EYXW
I agree with you on the urgency of these communications. I think with most it is either an ego trip "Look how important I am that I need to make and take calls every second" or fear "I had better check that they haven't discovered that I am incompetent yet".
It is worth noting that currupt people are usually discovered when they are out of office and cannot shield the dodgy data from enquiries as effectively.
Personally, my view when i see these poeple is that if you haven't left behind staff capable of dealing with the problems for the half a day it takes to travel, then either you are too unimportant to need such a staff, or you are incompetent for not developing them to the point that they could manage.