A New Headquarters/Field Structure Could Provide a Better Framework for Improving Department of Energy Operations
EMD-81-97
Published: Sep 03, 1981. Publicly Released: Oct 05, 1981.
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Highlights
The Department of Energy (DOE) field structure is a collection of the field offices associated with the various agencies which were consolidated to form DOE. GAO examined the DOE headquarters/field organization structure to determine its impact on the agency's ability to carry out its mission and evaluated the effectiveness of the organizational structure as it relates to lines of authority between headquarters and field offices.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected Sort descending | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Energy | The Secretary of Energy should give program Assistant Secretary-level managers direct line authority over all field program staffs responsible for implementing their respective program requirements. This authority should ensure that headquarters program managers could assign, reassign, direct, control, and evaluate the field staffs authorized to their respective program areas. |
Closed – Not Implemented
DOE stated that it did not agree with the recommendation and did not intend to take any action. GAO reiterated the recommendation in a subsequent report (OCG-82-1), but DOE again stated that it did not agree and did not intend to take action.
|
| Department of Energy | The Secretary of Energy should give direct line authority to the headquarters functional office managers over all their respective field functional office staffs. In exercising this authority, headquarters functional office managers should ensure that the independence of functional offices is maintained in headquarters and in the field so that they can effectively carry out their missions, and program Assistant Secretary-level managers receive functional support for actions that are considered critical for meeting established program goals and objectives. DOE should create, to the extent practicable, dedicated functional support staffs for each program Assistant Secretary-level manager. |
Closed – Not Implemented
DOE stated that it did not agree with the recommendation and did not intend to take any action. GAO reiterated the recommendation in a subsequent report (OCG-82-1), but DOE again stated that it did not agree and did not intend to take any action.
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Agency missionsEnergyFederal agency reorganizationPersonnel managementProgram managementRegulatory agenciesProcurementDecentralizationEnergy researchReorganization