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Return to Article: OMB to work on capturing potential savings from management agenda

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  "Please..... Accountability? There are too many employees who come to work physically to draw a federal government welfare check. They do nothing, and dare you to ask them to do anything. Until those with that attitude and behavior are able to be fired without tying up an agency's resources, it aint gonna happen. " I totally agree! But look at the reason. The first rule of management is that people do what you pay them to do. Classification of person and grade level reflects government experience because government cannot and does not evaluate work outside government. Most of my managers never examined my background and none ask me to take the lead in areas where I have great experience and education - the jobs go to their friends or long-term government workers. If you get no raise and cannot get promoted and stay in the area, what is the incentive? Answer is you reduce the workload - productivity drops. That is how you get a big staff "putting in the time for their government welfare check". I bet if you look, sick leave for those people also goes up significantly. Problem is managers, not employees. The "slackers" are the managers and the attitude spreads to the staff. Solving the problem means improving the managers and the ability to pay and promote workers and not according to political budget directives. Bush's solution is to avoid the system by going to outsourcing, not solving the problem! We have had "head cuts" - not beheadings but close - and removed several civilian positions (no military positions). However, contractors sitting here now fill several of those positions acting as employees (strictly illegal). Management encourages this! I get "good" bonuses by government standards (.001 times what I got in the private sector). But cannot get promoted to hold down the numbers in higher grades. If I were career oriented I would quit.

  tax payer Posted August 12, 2004 7:11 AM
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  If the Bush administration is really serious about cost-savings and government efficiency they should seriously consider privating the DEFENSE SECURITY SERVICES. The DSS really requires a major overhaul from the bottom up.

  Darnell Wiescikuwictz, Federal Inv.

  Darnell Wiescikuwictz Posted August 10, 2004 6:07 PM
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  Today's Washington Post was full of back slapping by OMB regarding success in the president's "management" agenda. After we finish congratulating ourselves we should examine the agenda. A good hard look shows that it really has nothing to do with management and everything to do with accounting. Counting the cost savings by cutting programs and people and calling it "management." The process is really, really sad.

  Management is the balence between achieving the results of programs by best utilizing the resources of people working in these programs. The entire OMB focus is on results of programs-- almost no attention is paid to the best utilization of people part of this equation. The results of the last three years is that people aren't interested in a career in federal service and the reason for a very low attrition/retirement rate is purely based on economics. Human resource management takes a back seat in almost every Administration office in the government, even to the point where OCIO and computer management resources is more important.

  Across the federal government we see an administration at war with its civil service and a philosphical aversion to empowerment and consensus building, and information sharing.

  For an administration so proud of its business acumen, it shows no wisdom in treating employees this poorly. Most businesses know that its primary asset are its people. It's time for the government to realize the same thing and stop beating up its people.

  HR Specialist

  GovExec.com reader Posted August 10, 2004 7:42 AM
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  Please..... Accountability? There are too many employees who come to work physically to draw a federal government welfare check. They do nothing, and dare you to ask them to do anything. Until those with that attitude and behavior are able to be fired without tying up an agency's resources, it aint gonna happen.

  The issue is truly accountability. I have 32 years of service. I've seen the government go from bad to worse because of the slackers. And the worst part is that everyone I know who works for the government or has recently retired says exactly the same thing, regardless of the agency.

  Talk is cheap. I see the same people who do nothing receive exceptional ratings and performance awards every year. Whatever the formula calculates to is what they get. It is demoralizing to see them get the same thing as those who are dedicated and continually striving for excellence.

  Cultural changes need to take place from the top down, at all levels of government. Perhaps we should start by requiring full disclosure of the White House budget vs. execution of the Iraq mission. Hmmmm

  GovExec.com reader Posted August 10, 2004 6:30 AM