Ghosts in the bureaucratic machine : ressurecting the principles of administration in the Oklahoma health department
By: SHARP, Brett S.; HOUSEL, Steven W
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ArticlePublisher: Thousand Oaks : Sage Publications, March 2004Subject(s): Principles; Ethics; Trust; Administrative ReformThe American Review of Public Administration 34, 1, p. 20-35Abstract: An Oklahoma healkth department scandal erupted when the acting director was arrested for taking a bribe. More revelations quickly followed, including the existence of multiple "ghosts employees" on payroll but having no identifiable job functions. More than 30 employees were terminated. Many faced criminal prosecution. The Tulsa World reported that malfeasance at the agency might have contributed to as many as 1,000 deaths in state nursing homes. The state´s governor assigned a cabinet secretary to recifity the situation. In telling the story of an agency´s denigration and eventual rebirth, the authors argue that no substitute exists for institutional regard for basic administrative principles. They revisit the work of Fayol and Gulick, two pioneers within the principles of administration school. Despite long-standing criticism, their approach seems strongly validated in light of an agency that lost its way by ignoring fundamentals and was sent back on course by an administrator who value them.
An Oklahoma healkth department scandal erupted when the acting director was arrested for taking a bribe. More revelations quickly followed, including the existence of multiple "ghosts employees" on payroll but having no identifiable job functions. More than 30 employees were terminated. Many faced criminal prosecution. The Tulsa World reported that malfeasance at the agency might have contributed to as many as 1,000 deaths in state nursing homes. The state´s governor assigned a cabinet secretary to recifity the situation. In telling the story of an agency´s denigration and eventual rebirth, the authors argue that no substitute exists for institutional regard for basic administrative principles. They revisit the work of Fayol and Gulick, two pioneers within the principles of administration school. Despite long-standing criticism, their approach seems strongly validated in light of an agency that lost its way by ignoring fundamentals and was sent back on course by an administrator who value them.
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