Improving Government: Need to Reexamine Organization and Performance

GAO discussed the establishment and viability of a government management oversight commission. GAO noted that: (1) any federal management commission should not serve as a basis for postponing needed actions and should contribute to determining how new management concepts can be put into practice; (2) because the government increasingly relies on nonfederal entities to administer its programs, federal management directives are needed to oversee these entities and to oversee the traditional civilian workforce; (3) new management concepts that emphasize flattening hierarchies, decentralizing authority, creating a customer focus, encouraging competition, and achieving results are needed to replace the outdated structures of many federal agencies; (4) improvements to federal management should include establishing accountability and incentives for achieving program results, emphasizing a long-term focus when filling top management positions and revising the budget process, resolving civilian human resource management, hiring, and image problems, and realigning the machinery of government by promoting ways to decentralize central management agencies' authority and realign agency missions and structures; and (5) a successful federal management commission will need clearly defined mission objectives, a small and highly trained staff, a finite timeframe, and effective interagency relationships.