Archive
NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR REINVENTING GOVERNMENT
(formerly NATIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW)
REINVENTION ROUNDTABLE
HELPING FEDERAL WORKERS
CREATE A GOVERNMENT
THAT WORKS BETTER AND COSTS LESS
ISSUE NO. 3, AUGUST 22, 1994
INSIDE THIS ISSUE....
- Customer Service: One American at a Time
- President Hands Feds More Printing Choices
- Reinvention Heroes Honored Nationwide
- Feds Use Information Technology to Reinvent Communication
- Agencies Get Set For CUstomer Service: HHS, The Mint,
National Park Service, Postal Service, Social Security Administration
- Collaboration Solves Rural Problems
- Georgia Common Access Shrinks Six Forms to One
- President Clinton Calls for Family-Friendly Workplaces
- PMC and NPC Help Labor-managment Partnerships
- FQI Trains for Reinvention
- Procurement Changes Likely
- Hammer Awards
- VISA Cards Save on Small Purchases
- Agencies Automate Time Cards
- "The Five Pillars of TQM: How To Make Total Quality
Management Work For You," By Bill Creech,
A Book Review by Bob Stone
- A Nationwide Conversation to Link Federal Workers:
How to join NPR's Electronic Town Meeting
- Training Video
CUSTOMER SERVICE: ONE AMERICAN AT A TIME
"The dramatic changes we'll have to make must be designed to
convince our customers -- one American at a time -- that
government can work better, that it is working better, that they
might once again believe that we can solve national problems,"
said Vice President Gore at his July 28 meeting with employees of
members of the Small Agency Council.
Paul O'Neill, Chairman and CEO of ALCOA and former Deputy Director
of OMB, has said that leaders must continually affirm their goals,
explaining, "Eighty percent of the leader's job is communication
and half the time I'm misunderstood." Vice President Gore wants
no one to misunderstand the Administration's commitment to
customer service. He has visited eleven agencies since March to
explain and reward customer service. He has given Hammer Awards
to thirty-three federal employee teams and praised hundreds more
employees with words and letters, most for customer service. On
July 13 the Vice President presented the Presidential Award for
Quality and the Quality Improvement Prototype Awards at the
National Conference on Federal Quality.
Agencies will set customer service standards as part of the
customer service plans they will publish in September. In
addition, customer service is covered in agency heads' performance
agreements, and OMB's guidance on 1996 budget preparations asks
agencies to link resources to customer service.
To help agencies gear up, NPR has hosted thirteen customer service
conferences and workshops covering the basics of customer service:
define and survey customers, set service standards and measure
performance, set standards equal to the best of business, get
employee input on how to improve performance, and provide a
customer complaint process.
Those who have worked at customer service have told the Vice
President that a customer-driven government is good for federal
workers as well as for the public. "It's much more enjoyable.
It's actually fun now. One year ago I couldn't say that," Mark
Koehler told the Vice President. Koehler's Rocky Mountain
Properties Team received a Hammer Award during the Vice
President's visit to the General Services Administration June 17.
PRESIDENT HANDS FEDS MORE PRINTING CHOICES
President Clinton recently told agencies they are free to go
outside the GPO 1) for printing not intended for the general
public and 2) for all photocopying. He defined GPO's purview
narrowly in the signing statement accompanying the Legislative
Branch Appropriations Act of 1994.
The President said, "The concerns raised by this Act reinforce my
eagerness and resolve to accomplish a comprehensive reform of
Federal printing in accordance with constitutional principles, an
effort that began last year with the Vice President's National
Performance Review." NPR recommended more competition in
government printing in order to reduce costs and improve printing
services.
REINVENTION HEROES HONORED NATIONWIDE
Federal Executive Boards and Federal Executive Associations will
honor local heroes of reinvention during September. Ceremonies
throughout the country will celebrate the first year of
reinvention progress and feature NPR's new training video.
Contact local FEB/FEAs to get times and dates and to nominate
teams of federal employees who have made extraordinary progress in
transforming government.
FEDS USE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
TO REINVENT COMMUNICATION
"NPR's electronic town meeting (see back page) exemplifies the
coming era of collaborative communication that information
technology makes possible," said Jock Gill, of the White House
Office of Media Affairs and co-founder of Americans Communicating
Electronically, an organization that works for widespread access
to electronic information. "Information technology at its best
amplifies human capabilities."
NPR advocates electronic communication in government and champions
the electronic information systems and forums, often Internet-
based, that are reinventing the way government workers get
information and communicate. Three useful starting points for
federal workers are ACE, OPM Mainstreet, and FedWorld.
ACE Gopher Server is an Internet-based government information
server supported by Americans Communicating Electronically and the
USDA Cooperative Extension Service. ACE is the host of the
National Performance Review Information System and is the best
source of reinvention information.
OPM Mainstreet is an electronic bulletin board system that
features human resources management information and forums for
discussing federal personnel issues. OPM Mainstreet Forums
include "Quality Management," "Performance Management" and
"Employee and Labor Relations."
FedWorld, operated by the National Technical Information Service
of the Department of Commerce, provides access to more than a
hundred and thirty federally-operated data bases. The President's
Health Care Proposal, the text of the General Agreement on Trade
and Tariffs (GATT), a list of federal job openings (also on OPM
Mainstreet), and White House releases are all available through
FedWorld.
A computer, communications software, a modem, and phone line give
access to OPM Mainstreet and FedWorld. ACE documents are
accessible by Internet and, in many instances, by Internet e-mail.
For those without equipment, there are an increasing number of
access points such as libraries.
In addition to these sources, NPR's NetResults staff are
developing a multimedia Mosaic home page for September release.
For more information on the coming interactive ToolKit, send a
blank message to netresults@ace.esusda.gov
ELECTRONIC INFORMATION FOR FEDS
Source | Internet Access | Dial-Up Access | Personal Assistance |
ACE | ace.esusda.gov | n/a | 202/720-8176 |
OPM Mainstreet | n/a | 202/606-4800 | 202/606-1396 |
FedWorld | fedworld.gov (telnet) | 703/321-8020 | 703/487-4608 |
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY READING SUGGESTIONS:
- "Managing in a Wired World," Fortune, July 11, 1994, pp. 44-56
- "The Strange World of the Internet," Time, July 25, 1994,
pp. 50-56
- "Connections: New Ways of Working in a Networked Organization,"
Lee Sproull and Sara Kiesler, MIT Press, 1991
- "Realizing the Information Future, the Internet and Beyond,"
the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the
National Research Council, National Academy Press,1994
- "Reengineering Through Information Technology," the National
Performance Review, September 1993
SPANNING BOUNDARIES IMPROVES CUSTOMER SERVICE
COLLABORATION SOLVES RURAL PROBLEMS
"Just having the chance to talk together about rural problems
often leads to new solutions," noted Bob Lovan, Director of the
National Rural Development Partnership. The NRDP works through
State Rural Development Councils and a National Council to improve
the vitality of rural communities. State councils are headed by
an Executive Director who brings public and private resources
together and builds a turf-free sense of shared gains and/or
losses among Council members. The councils break down boundaries
between federal, state, and local organizations. Successes
include elimination of a costly USDA audit requirement in South
Dakota, combining several federal planning requirements in
Washington State, and creating a single loan application for small
businesses seeking federal and state assistance in Kansas.
"The councils promote government that works for the customer, not
the bureaucracy," said Lovan. Begun in 1990, 40 federal agencies
now participate in the National Council and 39 states have formed
councils. Contact NRDP at 202/690-2394.
GEORGIA COMMON ACCESS SHRINKS SIX FORMS TO ONE
Noting the paperwork barrier to services, former President Jimmy
Carter challenged Atlanta to make applying for social programs
more customer-friendly. Led by Gordon Sherman, Regional
Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, the Atlanta
Federal Executive Board worked with state and local partners to
create the Georgia Common Access Application. Helped by
community-based workers and volunteers, residents of pilot areas
now use one form to apply for six programs: Food Stamps, WIC,
Medicaid, housing assistance, AFDC, and Supplemental Security
Income (SSI). Eight pages replace sixty-four pages of forms.
Mary Ivory, counselor for the Family Connection in Atlanta, told
the Vice President, "We...are able to move on with other concerns
and issues of the family, in our effort to help them reach self
sufficiency and just improve the quality of their lives."
President Carter has called the federal and state collaboration
behind the new form "a miracle."
As of August 1, 1994, 84 people had used the new form. Project
backers expect to see the project grow and hope to automate the
current paper form for electronic processing. For information
contact Joe Juska at the Atlanta FEB, 404/331-4400.
AGENCIES GET SET FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE
DEFINE YOUR CUSTOMERS:
DIRECT & INDIRECT CUSTOMERS AND PARTNERS SERVED BY HHS
An HHS work group has developed a model of customer service which
has circulated among other agencies who are also defining their
customers. (See diagram at right.) "Distinguishing among direct
and indirect customers and partners sharpens our thinking about
customer service strategies," said Allan Rivlin of the HHS team.
In the HHS model, direct customers receive services or benefits
from the federal government, while indirect customers receive
federal benefits and services through nonfederal partners.
HHS notes that it alone is responsible for serving its direct
customers and has service initiatives underway in two large
direct service agencies, the Social Security Administration and
the Indian Health Service. The HHS Customer Service Team has
found two complementary approaches to improving services to
indirect customers. "First, we improve service to our partners
(listening to their views, giving them timely, accurate
information, etc.)," said Rivlin. "Second, we work with our
partners to get input from the indirect customers we serve
jointly, so that, together, we can deliver the quality service
they deserve."
BENCHMARK TO BEST IN BUSINESS:
PRIVATE SECTOR HELPS MINT
To fill customer orders faster, the US Mint is studying T. Rowe
Price, Vanguard, Black and Decker, and the Department of Veterans
Affairs. After looking at their telephone sales systems, the Mint
is designing its own new phone structure. The Mint is considering
a phone system that would allow callers to either speak to an
operator or conduct business through an automated attendant.
Those studied use 800-numbers but advised the Mint to judge the
effects of an increase in call volume and length. For more
information, contact US Mint Quality Manager Bernie Girouard at
202/874-6160.
SURVEY CUSTOMERS: VISITORS' VIEWS SHAPE PARKS
Children find lower signs and more interesting information at the
White House as the result of surveys of visitors sponsored by the
National Park Service. Lives may have been saved because the NPS
translated directions for handling car breakdowns into German,
Italian, and French after discovering that 75 percent of visitors
to Death Valley are foreign.
"After 20,000 interviews I am convinced there is no way to know
what park visitors want except to ask them," said Gary Machlis,
director of the National Park Service Visitor Service Project.
"Relying on complaints alone can lead to mistaken service changes.
Those who complain and those who respond to our systematic
inquiries say very different things."
The National Park Service has systematically surveyed park
visitors since 1989. Today's program, which surveys about 10
parks each year, grew out of a 1979 cooperative agreement with
the University of Idaho. Surveying has increased as park
officials have realized the importance of customer feedback to
their management.
SET STANDARDS/MEASURE RESULTS:
STATS SPARK USPS ACTION
One day delivery for local mail; two day delivery within 600
miles; three day delivery for the rest. The US Postal Service
adopted these standards in 1971 and began augmenting internal
performance measures with independent verification in 1990. They
tell customers what to expect and point USPS at what to fix when
numbers drop. When this spring's statistics showed big problems
in Chicago, the Post Office changed managers, created a service
improvement team, and put more people on the front line. On time
delivery is up by 10 percentage points so far.
GET EMPLOYEE INPUT: SSA SURVEYS 65,000
The Social Security Administration has mailed questionnaires to
all 65,000 employees and involved 2,500 in focus groups to get
their ideas: What do SSA customers want? How can SSA provide the
desired level of service? Employee input is being used to develop
SSA's Customer Service Plan.
STATUS REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION
THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
PRESIDENT CLINTON CALLS FOR
FAMILY-FRIENDLY WORKPLACES
On July 11, the President signed a Memorandum on Expanding Family-
Friendly Work Arrangements in the Executive Branch. The
Memorandum directs heads of agencies to develop more flexible work
arrangements through policies such as job sharing, career part-
time employment, alternative work schedules, telecommuting, and
satellite work locations. President Clinton has signed a total of
22 directives on reinventing government.
PERFORMANCE AGREEMENTS CASCADE TO
SUBCABINET OFFICERS
As the President continues signing performance agreements with
agency heads (the Department of Transportation being the latest),
agency heads are, in turn, cascading the performance agreements
through their organizations. Taking the lead are the Small
Business Administration and the Departments of Labor,
Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development.
PMC AND NPC HELP LABOR-MANAGEMENT PARTNERSHIPS
A new union-management agreement: "Partnerships for Effective
Government" resulted from discussions between the President's
Management Council and federal employee union leaders. PMC
members and union leaders plan to use the Agreement in their
efforts to establish partnerships.
The National Partnership Council has created the Labor-Management
Partnership Clearinghouse as a convenient source of speakers,
information on partnership agreements including the PMC agreement,
case studies, and training resources. Contact the Clearinghouse
at 202/606-2940.
OMB ISSUES BUDGET GUIDANCE
Customer service, electronic government, and performance measures
are listed as Administration priorities in OMB's guidance for the
1996 budget. OMB's revised circular No. A-11, "Preparation and
Submission of Budget Estimates," also asks agencies to show how
restructuring or process reengineering improves program management
and service delivery. Resource requests should be linked with
Administration and agency goals. For the first time, the A-11 is
available electronically and contains a comment form on which to
submit suggestions to OMB. For information contact OMB's Budget
Review and Concepts Division at 202/395-3172.
FQI TRAINS FOR REINVENTION
The Federal Quality Institute has developed a full range of
courses to support the transformation of government. FQI offers
both basic training: Creating a Customer-Driven Government and
special topic workshops: Business Process Reengineering,
Benchmarking, Putting Customers First, Labor-Management
Partnerships, Human Side of Downsizing and Restructuring, Culture
Change and Valuing Diversity, the Change Role of Leaders, and
Managing Organizational Change Successfully. FQI will also help
agencies plan training strategies. Contact FQI at 202/376-3747.
THE CONGRESS
PROCUREMENT CHANGES LIKELY
Among approximately 70 pending bills that contain NPR
recommendations, procurement reform would have the most far-
reaching impacts. Both houses passed bills earlier this summer,
and conferees agreed to final legislative language on August 19.
The legislation will simplify procedures for contracts under
$100,000 and increase commercial goods purchases. This
legislation combined with administrative action (On June 29
Defense Secretary William Perry signed an order to eliminate
military specifications for many items.) is expected to produce
great savings in unit costs and purchase processing.
OTHER INITIATIVES MOVING
The Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government
Appropriations bill awaits conference committee action. Versions
passed by the House and Senate allow agencies to keep funds earned
through recycling and give agencies more control over contracting
for building maintenance and repair. The House version provides
for a 50% carryover of unobligated operating funds.
The Local Flexibility Act which will provide program waivers for
states and localities is in conference.
Financial management reform has passed the House and awaits Senate
floor action. A bill to eliminate or modify more than 250
congressionally-mandated reports is ready for floor action in the
Senate. Reorganization of the Department of Agriculture has
passed the Senate and awaits House floor action. S.1824, the
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1994, reported out by the Senate
Rules and Administration Committee on June 9, provides, among
other things, a biennial Congressional budget resolution as
recommended by NPR.
HAMMER AWARDS (MAY 31 - AUGUST 22, 1994)
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, JUNE 20, 1994
The Employment and Training Administration Region X Dislocated
Worker Team for the "One Stop Shopping" Boeing Reemployment
Project.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Price Publication Improvement Team
for dramatically shortening the time to distribute consumer
prices.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and
Management, Administrative Efficiency Task Group, for eliminating
14,000 manual time sheets, 2,372 pages of manuals and 700 purchase
orders.*
The Occupational Safety and Health Team, Parsippany, New Jersey,
for the "Quick Fix" discounts that encourage fast fixes by
employers.
The Pension and Welfare Benefits Field Focus Group for an 83
percent reduction in paperwork related to case summary reports.
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION,
JUNE 17, 1994
The 100% Satisfaction Team at the NY Commodity Center for service
to the Department of Justice.
The No-Hassle Customer Team at the Fort Worth Federal Supply
Center for fixing customer problems: no forms, no waiting, no
wondering about refunds.
The Chicago Customer Supply Team for employee empowerment and
customer service that increased the offices buying from the FSC by
44% in one year.
The Quick Computer Support Team at the Philadelphia IRMS Office
for reducing ordering time for IT equipment and services from one
year to 30 days.
The Public Building Service, Denver, for developing better,
quicker, more customer-oriented leased space and building
maintenance services.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
MAY 31, 1994
Dan Beard, Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, for an
employee-managed restructuring that eliminated several supervisory
levels and reduced headquarters staff from 2,000 to 100.
The U.S. Geologic Survey, Information Dissemination System
Reinvention Laboratory, for its new delivery system for maps and
other spatial data that was designed with customer input and
advice from the Hershey Chocolate Company.
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION,
JUNE 6, 1994
The Disability Reenginering Team for a redesign of the SSA
disability claims application system that will shorten by 20
months a process than can currently involve 43 different SSA
employees and 739 days.
The Georgia Common Access Team for an 8 page application form and
single point of access to replaces 64 pages in separate
applications for programs such as food stamps, housing, SSI, and
AFDC.*
The Customer Service Team for conducting focus groups of customers
and surveying all 65,000 employees for ideas on how to improve SSA
service.*
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT,
JULY 13, 1994
The Federal Personnel Manual Sunset Team for abolishing the
10,000-page FPM one year ahead of schedule.
The Staffing Automation Team for using telephone and other
innovative uses of technology to streamline hiring processes,
reducing, for example, processing time from eight to two weeks in
a recent Immigration and Naturalization Service initiative.
The SF-171 Elimination Team for identifying customer-friendly
methods of applying for federal jobs.
The OPM Buy-Out Team for excellent customer service to workers and
agencies on buyout issues.
The National Partnership Council for providing groundbreaking
leadership in developing partnerships between labor and management
throughout the federal government.
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION, JUNE 15, 1994
Mission to Planet Earth - EOSDIS Version 0 Team, for using
customer input and innovative techniques to develop its prototype
of the largest civil information system in the world.
SMALL AGENCY COUNCIL, JULY 28, 1994
The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation's Missing Participant
Team for its program that locates and restores pensions to former
employees of firms with unfunded pension plans.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency for reinventing itself to
improve customer service through a streamlined "all-hazards"
structure.
The Small Business Administration for reducing loan-related
paperwork and for its comprehensive business plan that includes
performance agreements with all 68 district office heads and SBA's
headquarters managers.
ELECTRONIC BENEFITS TRANSFER TASK FORCE,
MAY 31, 1994,
for a plan to offer one ATM-type card to deliver all
Federal and state government benefits within five years.*
*More information elsewhere in newsletter.
STRATEGIES FOR WORKING BETTER AND COSTING LESS
CLEMENTINE REINVENTS SPACE EXPLORATION
Twenty-five years after Neil Armstrong became the first man on the
moon, a new generation has reinvented space exploration. The
multi-color pictures of the entire moon now seen in coffee table
books, in galleries and on Internet were taken by the spacecraft
Clementine at a fraction of the cost of previous space shots. The
Clementine Project took 22 months and $75 million rather than the
five years and at least $250 million typical for deep space
missions. In a Technology Management article, Clementine Project
Manager Pedro Rustan credits ten management techniques for the
success of this collaboration among the Ballistic Missile Defense
Organization, the Naval Research Laboratory, and NASA. Clementine
saved money and time by adapting available military and commercial
technology, streamlining management controls, improving
procurement, and pursuing a focused mission that minimized
spacecraft size and weight. For information call NRL's Paul
Regeon at 202/767-6637.
FROM PAPER TO ELECTRONICS:
A NEW BENEFIT DELIVERY SYSTEM
On May 31, 1994, Vice President Al Gore joined Health and Human
Services Secretary Donna Shalala, Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy,
and Texas State Comptroller John Sharp to announce a new way to
deliver federal and state benefits. Endorsing electronic benefits
transfer, the Vice President said, "The plan is elegantly simple,
with a dramatic impact. It says we will create one card, like
other ATM cards, to deliver all federal and state government
benefits. Our system will be built on existing infrastructure, so
every recipient of benefits will have electronic access to those
benefits within five years."
The plan was developed by a Federal EBT task force created to
implement an NPR recommendation (see Reengineering Through
Information Technology). OMB's Isabel Sawhill chaired the task
force with Ellen Haas of Agriculture and Kenneth Apfel of HHS as
Vice Chairs. They were advised by the Departments of Veterans
Affairs, Treasury, and Defense; the Railroad Retirement Board;
clients; states and state associations; food retailers; and banks
and other financial institutions.
Under the recommended strategy, EBT will deliver more than $112
billion a year to 31 million welfare recipients, unemployed
workers and military pensioners within five years. The switch to
a card used at automated teller machines and retail store
registers will save $195 million in administrative costs annually.
Similar programs have already achieved success in states such as
Texas, Maryland and New Mexico.
VISA CARDS SAVE ON SMALL PURCHASES
Increased use of government purchase cards will save time and
money on 11 million small purchases made each year. "The card
will permit you to buy the small things you need to do your job
without the expensive paperwork and infuriating delays that go
with today's procurement system," Vice President Al Gore told
federal workers in a July 20 speech.
The card, obtainable through a General Services Administration
contract with VISA, saves the $50 in paperwork associated with
every small purchase. For information about the purchase card,
contact Alan Zaic at GSA at 703/305-7261.
AGENCIES AUTOMATE TIME CARDS
When the General Services Administration finishes automating its
time and attendance system, it expects to save $650,000 a year in
return for the one time costs of systems changes and installation.
Department of Labor supervisors now review 14,000 fewer pieces of
paper each pay period because their certifications were
consolidated during the first stage of DOL's T&A automation
project.
NPR championed such projects in its report Improving Financial
Management: "Federal agencies should review their payroll systems
for employees with a standard work week, and (1) eliminate sign-in
and sign-out sheets, (2) eliminate the use of time cards, (3) move
to automated systems that require data to be entered on an
exception basis, and (4) use existing technology to enter and
approve time and attendance data electronically."
For information on the NPR recommendation call Joe Cook at NPR.
For information about the new DOL system and about five other
systems including GSA's that were demonstrated at a conference
hosted by the National Science Foundation in May, call Fred
Danzig, DOL, 202/219-4881; Randy Warner, GSA, 816/926-7755; Al
Muhlebauer, NSF, 703/306-1280; Margaret Cross, the Department of
Health and Human Services, 202/690-7030; Larry Eisenhart, the
Department of State, 703/875-6920; Sheila Fleishall, the
Department of Commerce, 202/482-1142.
"THE FIVE PILLARS OF TQM: HOW TO MAKE
TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT WORK FOR YOU,"
BY BILL CREECH (DUTTON)
BOOK REVIEW BY BOB STONE
In 1982 I was trying to interest America's military leadership in
supporting an initiative to promote excellence on our military
bases, which I oversaw from 1981-1993 as Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Installations. Every time I made a
proposal to a senior Air Force commander, the answer I got was,
"What does General Creech think of your plan?"
I soon understood that I needed the answer to that question if I
was to enlist the Air Force in my quest for excellence. So I went
to visit Langley Air Force Base, headquarters of TAC -- the
Tactical Air Command. There I had my first exposure to the
leadership miracle created by Bill Creech. America's military was
still reeling from the after-effects of Vietnam, and the Pentagon
was still in the thrall of McNamara's centralization and
bureaucratization of the defense establishment. But TAC was in
the middle of a huge quality management revolution -- although the
term was unknown at the time.
While all the rest of the Defense Department was shaving costs to
be able to afford to maximize the number of military units (hollow
as they were), TAC was zeroing units off the books so as to be
able to afford paint and building materials to spruce up TAC's
bases. In fact, an IG whispered to me that a crazy general was
spending the Reagan build-up money on paint. Bill Creech's
reason? "Pride is the fuel of human accomplishment." Some crazy!
While all the rest of the Defense Department was managing inputs
on the theory that if you got the inputs right, the results would
follow (too bad they never did), TAC was posting squadron flying
results on billboards along the flight lines and in front of the
commissaries, and rewarding units that met their planned flight
programs with three-day weekends.
And most important, while all the rest of Defense was centralizing
and consolidating its activities to eliminate duplication and
achieve "economies of scale" that somehow never materialized, TAC
was breaking up its centralized organizations and reorganizing
around the human spirit (Bill Creech's term).
The result was the biggest military success story in 30 years:
TAC's productivity and combat capability doubled in six years, and
showed the way for a new generation of military leaders to lead.
Bill Creech's management reforms formed the basis for America's
astonishing success in Operation Desert Storm.
When I was named NPR project director, my first passion was to get
the Vice President to Langley Air Force Base to see first hand
what quality management could do in government. And last
September, when the Vice President wrote an op-ed piece for the
New York Times to describe his goal for NPR, he cited Bill
Creech's experience at TAC as evidence of what government
employees could accomplish.
Since retiring from the Air Force in 1984, Creech has advised
dozens of companies, large and small, and has helped turn around
several that were in trouble. In The Five Pillars of TQM, he
tells stories about GE, Boeing, Honda, Toyota, GM, and others, in
addition to his Air Force experience. His five pillars are
product, process, leadership, commitment, and organization. His
most important lesson is "organize small." In fact Creech
understands the importance of organization better than any of the
management writers. He explains why you can't get real TQM unless
you organize for it.
Five Pillars of TQM is the best book out on quality management.
It should help anyone trying to carry out the reforms of the
National Performance Review.
MORE NPR REPORTS AVAILABLE
Most of NPR's 38 systems and agency reports had been published by
mid-August.
Systems reports now available are:
- Creating Quality Leadership and Management
- Streamlining Management Control
- Transforming Organizational Structures
- Improving Customer Service
- Improving Financial Management
- Reinventing Human Resource Management
- Reengineering Through Information Technology
- Rethinking Program Design
- Strengthening the Partnership in
Intergovernmental Service Delivery
- Reinventing Environmental Management
- Improving Regulatory Systems.
Agency reports now available are:
- Agency for International Development
- Department of Agriculture
- Department of Education
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Federal Emergency Management Agency
- General Services Administration
- Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Department of the Interior
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- National Science Foundation/Office of Science and Technology
Policy
- Office of Personnel Management
- Small Business Administration
- Department of State/U.S. Information Agency
- Department of Veterans Affairs.
Keep up with what's been published by 1) using Internet (for
directions on obtaining NPR material electronically, send a blank
Internet e-mail message to: npr@ace.esusda.gov) or 2) calling NPR
at 202/632-0150 and asking to be faxed a list with instructions
for obtaining available reports.
A NATIONWIDE CONVERSATION TO LINK FEDERAL WORKERS:
HOW TO JOIN NPR'S ELECTRONIC TOWN MEETING
WHAT IS THE "ELECTRONIC TOWN MEETING"?
The Electronic Town Meeting is an experiment in using the
information superhighway to hold large-scale conferences. The
audience is the federal workforce, and the subject is reinventing
government. Because the technology is experimental, attendance
will be limited to five thousand participants.
HOW DOES THE "ELECTRONIC TOWN MEETING" WORK?
The Electronic Town Meeting is being "built" in partnership with
the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, the Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory, and MITRE Corporation. Advanced technologies such as
Mosaic, the World Wide Web, and artificial intelligence are used
to present issues, distribute electronic documents on reinventing
government, link people interested in common reinvention issues,
and provide the "shop floor" perspective on reinvention directly
to the White House.
WHEN IS THE ELECTRONIC TOWN MEETING?
The Electronic Town Hall will begin in late September and last
into October.
HOW DO I ATTEND?
Attendance will be by Internet-based electronic mail. If you are
unsure whether you have access to the Internet talk to your agency
information resources director. You can also participate if you
belong to one of the commercial data services such as Compuserve,
America On-Line, Prodigy, or Delphi. To receive an invitation
with complete information including dates, send a blank e-mail
message to the following address:
Participation@town-hall.ai.mit.edu
WHAT TOPICS WILL BE DISCUSSED?
Town Meeting conversations will parallel topics in the NPR's From
Red Tape to Results; Creating a Government that Works Better and
Costs Less. Samples are quality leadership and management,
streamlining management control, transforming organizational
structures, improving customer service, reinventing support
services, and reinventing human resource management.
WHAT IF I CANNOT ATTEND?
Those who cannot participate because of space limitations or
because they hear about the Town Hall too late can still learn
about what happens from summaries that will be posted on NPR's
information system.
SNEAK PREVIEW -- TRAINING VIDEO
What's reinvention? Who's doing it? How can you help? Civil
Servants who are transforming the federal government star in our
new training video, available in September.
Call 1-800-790-7585 to order. (Payment is by personal credit card
or the government's OPAC and IMPAC systems.)
COMING IN SEPTEMBER:
- AGENCY CUSTOMER SERVICE STANDARDS
- NPR'S FIRST YEAR REPORT
- REINVENTION TRAINING VIDEO
REINVENTION ROUNDTABLE
750 17th Street, NW, Suite 200
Washington, D.C. 20006
Phone: 202/632-0150 ext. 122
Fax: 202/632-0390
E-mail: rego.news@npr.gsa.gov
To get copies by Internet e-mail:
write: almanac@ace.esusda.gov
with message: send npr-roundtable catalog
Produced by the staff of the
National Performance Review
Abigail Nichols, Editor