For this reason, public organizations may look quite different, depending on our particular perspective. As an example, we often talk about the endless maze of confusion and red tape that seems to characterize public organizations. Certain agencies, despite their alleged interest in efficiency and service, seem designed to prevent satisfactory solutions to our problems. On the one hand, the bureaucracy may seem to be so routinized as to be uncaring; on the other, it may seem so arbitrary as to be cruel. Consequently, we should not be surprised that many Americans have a rather low opinion of public bureaucracy.