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The Chief Operating Officer Concept and its Potential Use as a Strategy to Improve Management at the Department of Homeland Security

GAO-04-876R Published: Jun 28, 2004. Publicly Released: Jun 28, 2004.
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Highlights

In a May 18, 2004 letter, the Chairman of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security observed that many management and integration challenges remain at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and to strengthen the departmentwide reforms and transformation underway at DHS the Select Committee is considering options such as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) concept to help address these challenges. This letter describes the roles and responsibilities of an effective COO and presents certain options that could serve to strengthen and streamline management functions in a department as large and diverse as DHS. As agreed, we have summarized our reports on the COO concept, organizational transformation, as well as DHS's management and transformation challenges.

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AccountabilityAgency missionsFederal agency reorganizationInternal controlsHomeland securityPerformance measuresChief operating officersContinuity of operationsManagement challengesCorporate mergers