New management directives on the way for DHS
Managers will have greater ability to make budget and workforce changes.
Homeland Security Department officials are preparing to issue new directives governing five key management areas, DHS Deputy Secretary James Loy said Wednesday.
The directives will "force" the integration of "support-side functions" of the department, giving managers the ability to make organizational, budget or employment changes within each of the key areas, Loy said.
According to DHS spokesman Larry Orluskie, the directives govern the department's operations in the areas of financial management, human resources, acquisition, administrative services and information technology.
"It's the details of how these key areas are managed," Orluskie said. "It helps the structure and defines the responsibilities in the department's five management support lines of business." Orluskie was unable to provide more details on the directives Wednesday afternoon.
The directives were submitted to DHS Secretary Tom Ridge last week for final approval, according to Loy, who gave a keynote speech Wednesday on management reform during a forum hosted by the IBM Center for The Business of Government.
Managers should adhere to core values, such as accountability and compliance, no matter what job they are performing, said Loy, who added that sticking to core values has helped him perform his management duties within different agencies, such as the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration. Loy is a former commandant of the Coast Guard and chief of TSA.
Loy also said managers should recognize the value of approaching jobs methodically, rather than trying to rush an outcome. For example, DHS is required to complete a national plan for critical infrastructure and key resources protection by December 2004. He said that the government has spent more than three years since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 , 2001, preparing the plan. Loy said an interim infrastructure protection plan will be submitted to the president on Dec. 17.
"The methodical nature of getting that right was more important to us than whipping up a plan that no one would read or understand," he said.
Partnerships between the public and private sectors are key to achieving objectives, Loy also said.
Prior to the Sept. 11 attacks, homeland security was a cottage industry with participation from a relatively small number of public and private organizations, he said. After the attacks, "the cottage industry blossomed overnight into a mansion."