maladministration
Bungled public management
Maladministration is improper, incompetent, or corrupt management of an organization or institution, especially government.
The term appears most often in formal or legal contexts: The ombudsman investigates complaints of maladministration.
It covers a range of failures—negligence, inefficiency, abuse of power—that fall short of good governance without necessarily being criminal.
Mishandling through incompetence
- ineptitudeLack of ability
- mismanagementIncompetent handling of responsibilities
- blunderFoolish, costly mistake
- misruleInept or unjust governing
incapacity · unfitness · botch · fiasco · debacle · misgovernment · misdirection · mishandling
Corrupt payment for influence
- embezzlementFraudulent taking of entrusted assets
- fraudIntentional criminal trickery
- graftIllicit political gain
- kickbacksIllegal return payments
extortion · cronyism · nepotism · misappropriation · profiteering · venality · sleaze · payola
Abandonment of duty
- neglectFailure to provide care
- oversightSupervision or inadvertent omission
- carelessnessInattention causing mistakes
- inattentionLack of focus
omission · laxity · irresponsibility · disregard · nonfeasance · remissness · heedlessness · slackness
Rigid administrative system
- delayEnforced waiting period
- wastefulnessCareless use of resources
- stagnationAbsence of flow or progress
- unresponsivenessLack of reaction
misallocation · bloat · gridlock · bottleneck · backlog · underperformance · redundancy · sluggishness
bungling
Mishandling through incompetence
- ineptitudeLack of ability
- mismanagementIncompetent handling of responsibilities
- blunderFoolish, costly mistake
misrule · incapacity · unfitness · botch · fiasco · debacle · misgovernment · misdirection · mishandling · fumbling
bribery
Corrupt payment for influence
- embezzlementFraudulent taking of entrusted assets
- fraudIntentional criminal trickery
- graftIllicit political gain
kickbacks · extortion · cronyism · nepotism · misappropriation · profiteering · venality · sleaze · payola · racketeering
dereliction
Abandonment of duty
- neglectFailure to provide care
- oversightSupervision or inadvertent omission
- carelessnessInattention causing mistakes
inattention · omission · laxity · irresponsibility · disregard · nonfeasance · remissness · heedlessness · slackness · sloppiness
bureaucracy
Rigid administrative system
- delayEnforced waiting period
- wastefulnessCareless use of resources
- stagnationAbsence of flow or progress
unresponsiveness · misallocation · bloat · gridlock · bottleneck · backlog · underperformance · redundancy · sluggishness · procrastination
- mismanagementmishandling, dysfunction, misuse, incompetence, inefficiency
- bureaucracybureaucracy, bureaucrat, bureaucrats, red tape, civil service
maladministrationprobity
Thorough moral honesty
integrity · rectitude · accountability · uprightness · transparency
administration, administrator, administer, administrative, administrators, administrate, administratively