That is a common take, but it ignores that you need competent people and processes for that to work. But the reality is that you get lots and lots of office politics.
It is incredibly hard to understand what people are doing, and how that works out in a complex organization!
The effort and likelihood of reasonable success is a precondition for your argument.
I have been in a lot of companies, and I have seen soooo much useless busy work. Including my own well-paid IT consultant job, not infrequently.
Employees and managers on all levels try very hard to justify their existence. When they are under-employed they may also start looking for new projects themselves, which the next level of management is okay with because it appears that they are doing something useful, and they don't have to deal with that problem.
Overall, I will claim that your argument is far too simplistic and ignores the complexity of humans and their organizations.
It is incredibly hard to understand what people are doing, and how that works out in a complex organization!
The effort and likelihood of reasonable success is a precondition for your argument.
I have been in a lot of companies, and I have seen soooo much useless busy work. Including my own well-paid IT consultant job, not infrequently.
Employees and managers on all levels try very hard to justify their existence. When they are under-employed they may also start looking for new projects themselves, which the next level of management is okay with because it appears that they are doing something useful, and they don't have to deal with that problem.
Overall, I will claim that your argument is far too simplistic and ignores the complexity of humans and their organizations.