Vice President Al Gore Wednesday released the annual report of the National Performance Review, which includes advice on how to make government work better interspersed with comic relief from the cartoon character Dilbert.
In "Businesslike Government: Lessons Learned From America's Best Companies," Gore describes how federal agencies have applied private-sector practices to their operations to make them more customer-focused and less costly. Dilbert cartoon strips are woven into Gore's anecdotes to keep things light. The Gore book has the same shape and look as Dilbert comic books.
"It is my pleasure in this book to play straight man (a role for which I have special qualifications) to Dilbert--and to his creator, Scott Adams," Gore writes in the introduction.
In the book, Gore lays out five principles for improving government service:
- Treat taxpayers like customers.
- Unleash the creative power of federal employees.
- Cut red tape.
- Use information technology to be more efficient.
- Get regulators to partner with industry.
"The energy and creativity behind government reinvention has come from federal employees themselves," Gore says. "But we have not simply been improvising as we go along, dreaming it up by ourselves. Our models, teachers and partners in this historic undertaking are America's best-run companies."
The book goes on to describe how various agencies have learned new ways of doing business by studying private companies. The Defense Logistics Agency's Defense Distribution Region East looked at how Delta Air Lines, Caterpillar, IBM and Wal-Mart run their depots. By copying private-sector practices, the regional office reduced the time it takes to fill routine orders and saved $28 million doing it. The Defense Department, Gore writes, is learning better corporate travel management from a half-dozen companies. To improve its toll-free information service, the Social Security Administration benchmarked large corporations' customer service lines. Citicorp taught the Agriculture Department's Rural Development Division how to service mortgages better.
Gore notes that bureaucracy is sometimes as prevalent in large companies as it is in government. "Dilbert could have worked for the government, but he doesn't. He works for corporate America," readers are reminded. But Gore's praise for federal employees is reserved for those who adopt private-sector practices.
Gore applauds a group of Commerce Department employees who came up with the idea of using credit cards for small purchases back in 1985. Twelve years later, the program has saved $700 million. By switching to multi-year contracts and buying commercial, off-the-shelf products instead of custom-made goods, the Defense Department is saving billions of dollars. The Customs Service, Agriculture Department and Immigration and Naturalization Service are working together in Miami to speed up the processing of international cargo while simultaneously seizing more illegal drugs.
After Gore praises individuals and offices throughout government for becoming more businesslike, he issues a challenge to the federal workforce: "Show me the reinvention!"
"Restoring the faith of Americans in government will be tough," Gore says. "The only way agencies can make this happen is by convincing their customers, one by one, that things have changed."
Albert's optimism, however, is tempered by Dilbert's cynicism. In one comic strip included in the book, a bright, young worker walks up to Dilbert and says, "I've only worked here one day but I thought of a great idea." Suddenly, his pointy-haired manager appears with a fire hose and blasts the young worker with a deluge of water. "The first idea is always the toughest," Dilbert says. "The urge eventually goes away," his co-worker replies.
NEXT STORY: Single Food Agency Proposed