The Bureaucrat's Country Club
Gourley, Jay
The Bureaucrat’s Country Club by Jay Gou r ley At the end of the gentle, winding driveway that zigzags up the steep hill from U. S. 29, the Federal Executive Institute looks like an ersatz...
...The Bureaucrat’s Country Club by Jay Gou r ley At the end of the gentle, winding driveway that zigzags up the steep hill from U. S. 29, the Federal Executive Institute looks like an ersatz southern mansion or a high-priced old-folks home...
...One person had to fire a subordinate...
...And hardly anyone understands the true benefit derived from this expenditure...
...Consequently, most of Angelino’s fellows were in town playing on local courts...
...Jay Gourley is a Washington writer...
...ards, but most rushed to get in line : \ ’ the “social hour...
...Usually in the afternoon we have a lecture, then our social period...
...Then, suddenly, I understood it all...
...We study things like, say, the behavioral approach to management,” he explained graciously as we got down to business...
...Hank smiled at this triumph of modem technology...
...and to develop individual executive knowledge and skill in processes for accomplishment of desired results...
...Fully accredited students can buy a Federal Executive Institute tie bar for $3, a deck of Federal Executive Institute playing cards, or a Federal Executive Institute paperweight for the office back in Washington...
...After breakfast we might have a seminar or discussion,” Hank said...
...The school costs the public more than $3 million a year, counting the salaries of those who attend...
...Angelino is a friendly fellow who measures in at what looks to be just under six feet...
...I talked with Angelino because most of his classmates were away from the grounds...
...Jefferson’s university, is where the high-level bureaucrats sharpen skills that run the government...
...But later, when I showed up at the Institute, Newland was almost happy to see me...
...to insure that executives in the Federal service are identified with the government as a whole in the pursuit of national goals, objectives and priorities...
...He confided that many reporters call and bother him with questions, but few had ever taken the time and trouble to come and see for themselves the good that the Institute does...
...The camaraderie is evidenced by the Federal Executive Institute jewelry sales...
...Angelino is one of the few GS-l5s, only 27 in all, who were honored with participation in the special program, which is usually reserved for the higher “supergrades...
...We also study things like x-y management...
...For instance, “If you are evacu ating the office in a fire, you would use x-management techniques,” Angelino explained, to illustrate a use for the hardline approach...
...The y-theory is that people want to work...
...On this particular day Angelino’s class had a lecture at 4 p. m. Labor economist Seymour Wolfbein spoke on various demographic trends...
...The x-management is based on the idea that people work only for money and must be forced to do their jobs...
...Distant trucks on the highway and spring robins nesting in the manicured shrubbery are the only sounds drifting across the broad grounds...
...Then we socialize, play cards, shoot pool or go to a movie or whatever,” Hank explained...
...Some of us play horseshoes...
...Angelino has 22 years government experience, so he’s near the top of the government pay scale, making $36,5 00...
...This special government-owned “college,” near Mr...
...The Institute is part of the government’s commitment to the continuing education of its top officials...
...I read these passages over and over again...
...His conscientious exercise has kept him trim and firm...
...I can’t imagine anyone getting through elementary school and not knowing what systems analysis is,” he said impatiently...
...If you 1 ake your lunch with you, you can get about three hours in...
...I get my exercise first thing in the morning,” he smiled...
...All are emblazened with the official Federal Executive Institute crest...
...One of us would pretend to be the subordinate and one would pretend to be the manager,” Hank said...
...After lunch there’s reading, discussions, athletics or whatever you want to do...
...That’s why I flew to Charlottesville, Virginia, on this spring morningto get the story straight from those who know it best, men like Hank Angelino, a GS-15 handpicked from the Army Audit Agency...
...Explaining Systems Analysis To help sharpen the executive’s skills, the Institute employs some of the most modern teaching techniques...
...We usually have lunch at noon...
...The building had come into being as the Thomas Jefferson Inn, and its exclusive Southern charm was intended to lure high-paying customers...
...Our time is pretty evenly divided between recreation, athletics, and discussions...
...The aim of the Institute is to provide an open learning environment which facilitates that individual process of executive development...
...In FEI style, Angelino wore a sweater and sport shirt along with a pair of casual slacks...
...After the social period comes dinner, and then we have another discussion group until about nine...
...Behind the small bar, some students opened the Institute’s whiskey bottles and tapped the tubs of canned beer while their fellow students at the supergrade school pushed up close to get their share of the refreshments...
...Then Newland gave me the brochures that had been prepared to explain the purpose of the Institute to those who had not yet benefited from its exhaustive training...
...It’s hard to go skiiitig though...
...Program evaluation, program objective or systems analysis,” were some examples he offered...
...When many of the other students were still out playing tennis, Angelino was already at work reading the morning paper with time to spare before lunch...
...Since Hank is not a skier, the hectic pace doesn’t bother him...
...These more sophisticated theories of minagement may seem complex, but they have their practical applications...
...Usually we have a volleyball game going,” he said, gesturing to the empty volleyball court a few yards away...
...For instance we study men like Likert, that’s L-I-KBRT, who says a middle-level manager should act as a link between the people he supervises and top management...
...And the white-pillared building, with its wide porches and lonely rocking chairs, radiates a sense of solitude and serenity...
...Several students asked questions afteri...
...One of the advantages of FEI is that you get to know a lot of people very, very well,” says Angelino...
...When I asked about why there were YO few students on the grounds Hank explained that today was an exception to the rule...
...Before visiting the Institute, I talked with FEI director Chester A. Newland over the phone about the little-understood point of the FEI...
...But Angelino is more industrious than many...
...kit theri Angelino frowned...
...In short, the learning process is very largely one of setting individual objectives, planning for their accomplishment, implementing individual learning programs, monitoring progress toward objectives, evaluating results, and formulating new or revised objectives...
...A typical day at the Institute starts early, at about seven or eight, when breakfast is served...
...Spurred by my interest in the “link theory,” Angelino continued...
...But you would use y-management if you were supervising a bunch of scientists working on an atomic bomb...
...When it’s colder some go up t s the Blue Ridge to ski...
...X-Managemen t Techniques As I introduced myself, Angelino smiled, shook my hand, took his FEI nametag from his pants pocket and pinned it on his sweater...
...He sports a distinguished mustache with grey streaks-the only hint of his 44 years...
...According to the literature: “The basic goals of FEI are to augment the ability of the upper civil service in order to insure high-level competence, responsiveness, and continuity among those near the top of government...
...Some play golf...
...I failed to understand at first how really important these terms are, and my ignorance offended Newland...
...One that pleased Angelino most was the “instant replay camera with soundtracks so that you can act out a part and then see how you looked...
...Another had to discuss a pay raise that a subordinate wanted...
...The swimming pool had not yet been cleaned and the Institute’s appropriations have not been adequate to build tennis courts...
Vol. 8 • May 1976 • No. 3
