Dysfunctional yet Functional

In many of my casual discussions over coffee, I've often been asked a very pertinent question "The country is so dysfunctional in a majority of its decision making process, but functionally we achieve little / minimum or at times majority of our goals" – How?

I keep asking this question to my group over a long period of time and eventually found that it is the "PEOPLE" who make things happen rather than the system.

If any of you have a different opinion let me know