Description
week 11 and worth 130 points
Your position as the consultant is ending and it is time to submit
your complete report. In this assignment, you will make final changes
for Assignments 2 through 5 and put the sections into one document.
In addition to what you have already completed and compiled for this
portfolio, you should write a two to three (2-3) page conclusion in
which you:
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality,
logic/organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using
the following rubric.
Click here to view the grading rubric.
Assignment #2 History of Environmental Protection Agency
Historically,Environmental Protection Agency was proposed by President Richard Nixon. In December 2nd 1970, Nixon signed the order that led into the establishing of the E.P.A and it began its operations in the same year. Its headquarters were at Washington DC and the Agency is led by an administrator,who is appointed by the President and approved by the congress.Amongst some of the responsibilities of the EPA, is the administration of the Clean Air Actof 1970 that was formed to regulate the air pollution amongst the industries and motor vehicles. Clean Water Act of 1972 regulating discharge of industrial waste waters and treatments of sewages.E.P.A’s managed to enforce the fixing of catalytic converters in cars at its earlier ages which led to the reduction in the air pollution by a third in USA in the year 1970 to 1990.
The acts were later on reauthorized, and among those acts are; Clean Water Act in 1987 and clean water act in 1990. Also at this time some other acts were introduced e.g. the Nuclear Policy Act (1982) and the Energy Star Program of 1992.This agency has its enforcement powers which include suctions and giving of fines and others.
Its goals and objectives for its formation were majorly based on reduction of environmental pollutions. Among other reasons for its formation was to conduct environmental assessments and check on environmental pollution and the ways to reduce them. It was also formed to conduct researches which will leads to the breakthrough of minimization of air pollution. It’s also responsible for the enforcement and the maintenance of national standards and various environmental laws.Reducing air pollution to reduce the effects of the greenhouse gases and maintain the ozone layer. Improving the accessibility of safe and clean water, enhancing joint preparedness on environmental response, promoting the management of both materials and wastes and clean sites, and enhancing compliance assurance and environmental stewardship are part of Environmental protection agency.
Organizational design of environmental protection agency
Environmental Protection Agency has got different and severaldepartments that are all under the office of the administrator. This organization helps in the running of the Agency as a whole by making its operations run smoothly. For better understanding this departments and the Agency’s design are further analyzed as follows:
From the top part of it is the office of the administrator, which gives the executivethe logistical support for the agency administrator. Also the office of the administrator provides support to the environmental protection Agency’s programs and its activities for it to protect the human health and the environment. Administrator is further sub-divided into the following offices; office of the children’s health organization, civil right office, office of congressional and intergovernmental relations, executive services office, executive secretariat office, homeland security office, policy office, public affairs office, and science advisory board .
Under the office of the administrator are the headquarters departments, which include;
I). Department of the administration and resource management-it provides the national policy, leadership and management of various important support functions for the agency.
ii). Department of the air radiation-this office is concerned with the national programs, policies and regulations, which control air pollution and protection of the radiation, industrial air pollution, and climate change
iii). Department of chemical pollution and pollution prevention-it work to prevent the occurrence of the pollution. This therefore has helped in improving the homes workplaces and schools by making them clean and healthy and hence becoming safer.
iv). Department of Chief Financial Officer-this is the department that deals with Agency’s annual budgeting and performance plan.It also provides agency with the financial services and it also develop the Agency’s annual accountability report.
v). Department of the enforcement and compliance assurance-it protects communities which are mostly affected by the pollution and also goes after pollution problems.
vi). Department of the environmental information-it is headed by the chief information officer. It manages the life cycle of the information to support the mission of the agency which is to protect human health and the environment.
vii). Department of the general counsel-this is he office that acts as the legal advisor of the environmental protection agency.
viii). Department of the inspector general- it helps in the protecting of the environment in a more efficient and cost effective manner.
ix). Department of the international and tribal affairs-it identifies environmental problems and helps in the implementation of the technical and policy options to address those problems.
x). Department of land emergency management-deals with the emergency response and waste programs in terms of providing policies guidance and directions.
xi). Department of the research and development- this is a body that conducts research and helps the EPA in making major decisions that will help in the safeguarding of the human health and the its ecosystem in general from the environmental pollutants.
xii). Department of water- this department deals with water. It ensures that the drinking water are safe and protect human health by maintaining the aquatic ecosystem.
When it comes to the effectiveness in making major decisions and policies and the provision of the services to the primary recipients, Environmental Protection Agency aims and strives at minimizing the risks and maximizing benefits to the society as the receipt the economy and the environment. In its decision making it recognizes the society, economy and the environment as a whole. This will help in making major effective decision that will lead to the maintenance of the environment from the pollution and also the provision of the services to the recipient.
Organization design
For the recommendation, I recommend that those departments which play major roles in the Agency should be given more emphasis and should be and should be allocated with more resources for it to improve the effectiveness of its operation and the delivery of quality and best services in the agency. Also the organizational structure should be simple and not complicated.
Assessment of the organizational design
Administrator
Assistant administrator
Department offices and the assistant department offices
Regional offices
Factors that affect the Agency’s success and its influence on the effectiveness of the decision making and implementation
Environmental protection agency has a competitive market allowances as compared to other entries existing.This is because it controls large part of the market share, making the decision making process easy and effective implementation of such decisions.
Minimal institutional constraints
This is due to the low compliance costs and by giving of the allowances such as purchase allowances for the pollution control equipment. This reduction in cost makes the implementation of its decisions easy, leading to its success.
Low transaction costs. PA has a lower transaction costs this will lead to the effective decision making and is implementation
Factors that affect the affect the organization in implementation of its policy for the meeting of its goals and objectives
For the organization to implement it decision, it has to consider the changes in the technology because the more the sophistication of the technology the more it makes it easy for the implementation of its policies.
Interest groups are inclusive of the citizens, environmental advocacy organizations and even the citizens.For the organization to implement its policies without affecting it goals and objective it should consider the interest groups.
Economic conditions also should be considered when making and implementing the policies or decisions.
Recommendation for the planning and implementation
EPA should use a more improved technology as part of its technology so as to be up to date and make it easy to contact the outside world and the conducting of its researches and interviews.
EPA should always consider the interested groups so as to always not violate any of the group in their course of its operations.The agency should consider minimizing on different costs and maximizing on the provision of services. This will help reduce the operation cost and hence utilizing the resources they have.
Assignment #3 Agency Evaluation
Administrative Ethics
In the recent past, regarding an agency like International Consortium of Investigative Journalists several changes have been put in place with the changing world to improve the administrative functions of various agencies. It is the duty of the administration to perform several functions in an organization. Some of the functions include staffing, decision-making, file keeping staff motivation, recruitment among others(Lundgren & McMakin, 2013). With the current technological changes and ethics in business however, there has been calls to improve the service delivery among administrators. This has been done through a number of ways to enhance their functions. The main two are discussed in the paragraphs below.
There has been serious administrative responsibility. This means that the various organizations have clearly stipulated clear guidelines in the administration of the organization. This involves dividing the administrative roles in various departments to enhance the performance. Several managers in charge of various departments are normally answerable to the overall manager. This helps in easing the work of the manager as he now manages several subsections and he can now evaluate which section is failing. Therefore, it is important to employ the best suitable person to suit a particular department toimprove the overall performance in the organization. This has been an upcoming trait in management of the organization toimprove efficiency and accuracy, which had earlier been diluted, by the prior single management.
Ethical implications in business have also been looked at. This has been done in a number of ways to various key players in the economy. Firstly, there is the legal implication to stakeholders. Stakeholders include the customers in the market, the employees, the owners of the industry and the society. On the part of the customers, it is the responsibility of the organization to make sure that they avail goods of the required quality and quantity at the required price(Edwards, 2013). On the employees, it is the duty of the administrative body to ensure that their workers are paid in time and at good pay. In addition, they should ensure that their workers enjoy good working conditions when doing business and make sure that they have good financial benefits after retirement not forgetting insurance and quality medical cover. On the owners, they should try to provide transparent information to encourage new investors in the market. The more transparent an organization is the more likelihood of attracting more and more investors. Lastly on the part of the society it is the duty of the administration to protect its clients from pollution, and unethical practices not forgetting giving back to the society through creation of social amenities. Secondly, the administration should ensure that the image of the organization is upheld. This can be done through creating a trademark for the business and marketing the business through the social media plat forms. Lastly the organization should develop a listening hear to the grievances agitated by any stakeholder in the business. This helps greatly in enhancing peaceful coexistence in the business and among the various stakeholders hence improving the output in the work.
Leadership Influences
Looking at an agency like International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the leadership is mainly vested on educated personnel in the relevant field. They work hand in hand fulfilling the interests of the clients, the owners, the government and the society. However, these agencies suffer from serious political intervention. The political leaders control the factors of production. Therefore, they largely influence the performance of this agency. In most cases, they influence the agency negatively as they seem to advertise according to the wish of the political leaders. In addition, the owners of the agencies also determine the content being advertised and vice versa(Trillo, 2015). Therefore, both the owners and the political leaders largely influence the success of the organization. If independence could be cultivated, the performance of advertising agencies can improve drastically.
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists as an agency is tasked with the task of ensuring that the pollution and transnational crime networks, and the actions of powerful figures in business and government. The news media, hobbled by short attention spans and lack of resources, are even less of a match for those who would harm the public interest. Broadcast networks and major newspapers have closed foreign bureaus, cut travel budgets, and disbanded investigative teams. We are losing our eyes and ears around the world precisely when we need them most. Meanwhile, in many developing countries, investigative reporters are killed, threatened, or imprisoned with alarming regularity. Amazingly unbowed by these life-and-death realities, journalists are in dire need of help from colleagues abroad, many of whom do similar work and can offer support.
Strategies for Consideration to Administrative Processes
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists agency has plans for administrative ethics, leadership, and legal to improve the agency’s operation and its primary recipients. Some of these major plans include making sure that they work in accordance with their set principles in doing their work. This can be done by upholding ethics in business, which entails serving their clients fully if they maintain the set guidelines without fear or favor of those who occupy this political leadership positions in the government(Korte, 2013). In terms of leadership, they should employ people on merit to get the best suitable persons for the job. On terms of the legal basis, they should operate within the stipulated constitution to avoid confusion. In case, of threats from the political leaders, legal measures should be taken.
Recommendations for Improvements to Administrative Processes
In order to achieve change serious recommendations need to be set in place to achieve change. The first recommendation is to create some sense of independence. International Consortium of Investigative Journalists agency needs to develop some independence in doing their work since this reduces the chances of political intervention in doing their affairs in doing their business.
The second recommendation is ensuring that the interests of the clients come first before anything else. It is important for agencies to understand that clients are of the prime significance and they mainly help the organization in their operations. Therefore, they should not consider too much the political leaders in doing their business. Instead they should focus on customer satisfaction and profitability.
Provide proof of one to two (1-2) interviews by submitting the completed interview form
with a list of questions for and responses from each interviewee. (Put this in the Appendix
under Interview Forms.)
First interview
Question 1: Are agencies independent?
Response 1: No, they tend to be interfered by the political leaders and they affect them negatively.
Question 2: What are some of the recommendation can you give to these agencies like International Consortium of Investigative Journalists agency in this case?
Response 2: My advice would be that, they should venture in serious independent business free from any kind of interference.
Second interview
Question 1: Are agencies independent?
Response 1: Yes, they are there to do business and they have freedom to choose whatever they want to do provided they get desired profits.
Question 2: What are some of the recommendation can you give to these agencies like International Consortium of Investigative Journalists agency in this case?
Response 2: They should continue doing their business normally.
References
Lundgren, R. E., & McMakin, A. H. (2013). Risk communication: A handbook for communicating environmental, safety, and health risks. John Wiley & Sons.
Edwards, B. (2013). Program Evaluation Plan for the Perpich Center for Arts Education Governance, Administration, Financial and Performance Structures (Doctoral dissertation, Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs).
Trillo, S. L. (2015). Cross-sectorial policy coalitions: a case study of Sustain Ontario: the Alliance for Healthy Food and Farming’s efforts to reform public policy. How a policy coalition’s choices contributed to its legitimacy and influence (Doctoral dissertation, York University Toronto).
Korte, N. (2013). The Political Economy of Public Administration Reforms in Southeast Asia (Doctoral dissertation, University of Hamburg).
Assignment #4 Centre of Medicare and Medicaid Services
Human Resource Process
After analyzing and evaluating the Medicare and Medicaid agency, I managed to come out with some components in which the agency has to employ for it to hire and retain a diverse workforce. Hiring is the first process to be carried out. If the company is serious about implementing diversity, it must create a diverse pool of candidates. Employing from the same place always, using the same methods, the result will always be the same people. To be competitive in today’s market creativity is of an essence. One needs to go where the candidates are and have a long time with them so as to get good selections.
• One of the major components of hiring employees is by carrying out a research and developing a list of colleges that historically has scores of people from various backgrounds and sending a team to that particular school to conduct recruitment.
• Begin hiring from the middle class and high school it is important for the agency to attend career days and be ready to discuss the benefits of working for the organization and the industry.
• Contacting various student leaders on campuses- the company will then ask them to suggest the best candidates or even help in including notices of the organization in the campuses noticeboards.
• Developing a relationship with different agencies in the community- this will enable them to know about the opportunities available in the office.
To retain a diversified workforce the company will need to acquire some essential components in maintaining diversification these include:
• The use of more inclusive languages and visuals in the rules and orientation.it is necessary to make sure that no pronoun is gender based.
• Market the agency diversity initiative extensively so that people from outside gets the word that a company environment is a perfect place for everyone to work.
• Creating processes to make everybody feel welcome and included in the agency.
Implication of Human Resource Workforce
The current employment trend in the organization is that of the aging labor force. This makes the company face a potential loss because of retirement. Aging can cause labor shortage thus disrupting the steady supply of energy. The presence of the elderly in the agency is a significant challenge. There is a minimal growth of the firm because the aging workforce provides less productivity and fewer savings which have an adverse impact on the agency. Because of the aging workforce, the company incurs increased pension benefits and health care cost.
As the aging of the labor force increase, the growth of the economic structure of the agency is affected. There is a shortage of labor due to the aging workforce, increased healthcare needs and the significant decrease in public and private investments are some of the negative impacts caused by the aging work force. Expertise, technical knowledge, and experience are absent in the agency due to the retirement of senior employees.
The institution to avoid labor shortages should retain the aging workforces in doing so the agency would have also kept knowledge and expertise of the employees. To improve the growth of the firm strategies such as developing the workforce, alteration of workforce policies and practices should be implemented to ensure that the senior employees are retained. Retirement age should be increased and also altering the retirement incentives to meet the expectations of longevity. Old age pension agreement should be flexible. These will ensure that the agency’s products and services are at constant and of the best quality. Training should be provided to meet the labor shortage and to make sure that profession development among the senior employees is met.
Succession Planning for Human Resource Management
Many organizations fail to address succession planning in a systematic way. It is mainly because maybe the agency is facing other organizational challenges which they see as of high priority than to think of who their next manager will be. In succession planning some of the required managerial skills to be considered include:
• Knowledgeable- the person chosen to succeed the outgoing manager should have vast knowledge about the agency he/she should know how the organization functions and the crucial parts of the company such as finance. These will ensure that even after the outgoing manager leaves the agency will continue working properly. When a chosen person has knowledge of the body, he/she will understand the employees much better and help improve the areas where he/she had seen flaws. By doing this, the firm will develop its standards.
• Quality- the person chosen should have the required quality for a managerial job. These will ensure that he or she can be able to make certain crucial decisions necessary for the betterment of the agency. Such that in the case of employment or off-loading workers the manager will be doing so that the organization can benefit from the decision.
• Desirable-in order for one to be chosen for the managerial position the person must have the desire to take the big step. He/she should be self-motivated and have the self-belief that it is possible to run the firm. A desirable person is always ambitious, and his or her priority always is on the welfare of the company.
A recommendation of succession plan has much importance. A succession plan is a means of making sure that the agency is prepared with a scheme to support service continuity when the manager or key people in the organization leave. There is a continuous supply of qualified individuals who are ready to take over in case the manager leaves the institution. A good succession plan acts as an alignment between the agency vision and the human resource that shows an understanding of the need to have proper staffing to achieve strategic plans.
It also brings a commitment to developing a career path for employees who will ensure the organization has an ability to recruit and retain top performing employees. The agency will gain an outside reputation for investing and providing opportunities to its people and also support advancement. Carrying out the plan also helps in passing a message to the employees that they are valuable.
For the agency to implement programs in preparation for the above skills which are not visible in the office’s workforce as a method of promotion and current employee’s advancement, the agency needs to:
• Identify that person who is always in collaboration with the manager.
• Develop a plan that the eventual successor acquires the required skills and knowledge to take the job after the manager departs.
• Ensure that the chosen individual is exposed to a broad range of experiences so that the person will understand wider the operation of the agency.
The organization plan may include formal mentoring and training in more specific aspects of the position. More than one person should be identified so as to rate the different level of competence in the areas.
Job analysis and design
Title: Administrative Consultant
Department: Human Resources
As a consultant, I advise the management of the Medicare agency on the administration of the human resources policies and the procedures. It is part of my job also to serve as an internal consultant to analyze the company’s current HR programs and recommend solutions to the organization. As part of my work I develop, analyze and implement human resource policies and procedures for the agency. I also ensure that HR programs and services are in compliance with the established policies and procedures. Preparing and maintain reports related to specific HR project is also my job. I help the agency with ideas on the development and coordination of recommended changes concerning workflow. It is my duty to provide training sessions related to specific HR programs.
For one to be an administrative consultant he/she must have some specifications to be compliant with the job. This includes:
• Self –confidence- every consultant must be sure about themselves for them to be able to impact wisdom and knowledge to others without a doubt. The self –confidence will be measured by the outcome of the decision made as a result of the piece of knowledge you gave out. If the advice you gave out had no self-confidence in what you were saying, then it means you were not sure and hence poor results thus one will be evaluated as an underperformer and vice-versa.
• Trustworthy- it is important for an administrative consultant to have a strong bond with their clients. These are acquired by displaying one’s integrity to obtain trust. Confidence is always evaluated when the customer can come for pieces of advice from the consultant on a crucial matter. If the client consults you and fails to return but rather choose to look for another specialist, then it will only mean that there is no trust at all in your consultancy.
• Excellent listening skills- to be evaluated as a performer an administrative consultant should always fully understand the problems by listening carefully to the needs of their clients before coming up with solutions
The agency, using the executive consultant post will ensure that the organization’s human capital serves the best interests of the company. This is by creating and developing a human resources model specific for the group. Also, the post will ensure that the agency effectively uses its personnel to achieve its stated goals while also ensuring the workforce is productive and efficient.
Administrative consultant post might be employed by the agency to establish company policies and procedures and ensure that they are complying with applicable laws concerning their employees.
References
Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers
Baird, L., & Meshoulam, I. (1988). Managing two fits of strategic human resource management. Academy of Management review, 13(1), 116-128.
Delery, J. E., & Doty, D. H. (1996). Modes of theorizing in strategic human resource management: Tests of universalistic, contingency, and configurational performance predictions. Academy of management Journal, 39(4), 802-835.
Gist, M. E. (1987). Self-efficacy: Implications for organizational behavior and human resource management. Academy of management review, 12(3), 472-485.
Assignment # 5Department on Health and Human Services FY2012 Budget Analysis
Budget overview
The department of Health Human Services (HHS) is the principal Federal Agency tasked with protection of the Health of all the Americans and equally providing essential Human services. The main subcommittee with the jurisdiction over the HHS federal budget is the House Appropriations Subcommittee. The House and the senate committee are tasked with the review of the budget requests and they can accept it, slash it o review it upwards.
The President requested a discretionary budget of $79.9 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for FY 2012. This value represented a $72 million decrease or 0.09 percent reduction decrease compared to the FY 2010. The budget request would include funding for two major pieces of legislation that passed in the 11th Congress, including the Food Safety Modernization Act, which would be overseen by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as the healthcare reform law. The stated priorities in the President’s FY 2012 budget for HHS and its offices included:
· Implementation of the healthcare reform law;
· Investing in America’s competitiveness through funding for biomedical research;
· Strengthening of the health professions workforce through training of primary care providers; and
· Continuing enhanced support for high-quality early childhood programs by investing in others to assist vulnerable populations (Purdy, 2007).
As part of HHS efforts to enhance health care, the budget request highlighted the activities at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) focused on the translation of discoveries into therapeutics and drugs and the importance of creating collaborations among government and other agencies to accelerate the development of treatments. Healthcare reform implementation remains an administration priority. To ensure there are primary care providers to care for the anticipated growth of patients enrolling in a healthcare plan by 2015, the budget would invest in the healthcare workforce by providing increased resources for providers who choose to serve in underserved areas. Additionally, it would prevent cuts in payments to physicians, which they are currently facing through the Sustainable Growth Rate Formula (SGR) for the next two years while committing to work with the Congress towards a long-term permanent fix (Purdy, 2007).
Budgeting assessment
Federal departments such as HHS are highly influenced by political factors especially in regard to their budgeting process. As outlined, the financing process is dependent on the political process that runs the allocation. The political climate in the state is equally important in enhancing the smooth process or equally undermining the success of departments.
The department’s budget outlays revealed some of the key political factors that influence the allocations. First and foremost, political stability is a major determinant of a successful and operational body. HHS operates in all states in the nation. The body has established different centers to monitor the state of health across the regions under centralized control. Through such centers, the body is able to assess and administer the community living, control substance abuse and regulate foods and drugs through the FDA. To operate successfully, it requires that there is political stability and peaceful coexistence across the nation. I case of political violence, the operations of the agency could be halted and it would be practically impossible to facilitate its objectives.
Similarly, the success of HHS relies heavily on the political will to approve its budgetary requests. As indicated, the appropriation of the budget is done in by the senate and the congress committees. This means that in case the members in these positions are unwilling to approve and review the budget requests, then its operations would be halted. The body is mandated with ensuring safety of all residents by fostering healthy and safe living. These objectives are only possible when there is political will to finance the body. Failure to either approe or review the budget requirements of the department may imply that the agency would fail in meeting its corporate responsibilities and objectives.
Analysis of budgeting plans and actual expenditures
While the proposed budget would make an investment in training primary care providers, it would eliminate programs such as the Children’s Graduate Medical Education Program, which funds freestanding children's hospitals to help them maintain their graduate medical education programs. The request would provide funding for several cross-cutting initiatives including comparative effectiveness research. Additionally, funding would be included in the request for patient-centered research at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and NIH.
The request also includes support for the Administration’s medical counter measures priorities and includes $665 million for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority; $70 million for advancing medical countermeasures at FDA; and $55 million towards investigators who have promising early stage, medical countermeasures products, but limited development experience at NIH (Volkow, 2012).
The budget requests sort to facilitate the operation of different programs within the department all of which would oversee the enhancement of the welfare of the citizens. The Indian Health Service required $4.2 million to facilitate the operations; substance abuse and mental services unit would be allocated $3.4 million as well to meet its activities (Volkow, 2012).
The financial allocations to the various departments would be necessary in facilitating the functionality of the entire agency. In essence, these bodies are equally important in facilitating the attainment of the agencies objectives of ensuring a safe and healthy nation.
Implications of foreign policy
The HHS has operations outside the United States. For instance the body has an internal department that deals with the Indian Health services. This implies that policies implemented in other regions where it operates impose operational implications on the Departments operations. Such influences may also translate into equal budgetary implications as well. The department operates centers for disease control and prevention across nations and goes on to monitor the health status of people travelling into and outside the U.S. Diplomatic differences may make it impossible for HHS to administer its practices.
The research programs and units of the HHS operate on a global forum. The nature of the programs and policies formulated are equally influenced and regulated by external forces outside the department’s control. For instance, international bodies play a major role in influencing the kind of products and chemicals used. Besides, these bodies may equally influence the development of programs such as the regulation of use of some drugs whether medical or not. This implies that the operations of the HHS are influenced by other external sources outside beyond which it has no control. The nature of policies adopted and utilized are thereby required to be within a legal conventional framework to facilitate acceptability.
Budget requests and recommendations
The financial analysis showed that the department has over time implemented new processes, enhanced communication, developed new guidance and trained personnel on addressing significant long standing issues. There is a continued financial management system but still there exists some internal control deficiencies I the financial system and the accounting systems. Instances of incomplete or insufficient analysis of particular significant accounts are eminent and these compose the systematic issues that must be solved continually.
First and foremost, there is need for implementation of an integrated financial management system. Initially, during the FY 2004, HHS embarked on the implementation of a commercial web-based product that was modified to replace accounting problems and the numerous accounting sub-systems with a single modern system (Volkow, 2012). The system was designed to support all the financial activities and ensure clear recording and financial accountability. Even though the full implementation of the system is still underway, the department’s financial managements are way below the Federal Financial Management Improvement standards. Their current systems do not provide for effective interrelationships between personnel, hardware, software, controls and data contained in the systems. This deficiency lower the HHS ability prepare and report the accurate financial information fast tracking this process would be highly recommended to improve on the future budget processes.
Similarly, HHS needs to update its internal control processes. Despite the change in the control structures over time, the department at the time has not been able to complete the full update of the procedural manuals that will ensure sufficient knowledge on financial management consistency and the full adequacy of the internal controls. HHS utilizes different methods of providing guidance to its personnel. The guidance is located at different stages of updating and this makes it confusing for the personnel to locate the most updated trends (Bragg, 2013). Such inconveniences limit the success of its operations and translate into a loss of resources. The department should centralize the controls and guidance systems which will in turn translate into improved performance and better accounting systems.
These improvements would be necessary in facilitating the budgeting process and equally enhance the development of an improved cost accounting and running of the operations. Placing new systems would be essential in facilitate the maintenance of a healthy nation.
References
US government budget allocations for R&D have fluctuated in recent decades. (2012). 65-126.
Bragg, S. M. (2013). Accounting best practices. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Retrieved May 25, 2016, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/factsheet_department_health/
Purdy, E. R. (2007). Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Encyclopedia of Global Health.
Volkow, N.D., (2012). Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Request - Testimony before the House Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations. PsycEXTRA Dataset.