Sign here please...

Several years ago, a movie (of which, I do not have the faintest idea about cast and crew) was broadcasted by IRIB. The story, anyway, was quite simple but annoying. A man (I think from eastern Europe) was wondering about a painting hung at the wall just over his desk. It was loose and could fall down right on the head of the miserable employee.
OK. He wanted to fix it but his colleagues said that it needs to be approved by the head of the office (or whatever) they worked for. So, he started to do the bureauctratic works needed. Years were passing and the man was still on the way...

I don't know if you've been stuck in such a process or not. But, I'd like to point two extremes:

1- You are in need of something so you got to meet all responsible (?) authorities asking for their signature under your request letter; a boring process which sometimes seems to be endless. This depends on both sides: you and the system. As long as you have enough energy and time, and depending on the mood of the system (and its workers), it may go ahead and there is a chance to win this rally.
2- You are in need of something. A responsible guy receives your request and asks you to sign it and leave it to the system. Here, after a proper time, you reach your goal.

The first case, needless to say, is still operated in many countries were there is almost no responsibility and time is priceless. In contrast, the second one belongs to the systems with high responsibility. In such a system, people care about your time and are really helpful. Things go ahead and come to conclusion.