Lots of people working there have good ideas that they never bring up, because past experience has taught them that it's a waste of time. So it's not that the workers are automatons, but rather that the workers have learned that the organization wants and what it doesn't want, and don't waste their time with what the org doesn't want. The individuals who comprise the organization are fine, but the meta-organism that is the organization is diseased.

[obligatory disclaimer: I worked there years ago, but no longer do.]