulness\u2019 and \u2018inefficiency.\u2019
\nThe recent floods are a reminder of what is described in Iranian culture as \u2018heyati\u2019 management. Amateurs, putting on a \u2018show\u2019, and, at the same time, fighting over the distribution of \u2018spoils\u2019 \u2013 including financial, prestigious, and political spoils \u2013 are manifestations of \u2018heyati\u2019 management. It is the same as what is known in the establishment\u2019s bureaucratic culture \u2013 particularly by the IRGC and Basijis \u2013 as \u2018jihadi\u2019 management.<\/p>\n
Paying Precedence to Secondary Functions<\/strong><\/span> Unskillfulness and Inefficiency; Definite Outcomes of \u2018Heyati\u2019 and \u2018JIhadi\u2019 Management<\/strong><\/span> Conclusion<\/strong> <\/span> Source: radiofarda Website<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Opinions in this article reflect the writer\u2019s point of view, not necessarily the view of Rasanah<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Despite the fact that during the past four decades Iran has been hit by various natural disasters, the earthquake in Kermanshah and the recent floods across the country once again showed different manifestations of \u2018heyati\u2019 management. \u2018Heyati\u2019 refers to groups or delegations who gather to mourn the death of Imam Hossein during Muharram. These disasters […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":6456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[3029,90,3030,263,3032,3031],"class_list":["post-6452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-a-manifestation","tag-crisis","tag-heyati","tag-iranian","tag-iranian-flood-crisis","tag-management"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6452"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6457,"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6452\/revisions\/6457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe administrative culture does not come out of the blue spontaneously. There are subcultures working together in communities. \u2018Heyati\u2019 management too is a result of interactions with its surroundings. It is similar to \u2018scientific management,\u2019 which emerges from academic work and theorists\u2019 interactions with their fields.
\nIf industries belong to this time and age, the management of \u2018heyats\u2019 which are formed for lamenting and mourning [the death of Imam Hossein] belongs to ancient times. \u2018Heyati\u2019 management is the source of inspiration for the Iranian establishment. Most of the leaders and officials \u2013 from the highest to the lowest ranks in the establishment \u2013 have gained their own organizational and managerial experience through these \u2018heyats\u2019 whose sole purpose is to lament and mourn [the death of Imam Hossein; for example, take a look at Rouhani and Ahmadinejad reciting eulogies).
\nAyatollah Khomeini too had said, \u201cWhatever we have is from Muharram and this ceremony.\u201d The approach of the establishment\u2019s political mobilization, particularly during Khamenei and Ahmadinejad, has become more and more like that of \u2018heyats.\u2019 Within the framework of the \u2018heyat\u2019 the division of labor is simple, and there is no need for expertise. Those who work within the \u2018heyat\u2019 are responsible to do their duties, and the outcome isn\u2019t that important.
\nIn recent times, \u2018heyati’ management has even preceded the traditional bureaucratic system in Iran. For example, a part of the establishment institutions\u2019 activities \u2013 instead of training for modern management \u2013 is related to religious ceremonies held particularly during Muharram rituals including \u2018chest beating\u2019, singing eulogies, and mourning, as well as producing new \u2018imamzadeh\u2019 and other related affairs. For example, one of the obligations of the Foreign Ministry is to prepare for Muharram\u2019s mourning ceremony overseas, either directly in its own locations or in mosques and ‘tekyehs’ [places where Shiites gather to mourn during Muharram] affiliated with the Iranian regime abroad. \u2018Heyati\u2019 management, therefore, is constantly being reproduced in different institutions of the Iranian establishment.
\n\u2018Heyati\u2019 management is random, as it tries to put on a \u2018show.\u2019 Such shows have different functions such as creating authority for those who hold positions of power and gaining their favor, creating possibilities for rent-seeking for those involved in such shows, embezzling budgetary resources, propagandizing, and finally deceiving citizens by giving metaphysical explanations for worldly accidents.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/89F17312-F133-4F31-886E-65947833834E_w650_r0_s.jpg\")
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\nEfficiency within modern management means maximizing limited resources within the competitive market and eventually satisfying consumers. \u2018Heyati\u2019 management however is not responsible for \u2018results\u2019 which renders the principles of efficiency, creating values, and outcomes meaningless. Unskillfulness and inefficiency of \u2018heyati\u2019 management must not come as a surprise. That is because within the economic framework of management and organization in deficient, inefficient and corrupt systems, institutions usually get distracted, moving away from the functions and structure assigned to them.
\nFor example, the function of a municipality in a given society is to provide civic services. But municipalities, particularly in countries like Iran and thanks to \u2018heyati\u2019 management, have several other unofficial functions in addition to their official ones. One such function is creating employment for the followers of the regime. According to a member of the budget and planning commission of Tehran\u2019s City Council, more than 130,000 individuals receive salaries from Tehran\u2019s municipality. Additionally, there are 26,000 personnel for 16,000 organizational positions in Tehran\u2019s municipality. Bribery, rent seeking, collaborating with and giving information to land-grabbers and and other such issues that are not the main functions of these organizations gain precedence over their primary functions.
\nAs such, the municipality will get sidetracked from what is outlined for it in accordance with the country\u2019s laws and regulations as the so-called \u2018other\u2019 functions take priority over its primary ones. As a result, those peripheral functions of institutions in inefficient and corrupt governments become their main functions, and their defined functions will lose priority, if not forgotten altogether.
\nThis can be also extended to the issue of \u2018heyati\u2019 management witnessed during the recent floods. Even though the fallout of the recent floods have not become clear yet, it can already be observed that in numerous cases, precedence is given to the peripheral issues over the main ones. Rivalry for public visibility in the flood-stricken areas and to be seen walking through the flood waters, as well as tensions between the government and the IRGC, accusing each other and disputing over giving away the spoils, are quite obvious — a major part of these rivalries and disputes are behind closed doors and will not be disclosed.<\/p>\n
\nThe crisis that the Iranian establishment faced during the recent floods exposed \u2018heyati\u2019 management once again. Of course, the concept of \u2018heyati\u2019 management can be extended to other economic and political projects of the Iranian establishment.
\nHowever, the lack of transparency and accountability prevents the full exposure of such management. The costs of such management are borne by the poorest Iranian citizens in the form of economic and social deprivation and environmental disarray.<\/p>\n
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