My whole trip was a waste of time. Luckily, I didn't run into problems which resulted in physical danger like I could have. This scenario is a prime example of a laissez-faire manager. These managers supervise employees very loosely, train poorly, and have ambiguous expectations of employees. Because employees have been inadequately trained and never know quite what is expected of them, job performance is usually quite poor.
Some people end up as laissez-faire managers by default.
They would like to use another management style, but are not organized enough to pull it off. They may have difficulty handling problems with employees and avoid confrontations by supervising loosely. Or, they may be too passive to be in a management position with people. When expectations are unclear, employees never know when they have done a good job. This leads to a lack of motivation and adversely affects productivity.