The Public Manager: The New Bureaucrat articles from June 1996

The Public Manager: The New Bureaucrat archives from June 1996

Separation of powers and stretched capabilities.
June 22, 1996... Congress should strive to carry out its oversight responsibilities without taking over executive branch responsibilities. The Constitution assigns to the legislative branch three central missions - construction of the basic legal framework for...

Twenty years of Congressional budget reform.
June 22, 1996... Despite reforms government has not demonstrated the political will to make hard budget and policy decisions. Through dozens of continuing resolutions for appropriations, budgetary summits, illegal impoundments, huge deficits, a staggering...

CBO: the agencies' indispensable adversary.(Congressional Budget Office)
June 22, 1996... How does an organization that strives to produce unbiased analysis survive, indeed thrive, in a partisan environment? In his book on economic and budgetary policymaking during the first year-and-a-half of the Clinton administration, Bob...

Congressional oversight at a crossroads.
June 22, 1996... Will it be business as usual or will meaningful and long-lasting changes be made in the operation of our government? Congress seems to be on everyone's "hit list" these days. Public perception appears to be that the Congress is making one...

GAO: the government's watchdog under fire. (General Accounting Office)
June 22, 1996... GAO's future is far from certain. The next comptroller general must rebuild internal capacity and ensure GAO's independence. The US General Accounting Office (GAO), the government's watchdog, is charged with making sure federal dollars are...

Reforming the civil service for the twenty-first century.
June 22, 1996... Agencies cannot be isolated from technological and budgetary factors reshaping businesses and governments worldwide. People are any organization's ultimate resource, and the performance of any organization will depend on how it recruits, hires,...

Sound and reasoned reform. (civil service reform)(includes related article on Dr. Paul Light's views on federal employees)
June 22, 1996... Though reform and downsizing are vital, we must maintain an atmosphere of respect for public service as a valued asset. I want to thank The Public Manager for affording me the opportunity to discuss the important issues surrounding our federal...

Through the eyes of a newcomer. (personal experience as a federal employee)
June 22, 1996... My first experience with Public Service Recognition Week was in 1995. That year public employees entered the spotlight through the tragic bombing in Oklahoma City. For the first time, public employees were seen as real people: people with...

The changing world of the federal personnelist. (public employee management)
June 22, 1996... Consensus-building, negotiation, crisis intervention, dispute resolution, telecommunications, and leadership skills will be most in demand. Today's environment is one in which federal personnelists feel threatened with job loss and anxious...

Strategic human resources management.
June 22, 1996... Merging strategic planning and the management of human resources can improve an organization's ability to accomplish its mission in turbulent times. Series Editor's Introduction Federal agencies continue to face unprecedented, far-reaching...

From public management to managing retirement.
June 22, 1996... Insights into how life after public management can constitute the most varied and challenging of all careers. Five years ago the Winter 1990-91 issue of The Bureaucrat included a forum on retirement entitled "Challenges After Public Service."...

Renascent retirement: the fourth career.
June 22, 1996... Continue making a contribution, to be creative in a new career or a new life experience, whether or not you earn any money. How did I feel about retiring from public service in 19867 Free! Elated! UnHatched! At the age of 62, I was ready to...

No time for the rocking chair. (personal experience of a retired executive)
June 22, 1996... The days are busy, but with activities I've chosen. I am not required to attend any meetings that are likely to be boring. Many years ago a well-known personality retired and was asked by reporters what he planned to do. He answered, "First, I...

Ethics and reinvention: public management in contemporary democracy.
June 22, 1996... Series Editor's Note: When Tom Novotny asked me to edit an ethics series for The Public Manager (nee The Bureaucrat) several years ago, I accepted the challenge with some trepidation. Would there be enough individuals willing to write short,...

Leaders invest for change. (quality management in the Dept. of Energy)
June 22, 1996... Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary's presentation at FEIAA Executive Forum was high point of a distinguished program. Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary was the ideal federal official to keynote the Federal Executive Institute Alumni Association's...

Year 2000 problems and the federal government. (expected hitches in the operation of government computer systems in the year 2000)
June 22, 1996... The vast majority of government computer systems are incapable of operating in the year 2000 and beyond. As the year 2000 approaches, government and corporate managers are being presented with the most challenging information technology and...

Airport authority's best kept secret. (Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority)
June 22, 1996... How the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority increased participation by minority, women, and local disadvantaged firms. The Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (Authority), is a government corporation, with oversight responsibility...

Penny wise and pound foolish: PMIs face reduction. (Presidential Management Interns)
June 22, 1996... Changes to the PMI program may be inconsistent with the continuing need for skilled and dedicated federal managers. Early last winter, as snow fell and thick frost began to cover trees, Marlys Zorin, a civilian employee of the US Army in Europe...

The death of taxes (moritas ex lax taxes).
June 22, 1996... Like Mark Twain before us, the announcement of the death of taxes is woefully premature. Justice Holmes said, "Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society." In fact this quote is etched in stone on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)...