Changing the Bureaucratic Culture

Changing the Bureaucratic Culture

My boss has been (about 30 levels removed) has been criticized for her response after the attempted bomb detonation on a flight to Detroit. I am thrilled that this attempt was stopped and that we are not now discussing the tragic loss of the passengers of that plane.

If my memory serves me correctly, Napolitano has been serving in her current post for less time than President Obama (since he appointed her after his swearing in). And unfortunately she is working within a federal government environment where change is slow and where it is sometimes difficult to pin-point exactly where the buck stops. Did the breakdown in communication between departments come from the typical federal knowledge hoarding that ensures top-dog status? Or did it stem from the lack of funding for the comprehensive database and equipment necessary to share information across platforms? Or it could be some other breakdown that cannot be pin-pointed exactly?

Whatever the cause, I doubt that the problem solely rests on the leader who recently took the helm. The problem may stem from the lack of open communication from secretary to the top levels of management and the lack of accountability across the entire organization. These failures should point us to how to better manage the bureaucracy to excellence, to create a government environment that rivals our best corporations. If we stop looking for scapegoats, we may be able to fix a system that is in desperate need of repair.