PUBLIC AGENCY REVITALIZATION: HOW AND WHEN DOES ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT FIT IN?

Abstract

The article discusses the role of organizational development in revitalizing a public agency. Revitalization requires the provision of new leadership to organizations that have suffered from gross declines in service delivery, a lack of management capacity, inadequate funding and retrenchment, low morale, and the loss of political support and public credibility. A case study of the revitalization of a major public sector organization, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, or PennDOT, is considered in this article. One of the first steps in the revitalization was the creation of an Office of Inspector General, which in the first year opened 278 cases leading to numerous suspensions, dismissals, arrests, and convictions, serving notice to employees and contractors that fraud and corruption would no longer be tolerated. The governor also issued a ban on macing, the practice of assessing employees for political contributions out of each paycheck, which had been widespread in the districts and some of the central offices. Over time the workforce responded positively to the initiatives to improve performance, although the we versus they attitude that was allowed to fester for quite some time alienated many employees and slowed programs.