SPIERS SPEAKS CANDIDLY, PUBLICLY, ABOUT STATE'S MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS
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News Highlights
Spiers speaks candidly,
publicly, about State's
management problems
In a blunt, hazd-hitting speech at
the Foreign Service Club, Under Secre-
tary Ronald I. Spiers on January 29
publicly gave voice to some inside crit-
icisms that have been made of the De-
partment in recent years, in language
that at `some points upstaged the De-
partment's critics.
The management chief cited four
priorities on his agenda-inadequate fi-
nancial resources, attributable in part to
State's being "timid" about demanding
what it needs; diverse "structural prob-
lems" of the personnel system, includ-
ing the Senior Foreign Service; and the
need for more extensive internal com-
munication and a Department reorgani-
zation.
Mr. Spiers spoke at a luncheon of
the American Foreign Service Associa-
tion, asthe third person to appear in the
organization's "Viewpoint" series
(STATE, January). "We have ap-
proaches under way to deal with all of
these problems," he said. "I'm reason-
ably optimistic about the prospects of
finding fixes to many if we're persist-
ent enough."
Resources
The under secretary asserted: "I
view the Department as a principal na-
tional security arm of the U.S. Govern-
ment, comparable with our military and
intelligence services. Indeed, I think
it's the most important of the three .. .
Yet the Department has been treated as
the orphan among the three when it has
come to the annual distribution of re-
sources. Worse, it has tended to treat
itself as somehow the least deserving of
the three. Too often it's been reticent
and timid-almost apologetic-about
speaking up for the resources it needs
to do its job."
For example, he said, a study he
commissioned had shown that 70% of
the intelligence items regulazly being
reported to high Government officials
had "originated in Foreign Service re-
porting."
He added: "Nevertheless, over the
last decade we had an l8% reduction in
the number of people devoted to eco-
nomic and political reporting and
analysis-the heart of the Department's
responsibilities-as we had to cannibal-
ize to meet consular workload increases
and provide administrative support for
other agencies."
Secretary Shultz has been effective
in "beginning to turn the situation
azound," Mr. Spiers said, pointing out
that he won a large supplemental ap-
propriation for security this fiscal year
and last yeaz overturned an Office of
Management and Budget-imposed per-
sonnel ceiling to obtain additional posi-
tions for reporting and analysis.
But the Department "has never re-
ceived," Mr. Spiers said, "the Presi-
dent's formal certification as a national
security agency. In my view, the ques-
tion of this certification must remain
our highest priority objective. Without
it, we're treated on a par with every
domestic agency when Government-
wide cuts are imposed. For instance, as
part of the effort to cut the 1986 deficit,
we've suffered a cut of over $200 mil-
lion from our carefully considered re-
quest. We raised our national security
status and were granted some relief
from an even larger cut originally
imposed by (Management and Budget),
but I suspect we'll find we've fared
poorly as compared to Defense and In-
telligence when the final results aze in.
Nevertheless, we'll have $31 million
less to spend in 1986 than in 1985, and
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we'll have to absorb a $14-million pay
raise and consular workload increases
.. Congress has yet to, act and may
cut further."
British have about 125 senior positions
out of a total of 2,500 FSOs. They
don't promote into the senior service
until there's a job to be filled. This
eaz w
y
e promoted 39 into the Senior
Senior Foreign Service Foreign Service against a requirement
The under secretary asserted: "In of minus two.. .
my view there's never been a system-
atic look at what we really need to staff "Of course, we have a difficulty that
our Foreign Service. We've now em- most other services don't have: an un-
barked on such a project. The first as- certainty about the number of political
pert I want to talk about is the Senior appointees with whom we have to com-
Foreign Service. Most outside observ- pete for senior positions. Since January
ers think (it's) too lazge. Frankly, I be- 1981, 23 jobs at the ambassador or as-
lieve we don't have the basis to rebut sistant secretary level or up have
these critics completely ... We've moved from career to noncareer occu-
never related the number of people in pants.
the Senior Foreign Service to the jobs This has a major impact on the
that need to be graded at that level; so assignment process. Right now, seven
we are very vulnerable. Grading of jobs career ministers are overcomplement or
at the senior levels on special assignments.
particularly in
Washington, too frequently has been "We've begun a review of the
haphazard and undertaken for the classification of positions now graded
wrong reasons. Job content and com- at the OC level and up. The results are
partitive responsibility aren't being used expected this fall and should give us a
as guidelines in many cases of basis for determining just what size
upgrading office chief jobs or to deputy Senior Foreign Service we need and
country director slots. Far too many bu- can justify. In the meantime we're
reaus upgrade positions to senior level holding promotion numbers and LCEs
solely for the purpose of enticing more (limited career extensions) to a lower
junior bidders who will judge their level to avoid exacerbating the prob-
chances for promotion are thereby en- lems and the pain we might otherwise
hanced. We must embark on a course have to face in the future, in order not
wherein sound `position management' to increase the senior surplus.
dictates Departmental structure. "If the anticipation is correct that
"The fact that we have 16% of our when we reach the new "high 3" this
senior positions filled by mid-level December there'll be a lazge number of
officers-`stretch assignments'-also retirements, we'll be able to loosen up
provides fuel to our critics. If these on promotions and LCEs somewhat.
jobs can be filled by mid-level officers, But as long as we have cazeer ministers
why are they graded at the senior level? With excellent records and experience
Our goal is to reduce stretch assign- Who've been without proper assign-
ments to about 10%. It's beginning to menu for up to three yeazs I'll continue
be recognized in the Service that stretch to have doubts about the rightness of
assignments are a mixed blessing, since our course. It's demoralizing and
they also reduce promotion opportuni- Wasteful."
ties. We don't promote to fill jobs cur- More 'structural' problems
tl
h
l
ren
y
e
d by stretches.
"We have too many senior officers
who can't be placed in jobs appropriate
to their rank (right now we have 40
senior officers overcomplement). I be-
lieve there's something to be said for
the way most other foreign services
avoid this problem. For example, the
Mr. Spiers continued: "There are
numerous other "structural" problems
we're trying to deal with:
-"A recruiting system which
seems to short-change us on highly
competitive minority entrants;
-~"A hiring system which takes
too long to bring people on board and
thus costs us some of the most promis-
ing candidates, who can't afford to wait
out the time it takes to get to their
names on the register;
-"An evaluation system that's
burdensome for supervisors, often leads
to hyperinflated or meaningless ap-
praisals, or risks giving only aone-
dimensional picture of the ratee;
-"A training system which is
meager and unstructured compared to,
say, the military's;
-"An examination system which
gets us capable economic officers more
by accident than by design (this also
holds true for administrative officers);
-"Executive development proce-
dures which are haphazard, unsyste-
matic and have generally favored politi-
cal officers, confusing analytic
brilliance with managerial
effectiveness;
-"An assignments system which
too often operates as a disincentive to
broadening assignments; which has de-
pended more on who you know than
whether you're the best for the job or
the job is best for you; which tends to
penalize officers in training or func-
tional bureau assignments, or who are
less visible to the decision-makers in
Washington; which fails to ensure equi-
table sharing of hardship assignments;
-"A resource allocation system
which has permitted political and eco-
nomic jobs at the junior level to erode,
with the result that too many officers in
these cones have approached tenure
with inadequate or no experience in
those areas in which they will presuma-
bly spend most of their careers.
'Loss of discipline'
"At the heart of many of these
problems is a loss of Service disci line
that, in m view arises r
C a t e s stem is not o ratin
see -tt e c ance o restoring es-
pnt de corps and a sense of service un-
til we find ways to restore trust in the
system and overcome a feeling that
nice guys finish last."
'Societal changes'
While all of these problems "are at
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least theoretically amenable to im-
provement," Mr. Spiers said, there is
one that has stymied him and his
colleagues-the societal changes that
have led to two-income families and to
tandem couples in the Foreign Service,
and the "rapidly growing dilemma
(that) revolves azound spousal recogni-
tion and compensation for services
rendered on behalf of our missions
abroad. We're not alone in having to
face up to our responsibilities on this
account. We've explored various ap-
proaches with other foreign services,
all of whom-including in the Commu-
nist countries-regard this issue as the
major one they face. For example, the
Japanese pay a 40% salary supplement
when spouses accompany an officer
overseas and perform representation
functions on behalf of national interests
and objectives. But?I don't know what
you do to keep a capable Foreign Serv-
ice when more and more spouses have
professional careers which can't very
well be pursued abroad. We've a long
way to go on this issue. Perhaps there
is po~answer..."
Internal communication
Mr. Spiers said: "The Foreign
Service is a family of mature people
and my experience is that candor and
openness should be the norm in our
dealings with each other. Therefore,
we've tried to draw as many of our col-
leagues as possible into the process of
identifying our problems, understand-
ing our dilemmas and into discussions
about how we cope with them. One of
the reasons we have developed the
"short tour" assignment is to bring
some of our best and most experienced
minds` io beaz on these problems.
"Last April I wrote to all chiefs of
mission and asked each to identify the
three or four things which seem most to
grate on or make life difficult for our
personnel. We received an avalanche of
thoughtful replies ... We've been
looking into all of these issues. Some
of them will require legislation to deal
with but most of them can be handled
by administrative change. My view is
Spiers expects to stay on;
he recalls taking the job
Under Secretary Ronald I. Spiers
indicated in his speech at the Foreign
Service Club that he anticipated re-
maining at his post to see through some
of the changes he feels are needed.
"One of the main problems in manage-
ment has been too much turnover and
lack of follow-through," he said. "I
hope myself to resist the siren song of
other assignments for a while."
He recalled, too, his shifring from
an ambassadorship to the management
position. "When Secretary Shultz asked
me to take this job," he related, "after a
chance discussion in Islamabad, in the
course of which I was outspokenly crit-
ical of much of the Department's man-
agement practices, he said he'd con-
cluded that someone with a variety of
foreign policy experience in Washing-
ton and overseas should be asked to
give it a try.
"One of the points I'd complained
about was the lapse of discipline and
growth of brokering in the assignment
process. So I could hazdly tell him I
preferred to stay where I was and meet
college tuition payments without going
deeply into debt." ^
that all personnel should be able to fly
business class, particulazly on longer
trips. I think we should lift the pay cap
on differentials. We should be devoting
more resources to ensuring better stor-
age, transportation and pouch services.
The new Financial Management Sys-
tem and (the Consolidated American
Payroll Processing) Programs should do
away with many of the complaints
about foulups on pay and allowances
during periods of transfer. I would like
to achieve a consolidated allowance
system which amalgamates hardship,
danger and special incentive
differentials.
"Another change we've introduced
is a monthly management issues cable
which aims to keep all of our col-
leagues abreast of what we've thinking
and doing. We try to make cleaz that
we welcome input from everyone on
problems that affect all of us. Manage-
ment certainly has no monopoly on
wisdom or insight, and I for one al-
ways found distasteful a system which
produced changes behind closed doors
and imposed them without
explanation."
Reorganization
The under secretary continued:
"I've long felt that the Department of
State is badly organized to formulate
and carry out our stated policies over
the long haul. There aze, I believe, too
many quasi-independent organizational
units. Congress has given us new bu-
reau after new bureau, often without
regard to organizational rationality.
Many think" we have too many
ambassadors-at-lazge and too many as-
sistant secretaries and assistant
secretary-equivalents .. .
"A change I advocate is a
rebalancing of responsibilities among
the seventh-floor principals. For a long
time I've favored the evolutionary de-
velopment of an under secretary for in-
ternational security affairs. The respon-
sibilities of this position would focus
on the Department's interaction with
the defense, intelligence and arms con-
trol communities, while the under sec-
retary for political affairs would focus
on bilateral and more traditional diplo-
matic issues.
"The argument is validly made
that this would diminish the responsi-
bilities of (that under secretary), would
transfer to the deputy secretary the
problem of reconciliation where these
responsibilities overlap or come into
conflict. Nevertheless, it's clear from
my own experience in arms control,
Politico-Military Affairs and intelli-
gence that the under secretary for polit-
ical affairs can't give the sustained at-
tention to the whole range of these
issues that their significance deserves.
"I've also advocated that the under
secretary for economic affairs' respon-
sibilities should be broadened, perhaps
by giving him general oversight respon-
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sibility of other than (the Bureau of
Economic and Business Affairs), in-
cluding perhaps (the Bureaus of Refu-
gee Programs, International Narcotics
Matters and Oceans and International
Environmental and Scientific Affairs),
and telecommunications policy."
Conclusion
Mr. Spiers closed by saying: "...A
professional, trained, disciplined career
Foreign Service will continue, for the
forseeable future, to be necessary for
the advancement and protection of the
interests of the United States. The ex-
istence of an independent, largely self-
governing Foreign Service is the object
of a substantial amount of suspicion,
criticism and resentment today. There
are many who would like to put the,
Foreign Service under (the U.S. Office
of Personnel Management's) protective
wing, to apply the Civil Service proce-
dures of rank-in-job, retirement, and so
on, to it.
"To them, the idea of a largely
self-assigning, self-promoting self-
evaluating system, with something of a.
conviction about its own identity that.
borders on elitism, is anathema.
"However, like a military service
that is prepared to go where it's sent, to
carry out loyally the direction of its
democratically-chosen political leader-
ship, to provide the best advice it can
from a background of strongly
grounded professionalism and integrity,
with the resources it needs to do its
Pastel payoff
The Treasury Department has de-
cided to brighten up its income tax re-
fund checks by issuing them in
color-in pastel hues ranging from
light blue to pale peach. And they'll be
on lightweight paper, making them
cheaper to produce and more difficult
to counterfeit. State Department people
who filed for refunds with the Internal
Revenue Service office in Philadelphia
will get the colored checks, no matter
where they reside, Treasury said. Its fa-
miliar green punchcard check is being
phased out. ^
job, a career Foreign Service will con-
tinue to be a necessity for our country
as far into the future as this observer
can see." ^
State's '86 budget seeks
388 new positions; slots
are in security, reporting
The Department is asking Con-
gress for a, net increase of 388
positions-primarily in the areas of se-
curity and reporting and analysis-and
$2.56 billion for fiscal year 1986,
which begins October 1. To fight the
threat of terrorism, it is seeking 141
positions.
These include 77 regional security
officers, 31 overseas security engi-
neers, and additional. Marine security
guards for 12 embassies of the United
States.
The Department is also seeking
176 positions to strengthen political and
economic reporting. "This program,
begun four years ago, recognized that
staffing in critical countries was not
sufficient to meet substantive responsi-
bilities," the Department says in a
statement prepared for congressional
hearings.
These positions are principally ir.
the following bureaus: African Affair;,
32; East Asian and Pacific Affairs, 32;
Economic and Business Affairs, 6; Eu-
ropean and Canadian Affairs, 29; Intel-
ligence and Research, 22; Inter-
American Affairs, 24; Near Eastern and
South Asian Affairs, 27; Oceans and
International Environmental and Scien-
tific Affairs, I; and Politico-Military
Affairs, 3.
The Department is also asking for
27 new positions for its foreign affairs
information systems, improved systems
security and computerized security-
enhancement programs.
In addition, State is requesting 20
more positions in communications-3
for trainers and 17 for other communi-
cations support.
The budget seeks $134.4 million
for acquisition, development or con-
struction of new and present office and
housing facilities, including security-
related projects. The foreign buildings
budget includes:
-Development of architectural
and engineering plans for chanceries in
Ivory Coast, $1.6 million; Benin, $2.7
million; Sudan, $2.4 million; Jamaica,
$1.4 million; and Port Moresby, $0.5
million.
-Site acquisition and develop-
ment for chanceries in Chile, $6. I mil-
lion; Beijing, $2 million; Tunisia, $3.1
million; and Israel, $9.3 million.
-Development of plans for con-
sulate office buildings in Guangzhou
and Shanghai, $2.4 million.
-Site acquisition and develop-
ment for embassy compound projects in
Ankara and Istanbul, $3.3 million; in
Algiers, $1.6 million; and plans for
consulates in Adana and Izmir, Turkey,
$l.6 million.
-Purchase of staff housing in
Jakarta, $3 million; Bangkok, $0.4 mil-
lion; Sudan, for Defense Department
staff, $I million; and Egypt, $0.3
million.
-Rehabilitation in the chancery in
Bonn, $5.5 million.
Funds for present projects include:
construction of chancery office build-
ings in Venezuela, $26 million;
Guyana, $10.4 million; Bolivia, $21.3
million; Botswana, $5.6 million; and
the proposed chancery and ambassa-
dor's residence in Nicosia, $I I.l mil-
lion. The budget earmarks $12 million
for the second-phase rehabilitation of
the Bonn/Plittersdorf housing
complex. ^
Department sets up new
procurement office
A new Office of the Procurement
Executive has been established in the
Department, with John J. Conway as
acting director, reporting directly to the
assistant secretary for administration.
Similar offices have been established in
other cabinet agencies.
The office will formulate
Department-wide procurement policies
and directives; provide advice on pro-
curement laws and opinions issued by
the courts and the General Accounting
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