The Dog Days

The steamy capital empties, but the news never rests.

In Paris, that most civilized of capitals, the streets empty and business comes to a standstill in the dog days of late July and August. It's much the same in Washington, at least for Congress, lobbyists and others who time their vacations to escape the heat. But for the permanent government, life goes on. So here, from our magazine and Web coverage, are a few items of note:

Army Challenge: Army leaders face a daunting challenge as they pursue the most comprehensive restructuring of their combat forces in more than 60 years. The cover story in this issue is the third in our series about the huge problems confronting the military services in the new century.

Space Leadership: There is palpable concern at NASA that the United States might soon slip to third place in the global space race. With shuttles now grounded, and scheduled for retirement in 2010, we might have to depend on Russia to reach the International Space Station we've largely financed. But NASA is barred by law from further cooperation with that country. Russia has a robust space program, China is coming on fast, and thus our leadership in human space flight is at risk.

Automating Decisions: Can computers make better decisions than people? Well, there's a growing business in decision automation. Banks use it to assess loans, and airlines to set prices and schedules. Government agencies have been relying on it to manage logistics, detect fraud or security threats, and evaluate applications. And some experts contend that computers can do as well as humans in determining how job candidates actually will perform.

Competitive Sourcing: Federal workers are winning many competitions against private sector bidders. But theirs are often bitter victories. At the Internal Revenue Service, a federal team just won a competition for a document-handling contract. But more than 500 permanent jobs will vanish as staffs are reduced and more tasks are assigned to intermittent workers.

The Power of RFID: What's the next big thing? Some say it's a technology called radio frequency identification. The military already is using RFID to track a dizzying array of items as they circulate through the global supply chain. In Iraq, Marine supply officers have reduced inventories dramatically because they now know what they have and what's on the way.

Blended Workforce: Many contract workers laboring side by side with federal employees are unfamiliar with agencies' missions and cultures, and thus require considerable on-the-job training. Agency managers can't give them orders or more work without going through their supervisors, who might be in another city. It's a tough management challenge, but it's probably the wave of the future.

Online Personnel Files: The average federal employee has worked for the government for 17 years and has a 150-page personnel file that includes performance reviews, pay and benefits information, and other personal data. Now, authorities are planning to transfer personnel folders into a Web-based system, saying this would save agencies $72 million a year. Unions protest, worried about privacy.