The government seems to have borrowed an idea or two from the corporate sector in neat and intelligent management of file keeping. Particularly in personnel management, it keeps all and sundry in suspended animation to pick up its candidates of choice. So beautifully and expertly are things done in matters of appointments to the top posts of the government that they leave no trace of deviation from the rule book. Of course, the government has a legitimate right to appoint anyone it wishes in the top slots of government. But this right has come to be exercised rather covertly than overtly. If some reliable sources are to believed, for this, obviously in few cases, the favorite modus operandi is to seek the office memorandum number (OM No) directly from the department which is the initiator of a personnel proposal. Then the proposal for appointment/promotion/transfer, prepared at the top, is given the required OM No with the date matching the date of original OM No. This proposal, then, becomes a part of the original proposal initiated by the department concerned - with the latter completely in the dark about the additions done at the top, but will be officially responsible for having initiated the whole proposal. This way, at the last moment, a surprise is often pulled off without leaving any trace of deviation from the established procedure and the rule book.