Political Management of the Bureaucracy: A Guide to Reform and Control

"An extraordinarily creative combination of inside information and sophisticated social science analysis. A splendid demonstration that activism and objectivity need not be at odds." - Aaron Wildavsky, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley "The best-known head of the Federal civil service since Theodore Roosevelt" - the Washington Post Because of The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 proposed by President Carter, improving the operations of the U.S. Government started during the Reagan Administration when the author became head of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Donald Devine's narrative of his and the Reagan administration's efforts to take control of the federal bureaucracy - to ensure that the election mandate of 1980 was carried out and also to bring about reforms to benefit taxpayers and federal employees alike - is an exceptional case study in government management. Full of controversy, humor, intrigue, bureaucratic warfare, daring and betrayal, this book is also one of the most significant contributions to the political science of managing the two million person federal work force ever written. Devine's achievements while head of the federal civil service from 1981-1985 included cutting more than 100,000 jobs from the bureaucracy, saving tens of billions of dollars through systematic reforms, and helping many Reagan appointees execute the "Reagan Revolution" in their departments, agencies, bureaus and commissions. This book provides a brand new perspective on what Jimmy Carter's Civil Service Reform Act allowed Ronald Reagan actually to accomplish as president. It will long remain a dynamic management guide for future political administrators, at all levels of government, who wish to see election results translated into public policy.