Suchergebnisse

One of the most important aspects of the management of the executive branch of the federal government relates to the organization and administration of the 13 executive departments. Yet there has been little attention given to this aspect of public administration in the literature. If the functions of the government of the United States are to be efficiently executed, it is vital that the executive departments be well conceived, structured, and managed. This means that they should be set up to carry out definable major purposes of the government, the enacting statutes should provide for adequate authority in the secretaries, there should be substantial freedom to adapt the departments to changes in priorities, greater attention should be given to the design and implementation of modern management systems, and reliance should be placed on the career civil servants who alone have the knowledge and continuity to assure efficient and consistent administration. It is likely, however, that there is so little agreement as to how the shortcomings of our departments can be remedied that something like a new Hoover Commission may be required to identify solutions and raise public awareness of the urgency of the situation.

Governments change over time in response to broad social and economic trends but the overall structure remains remarkably stable. The growth of government in the early 20th century reflects the perils of both stability and change in organizational structure. A large number of agencies were created in response to modernization but, following the organizational style of an earlier era, many were "quasi-autonomous bits of government over which there was little if any effective control except for the legislature's biennial appropriation acts." These conditions led to constitutional revision and the reorganization initiatives described below. Governor-elect Blunt has indicated that he plans a review of governmental organization in the near future. If so, it will be the first such review since the early 1970s. If governmental reorganization is infrequent, a cross-departmental review of practices and procedures is even less frequent. In fact, there has been only one such review which occurred in the 1990s. That review resulted in significant process changes both within and across departments. The review was initiated by Governor Carnahan and conducted by the Commission on Management and Productivity, frequently known as COMAP. This report briefly summarizes the evolution of the structure of modern state government and the COMAP process review of the 1990s.

From the adoption of the Constitution in 1787, the executive department has been the primary vehicle through which the government of the United States has administered its programs. Their organization and effectiveness are therefore matters that demand constant attention.

Missouri state government is not organized in the structured, top down mold so familiar in the corporate world. In fact, state government contains several different organizational structures with varying degrees of independence from the state's chief executive. The Governor has no control over offices managed by statewide elected officials: Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, and Attorney General. The Governor has no direct control over an additional six departments that are overseen by commissions, although he has considerable indirect influence. The Governor directly appoints the directors of ten executive departments. In addition, the Governor appoints members of boards and commissions located within some executive departments. This report summarizes the Governor's Appointment Power for each department of state government.

Description based on: Jan. 1, 1982. ; Mode of access: Internet. ; Vols. for Dec. 1947-1976 issued by: the United States, Congress, Senate, Committee on Government Operations; 1977- by: the United States, Congress, Senate, Committee on Governmental Affairs.

Description based on: 1st (dated May 18, 1949), 81st Congress, 1st session. ; Each vol. has also a distinctive title. ; Mode of access: Internet. ; Continued by: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Government Operations. Intermediate report of the Committee on Government Operations.