The United Nations is in many ways a unique organization. The Secretariat, composed of international civil servants, includes upward of 100 nationalities. The Secretary-General is specifically designated in the UN Charter as the ""Chief Administrative Officer"" and the staff generally perceive him as ""management"". Yet the Secretary-General does not have the power to determine the budget of the organization or the number of staff positions or even the level of wages. These are subject to the decision of the General Assembly, now composed of representatives of 184 countries. The Secretariat is the subject of persistent criticism for inefficiency and poor management to which the inescapable corollary are repeated calls for reductions, assessments of independent commissions and, very occasionally, the actual introduction of reforms, not always for the better.
