Government Printing Office: Actions to Strengthen and Sustain	 
GPO's Transformation (30-JUN-04, GAO-04-830).			 
                                                                 
The transformation of the Government Printing Office (GPO) is	 
under way. This report captures the results of our efforts over  
the past year to assess and help strengthen GPO's transformation 
and strategic planning efforts. It is the final part of GAO's	 
response to both a mandate requiring GAO to examine the current  
state of printing and dissemination of public government	 
information and a congressional request that we conduct a general
management review of GPO focusing on that GPO's transformation	 
and management. 						 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-04-830 					        
    ACCNO:   A10686						        
  TITLE:     Government Printing Office: Actions to Strengthen and    
Sustain GPO's Transformation					 
     DATE:   06/30/2004 
  SUBJECT:   Electronic government				 
	     Federal agency reorganization			 
	     General management reviews 			 
	     Government information dissemination		 
	     Information technology				 
	     Internal controls					 
	     Internet						 
	     Performance measures				 
	     Printing or duplicating				 
	     Strategic planning 				 
	     Web sites						 

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GAO-04-830

United States General Accounting Office

                     GAO Report to Congressional Addressees

June 2004

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

             Actions to Strengthen and Sustain GPO's Transformation

                                       a

GAO-04-830

Highlights of GAO-04-830, a report to the Chairmen and Ranking Minority
Members, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate, and Subcommittee on
Legislative Branch, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate

The transformation of the Government Printing Office (GPO) is under way.
This report captures the results of our efforts over the past year to
assess and help strengthen GPO's transformation and strategic planning
efforts. It is the final part of GAO's response to both a mandate
requiring GAO to examine the current state of printing and dissemination
of public government information and a congressional request that we
conduct a general management review of GPO focusing on that GPO's
transformation and management.

To further GPO's transformation and build on the actions already taken by
GPO's leaders, GAO is recommending that GPO leaders take steps to improve
planning and goal setting for the transformation. GAO is also recommending
that GPO begin adopting leading practices of world-class organizations in
financial management and information technology management.

We provided a draft of this report in June 2004 to the Public Printer for
review and comment. The Public Printer agreed with our findings and
recommendations and noted that this report will be a major part of GPO's
transformation process.

www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-830.

To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on
the link above. For more information, contact J. Christopher Mihm at (202)
512-6806 or [email protected].

June 2004

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

Actions to Strengthen and Sustain GPO's Transformation

Federal government printing and dissemination are changing due to the
underlying changes to the technological environment. The Public Printer
and his leadership team understand the effects of this technological
change on GPO and have begun an ambitious effort to transform GPO and
reexamine its mission. Federal agencies are publishing more documents
directly to the Web and are doing more of their printing and dissemination
of information without using GPO services. At the same time, the public is
obtaining government information from government Web sites such as GPO
Access rather than purchasing paper copies. As a result, GPO has seen
declines in its printing volumes, printing revenues, and document sales.
To assist in the transformation process under way at GPO, GAO convened a
panel of printing and information dissemination experts, who developed a
series of options for GPO to consider in its strategic planning. The panel
suggested that GPO

o  	develop a business plan to focus its mission on information
dissemination as its primary goal, rather than printing;

o  demonstrate to its customers the value it can provide;

o  	improve and extend partnerships with agencies to help establish itself
as an information disseminator; and

o  	ensure that its internal operations are adequate for efficient and
effective management of core business functions and for service to its
customers.

GPO can also use other key practices that GAO identified to help agencies
successfully transform, such as involving employees to obtain their ideas
and gain their ownership for the transformation. GPO fully applied one of
these practices, related to ensuring that top management drives the
transformation, and has partially implemented each of the remaining eight
practices. To fully implement the remaining practices, GPO needs to take
actions including establishing its mission and strategic goals and
developing a documented plan for its transformation.

GPO has taken some initial steps to adopt the best practices of other
public and private sector organizations, most notably with respect to
human capital management. GPO is actively implementing the recommendations
GAO made in October 2003 (see GAO-04-85). For example, GPO reorganized the
human capital office into customer-focused teams devoted to meeting the
human capital needs of GPO's operating units. Continued leadership
attention is needed to build on the initial progress made in information
technology and financial management. For example, GPO should implement an
information technology investment management process to help management
choose, monitor, and evaluate projects, and GPO should train its line
managers to effectively use financial data.

Contents

  Letter

Results in Brief

Background

Government Printing and Dissemination Changes Are Forcing GPO's
Transformation

GPO Has Made the Case for Change, but Actions to Advance Transformation
Needed

World-Class Management Practices Can Strengthen GPO's Transformation

Concluding Observations

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 1 3 5

10

23

47 63 63

Appendixes

                                       Appendix I: Appendix II: Appendix III:

Appendix IV:

Scope and Methodology
Comments from the Government Printing Office
Executive Agency Satisfaction with GPO Services

Level of Satisfaction with GPO Term Contracts
Level of Satisfaction with GPO Procurement Purchasing
Level of Satisfaction with GPO Regional Print Procurement
Level of Satisfaction with GPO Information Dissemination
Level of Satisfaction with GPO Customer Services

Panel of Experts

66

69

71 73 74 75 76 77

80

Tables Table 1:

Table 2:

Table 3: Table 4:

Table 5: Table 6: Table 7:

Table 8:

Table 9:

Status of GPO's Adoption of Key Practices Associated with
Transformations 4
Printing, Binding, and Related Services Provided to the
Congress and Federal Agencies for Fiscal Year 2003 6
Executive Agency Familiarity with GPO Services 15
Executive Agency Level of Satisfaction with GPO
Services 16
Satisfaction with Products and Services 72
Agency Print Officers' Ratings of GPO Term Contracts 74
Agency Print Officers' Ratings of GPO Procurement
Purchasing 75
Agency Print Officers' Ratings of GPO Regional
Procurement 76
Agency Print Officers' Ratings of GPO Information
Dissemination 77

                                    Contents

Table 10: Agency Ratings of GPO Customer Services 78 Table 11: Agency
Ratings of Most Recent Experience with GPO

Customer Services 79

Figures	Figure 1: Figure 2:

Figure 3:

Figure 4: Figure 5:

Figure 6:

GPO Retained Earnings for Fiscal Years 1998-2003 11
GPO Revolving Fund Activities Accumulated Losses to
Retained Earnings for Fiscal Years 1999-2003 (Dollars in
Millions) 12
GPO Revenues and Expenses from Sales of Publications
for Fiscal Years 1999-2003 13
GPO's Organization as of June 2004 26
Banner Displayed at GPO's Pueblo Document
Distribution Center 32
Achieving Best Practices in Financial Management 58

Abbreviations

CFO Chief Financial Officer
CHCO Chief Human Capital Officer
CIO Chief Information Officer
COO Chief Operating Officer
DLC Depository Library Council
ECO Employee Communications Office
FDLP Federal Depository Library Program
GPO Government Printing Office
GPRA Government Performance and Accountability Act
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IT Information Technology
NDIIPP National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation

Program OMB Office of Management and Budget

This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright
protection in the United States. It may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without further permission from GAO. However, because this
work may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the
copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this material
separately.

A

United States General Accounting Office Washington, D.C. 20548

June 30, 2004

The Honorable Ted Stevens Chairman The Honorable Robert C. Byrd Ranking
Minority Member Committee on Appropriations United States Senate

The Honorable Ben Nighthorse Campbell Chairman The Honorable Richard J.
Durbin Ranking Minority Member Subcommittee on Legislative Branch
Committee on Appropriations United States Senate

The transformation of the Government Printing Office (GPO) has begun. The
trend towards producing government documents through electronic publishing
technology and providing public government documents through the Internet
has affected all of GPO's programs, reducing the production, procurement,
and sales of printed products. These have historically provided GPO with a
vital source of revenue to supplement its annual appropriation. GPO is
making operational and cultural changes to help ensure that it stays
relevant and efficient, and that it meets its customers' needs.

This report encompasses our body of work on GPO from the past year and
responds to both (1) a mandate from the Senate Committee on
Appropriations, included in Senate Report 107-209, to examine the current
state of printing and dissemination of federal government information and
provide strategic options for GPO to enhance the efficiency, economy, and
effectiveness of its printing and dissemination operations and (2) your
request that we conduct a general management review of GPO to focus on
GPO's efforts to transform. The Subcommittee requested that the general
management review be done in conjunction with the committee's mandated
review. We have issued several products in response to and based on the
legislative mandate and request, including briefings on the current
printing and dissemination operations at GPO, the results of a panel
discussion on the future role of GPO and a survey of executive branch
agencies' use of GPO services, and selected approaches for workforce
restructuring at GPO. We have also issued a report containing

recommendations to assist GPO's transformation through strategic human
capital management efforts and a congressional testimony outlining
technological changes affecting GPO's mission.

This report summarizes and, as appropriate, expands upon and updates our
earlier work. First, in response to the Senate Committee's mandate, we
describe the current state of printing and dissemination of federal
government information, which is based on a survey of GPO's executive
branch customers and a panel of experts who discussed (1) trends in
printing, publishing, and dissemination and (2) the future role of GPO.
Second, our general management review focused on actions GPO's leadership
has taken and can take to transform itself and develop a strategic plan,
and how GPO can work towards building a world-class organization.

In completing the general management review, we used as the analytical
framework for collecting data and reviewing GPO's transformational efforts
the key practices and implementation steps for mergers and organizational
transformations that we had previously developed.1

We performed our work from March 2003 through June 2004. During this time
we worked cooperatively with GPO leaders, meeting regularly with them
about the progress of their transformation initiatives and providing them
with information that they plan to use to develop GPO's strategic plan and
strengthen management. For the general management review examining GPO's
transformational efforts, we followed generally accepted government
auditing standards. Because the nature of the work in response to the
mandate was future oriented and focused on technological developments, not
organizational management, we determined that it could not be considered
an audit subject to generally accepted government auditing standards.
However, in our approach to the work, we followed appropriate quality
control procedures consistent with the generally accepted standards. For
additional information on our scope and methodology, see appendix I.

1U.S. General Accounting Office, Results-Oriented Cultures: Implementation
Steps to Assist Mergers and Organizational Transformations, GAO-03-669
(Washington, D.C.: July 2, 2003), and Highlights of a GAO Forum: Mergers
and Transformation: Lessons Learned for a Department of Homeland Security
and Other Federal Agencies, GAO-03293SP (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 14, 2002).

Results in Brief	Printing and dissemination in the federal government, as
in private industry, are being transformed by the changing technological
environment. Documents are increasingly being created and disseminated
electronically, sometimes without ever being printed on paper. Federal
agencies are publishing more documents directly to the Web and are doing
more of their printing and dissemination of information directly, without
using GPO services. At the same time, as more and more government
documents are being created and managed electronically, the public is
obtaining government information from government Web sites, such as GPO
Access (http://www.gpoaccess.gov), rather than purchasing paper copies of
government documents. As a result, GPO has seen declines in its printing
volumes, printing revenues, and document sales. The agency's procured
printing business has experienced a loss of $15.8 million over the past 5
years. The sales program lost $77 million over the same period. In
addition, these changes are creating challenges for GPO's long-standing
structure for centralized printing and dissemination and its interactions
with customer agencies.

The Public Printer recognizes these challenges and in response has
embarked upon an ambitious transformation. To assist in this effort, a
panel of printing and dissemination experts that we convened provided a
number of suggestions for GPO to consider as it transforms itself. The
panel suggested that GPO do the following:

o 	Develop a business plan focused on information dissemination as its
primary goal, rather than printing.

o 	Collect data to demonstrate that the services it provides-printing and
publishing as well as information dissemination to the public through its
library system and Web site-add value.

o 	Establish partnerships with other agencies that disseminate information
and enhance its current partnerships.

o 	Ensure that its internal operations-including technology, how it does
business with its customers, management information systems, and
training-are adequate for efficient and effective management of core
business functions and for service to its customers.

In its efforts to transform, GPO can use the nine key practices listed
below that we identified in previous work. One of these practices, related
to

ensuring that top management drives the transformation, has already been
fully applied by GPO's leadership, and GPO has begun to implement each of
the remaining eight practices. To fully implement the remaining practices,
GPO will need to take additional actions, such as establishing its mission
and strategic goals and developing a plan for its transformation. The
status of GPO's efforts with respect to the key transformation practices
is summarized in table 1.

       Table 1: Status of GPO's Adoption of Key Practices Associated with
                                Transformations

Practice GPO status

Ensure top leadership drives the transformation.	GPO has fully implemented
this practice through the Public Printer's actions to make a clear and
compelling case for transforming GPO. He has also established an
organizational structure to help balance transformation with the delivery
of services.

Establish a coherent mission and integrated strategic goals to guide the
transformation.

GPO has not established a mission and strategic goals; however, GPO has
set goals for its individual operating units, which help to create a more
results-oriented culture.

Focus on a key set of principles and priorities at the outset of the GPO has not
adopted a set of agencywide principles or core values; transformation. however,
            a GPO unit has benefited from establishing core values.

Set implementation goals and a timeline to build momentum and GPO has not
established specific time frames and goals for its

show progress from day one.	transformation; however, it has planned some
initial steps to show progress.

Dedicate an implementation team to manage the transformation GPO's
management council focuses on transformational issues, but

process.	attention to the daily activities of the transformation could be
strengthened.

Use the performance management system to define the GPO is developing a
new performance management system for its

responsibility and assure accountability for change.	executives, but needs
to complete its strategic plan before it can align performance
expectations with organizational goals.

Establish a communication strategy to create shared expectations and
report related progress.

GPO leadership has communicated early and often, ensured consistency of
message, and encouraged two-way communication. However, employees want
additional information to meet their specific needs.

Involve employees to obtain their ideas and gain ownership for the GPO has
 informed employees of changes, but has the opportunity to transformation. more
                   fully involve them in the transformation.

Build a world-class organization. 	GPO has taken steps to apply best
practices in human capital, information technology, and financial
management, but significant challenges remain.

Source: GAO.

Throughout this report, we make recommendations to assist GPO with the
implementation of the eight practices that have not been completely
implemented.

GPO leadership has articulated a vision to transform GPO into a worldclass
organization and has taken some initial steps toward this objective, most
notably with respect to human capital management. GPO's Human Capital
Office is using our October 2003 report2 as GPO's roadmap for transforming
its human capital management and is actively implementing the
recommendations we made. For example, the Human Capital Office reorganized
into customer-focused teams devoted to meeting the human capital needs of
GPO's operating units.3 With respect to information technology and
financial management, GPO has taken initial steps towards improvement, but
continued leadership attention is needed. For example, the Chief
Information Officer (CIO) is issuing new security-related policies and
procedures in response to problems identified by an external audit
organization, and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) has adopted the best
practice of regularly providing financial information to GPO's key
decision makers. We make recommendations to GPO leadership to build on its
progress by further adopting best practices in the areas of information
technology and financial management. For example, GPO should implement an
information technology investment management process to help management
choose, monitor, and evaluate projects. With regard to financial
management, GPO needs to train its line managers to effectively use the
financial data that they receive from the CFO.

We provided a draft of this report on June 9, 2004 to the Public Printer
for review and comment. We received written comments from the Public
Printer, which are reprinted in appendix II. The Public Printer agreed
with the content, findings, and recommendations of the draft report,
noting that our report will be a major part of GPO's transformation
process. GPO also provided minor technical clarifications, which we
incorporated as appropriate in this report.

Background	GPO's mission includes both printing government documents and
disseminating them to the public. Under the public printing and documents
statutes of Title 44 of the U.S. Code, GPO's mission is to fulfill the
printing

2U.S. General Accounting Office, Government Printing Office: Advancing
GPO's Transformation Effort through Strategic Human Capital Management,
GAO-04-85 (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 20, 2003).

3GPO's six operating units are the Customer Services division; Information
Dissemination division; plant operations division; office of information
technology and systems; office of human capital; and office of finance and
administration.

needs of the federal government and to distribute those printed products
to the public. All printing for the Congress, the executive branch, and
the judiciary-except for the Supreme Court-is to be done or contracted by
GPO except for authorized exemptions.4 The Superintendent of Documents,
who heads GPO's Information Dissemination division, disseminates these
government products to the public through a system of nearly 1,300
depository libraries nationwide (the Federal Depository Library Program),
GPO's Web site (GPO Access), telephone and fax ordering, an on-line
ordering site, and its bookstore in Washington, D.C. The Superintendent of
Documents is also responsible for classification and bibliographic control
of tangible and electronic government publications.

Printing and related services. In providing printing and binding services
to the government, GPO generally dedicates its in-house printing equipment
to congressional printing, contracting out most printing for the executive
branch.5 Table 2 shows the costs of these services in fiscal year 2003, as
well as the source of these printing services.

Table 2: Printing, Binding, and Related Services Provided to the Congress
and Federal Agencies for Fiscal Year 2003

                              Dollars in millions

                                Printing source

Billings for congressional services

Billings for federal agency services

                Produced at in-house printing plant $72.6 $94.9

                     Procured from private sector 1.4 474.7

                               Total $74.0 $569.6

Source: GPO.

Documents printed for the Congress include the Congressional Record,
hearing transcripts, bills, resolutions, amendments, and committee
reports, among other things. GPO also provides publishing support staff to
the Congress. These support staff mainly perform print preparation
activities,

444 U.S.C. S:501. Departments, agencies, or their components may be
exempted from the provisions of Title 44 by having (1) their own
authorized printing plant approved by the Joint Committee on Printing, (2)
a statutory exemption, or (3) a waiver from the Joint Committee on
Printing to procure printing without going through GPO.

5Among the printing it performs in house for executive agencies is the
Federal Register.

such as typing, scanning, proofreading, and preparation of electronic data
for transmission to GPO.

GPO generally provides printing services to federal agencies through an
acquisition program that relies on the commercial sector by passing the
contractors' costs on to its government customers. Prequalified
businesses, small to large in size, compete for printing jobs that GPO
printing experts oversee to ensure that the contractors meet customer
requirements for quality. For this service, GPO attaches a 7 percent
surcharge that GPO officials have stated was established partly by what
the market will bear and partly by what is needed to cover GPO expenses.
GPO procures about 83 percent of printing for federal agencies from
private contractors and does the remaining 17 percent at its own plant
facilities. Most of the procured printing jobs (85 percent for the period
from June 2002 to May 2003) were for under $2,500 each.

Besides printing, GPO provides a range of services to agencies including,
for example, CD-ROM development and production, archiving/storage,
converting products to electronic format, Web hosting, and Web page design
and development.

Dissemination of government information. The Superintendent of Documents
is responsible for the acquisition, classification, dissemination, and
bibliographic control of tangible and electronic government publications.
Regardless of the printing source, Title 44 requires that federal agencies
make all their publications available to the Superintendent of Documents
for cataloging and distribution.

The Superintendent of Documents manages a number of programs related to
distribution, including the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP),
which provides copies of government publications to libraries across the
country for public use.6 Generally, documents distributed to the libraries
are those that contain information on U.S. government activities or are

6Examples of other distribution-related programs are the International
Exchange Service, administered by GPO on behalf of the Library of
Congress, to exchange U.S. government publications for foreign government
publications, which can then be made available to the public; the By-Law
Distribution program, which supports the requirements of executive
agencies and the Congress by providing publications prescribed by statute
free of charge to authorized recipients; and Agency Distribution Services,
which support the requirements of executive branch agencies for
distribution of publications through the performance or procurement of
mail list distribution or order-fulfillment services.

important reference publications. GPO evaluates documents to determine
whether they should be disseminated to the depository libraries. When
documents are printed through GPO, it evaluates them at the time of
printing; if documents are not printed through GPO, agencies are to notify
GPO of these documents, so that it can evaluate them and arrange to
receive any copies needed for distribution. A relatively small percentage
of the items printed through GPO for the executive branch are designated
as depository items.

Another distribution program under the Superintendent of Documents is the
Sales of Publications Program, which purchases, warehouses, sells, and
distributes government documents. Publications are sold by mail,
telephone, and fax; through GPO's on-line bookstore; and at its bookstore
in Washington, D.C. In addition, GPO provides electronic copies of the
Congressional Record and other documents to the Congress, the public, and
the depository libraries in accordance with the Government Printing Office
Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act of 1993.

The Superintendent of Documents is also responsible for GPO's Web site,
GPO Access, which is one mechanism for electronic dissemination of
government documents to the public through links to over 268,000
individual titles on GPO's servers and other federal Web sites. More than
2 billion documents have been retrieved by the public from GPO Access
since August 1994; almost 372 million downloads of government information
from GPO Access were made in fiscal year 2002 alone. About two-thirds of
new FDLP titles are available online.

GPO Is Funded by Appropriations and by a Revolving Fund

GPO receives funding from two appropriations: (1) the Congressional
Printing and Binding Appropriation, which is used for in-house printing of
congressional activities and (2) the Salaries and Expenses Appropriation,
which is used for certain Superintendent of Documents activities.

In addition to these appropriations, GPO has a business-oriented revolving
fund, which is used to fund its procured printing, document sales, and
other operations. The revolving fund was designed to financially "break
even" by recovering costs through rates, prices, and other charges to
customers for goods and services provided by GPO. The revolving fund is
supported by the 7 percent service charge levied on agency customers of
GPO-procured printing services and also receives funds from sales of
publications to the general public.

Trends in Printing and Information Dissemination

Current printing industry trends show that the total volume of printed
material has been declining for the past few years, and this trend is
expected to continue. A major factor in this declining volume is the use
of electronic media options. The move to electronic dissemination is the
latest phase in the electronic publishing revolution that has transformed
the printing industry in recent decades. This revolution was driven by the
development of increasingly sophisticated electronic publishing ("desktop
publishing") software, run on personal computers, that allows users to
design documents including both images and text, and the parallel
development of electronic laser printer/copier technology with
capabilities that approach those of high-end presses. These tools allow
users to produce documents that formerly would have required professional
printing expertise and large printing systems.

These technologies have brought major economic and industrial changes to
the printing industry. As electronic publishing software becomes
increasingly sophisticated, user-friendly, and reliable, it approaches the
ideal of the print customer being able to produce files that can be
reproduced on the press with little or no intervention by printing
professionals. As the printing process is simplified, the customer can
take responsibility for more of the work. Thus, the technologies diminish
the value that printing organizations such as GPO add to the printing
process, particularly for simpler printing jobs. Nonetheless, professional
expertise remains critical for many aspects of printing, and for many
print jobs it is still not possible to bypass the printing professional
altogether.

The advent of the Internet permits the instantaneous distribution of the
electronic documents produced by the new publishing processes, breaking
the link between printing and dissemination. With the increasing use of
the Web, the electronic dissemination of information becomes not only
practical, but also more economical than dissemination on paper.

As a result, many organizations are changing from a print to an electronic
focus. In the early stages of the electronic publishing revolution,
organizations tended to prepare a document for printing and then convert
the print layout to electronic form-in other words, focusing on printing
rather than dissemination. Increasingly, however, organizations are
changing their focus to providing information-not necessarily on paper.
Today an organization may employ computers to generate both plates used
for printing as well as electronic files for dissemination. Tomorrow, the
organization may create only an electronic representation of the

information, which can be disseminated through various media, such as Web
sites.7 A printed version would be produced only upon request.

Government Printing and Dissemination Changes Are Forcing GPO's
Transformation

As in private industry, printing and dissemination in the federal
government are being heavily affected by the changing technological
environment. This new environment presents both financial and management
challenges to GPO. Just as the volume of material provided to private
firms for printing has decreased over the past few years, so has the
volume of material that federal agencies provide to GPO for printing. In
addition, federal agencies are publishing more items directly to the
Web-without creating paper documents at all-and are able to print and
disseminate information without using GPO services. Similarly, individuals
are downloading documents from government Web sites, such as GPO Access,
rather than purchasing paper copies of government documents, thus reducing
document sales. As a result, GPO's financial condition has deteriorated,
and the relationship between GPO and its federal agency customers has
changed.

Changes in Government Printing and Dissemination Result in Reduced
Revenues

The reduction in the demand for procured printing and for printed
government documents has resulted in reduced revenues to GPO. These
diminished revenues, combined with steady expenses and management's use of
retained earnings for GPO-wide needs, have totally depleted the retained
earnings from revolving fund activities. These retained earnings have gone
from a surplus of $100 million in fiscal year 1998 to a deficit of $19
million in fiscal year 2003. Figure 1 shows the declining trend in
retained earnings.

7Using tools such as the Extensible Markup Language (XML), for example, an
organization could prepare one document that would automatically be
interpreted to display appropriately on a number of different display
devices, including paper. For more information on XML, see U.S. General
Accounting Office, Electronic Government: Challenges to Effective Adoption
of the Extensible Markup Language, GAO-02-327 (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 5,
2002).

           Figure 1: GPO Retained Earnings for Fiscal Years 1998-2003

Retained earnings (dollars in thousands) 120,000

100,000

                                    100,045

80,000

60,000

40,000

20,000 0 -20,000 1998

                                 1999 2000 2000

                           Adjustment- 2001 2002 2003

Fiscal year

Source: GAO analysis of GPO financial data.

Note: The accounting adjustment in 2000 reflects the reclassification of
the book value of an airconditioning system. Dollar amounts have not been
adjusted for inflation.

Specifically, most of the reductions to revenues for GPO's revolving fund
activities are from two sources: (1) losses to the sales of publications
operations8 and (2) adjustments to actuarial calculations of future
liabilities for GPO's workforce compensation.9 Additional reductions to
retained earnings resulted from GPO's procured printing operations and

8The sales of publications program absorbed additional expenses of $12
million for the direct write-down of the Integrated Processing System, a
major system intended to automate certain functions for the document sales
program and products. Sales of publications operations also include the
distribution of publications on behalf of customer agencies. In addition,
GPO management stated that the sales program had accumulated overhead
expenses of $54.7 million over the same 5-year period, which contributed
to its overall losses.

9GPO used $53.3 million to comply with new intragovernmental accounting
requirements under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (U.S. Treasury,
Financial Management Service, Federal Intragovernmental Transactions
Accounting Policies Guide, Sept. 28, 2001).

regional printing.10 (See fig. 2.) Also, retained earnings were used to
provide the Retirement Separation Incentive Program for reductions to
GPO's workforce.11

Figure 2: GPO Revolving Fund Activities Accumulated Losses to Retained
Earnings for Fiscal Years 1999-2003 (Dollars in Millions)

Regional printing

Procured printing

Federal Employees' Compensation Act changes

Sales of publications

Source: GAO analysis of GPO financial data.

Note: Dollar amounts have not been adjusted for inflation.

Losses to the sales program account for the largest reductions to GPO's
retained earnings. The sales program has had a net loss of $77 million
over the past 5 years, $20 million in fiscal year 2003 alone. According to
GPO, these losses are due to a downward trend in customer demand for
printed publications that has significantly reduced document sales
revenues. For example, according to the Superintendent of Documents, GPO
sold 35,000 subscriptions to the Federal Register 10 years ago and now
sells 2,500; at the same time, over 4 million Federal Register documents
are downloaded

10GPO closed its last remaining regional printing office in Denver,
Colorado, on April 21, 2004.

11The Retirement Separation Incentive Program had total expenses of $10.4
million to reduce the GPO workforce.

each month from GPO Access.12 The Superintendent also reported that the
overall volume of sales has dropped from 24.3 million copies sold in
fiscal year 1993 to 4.4 million copies sold in fiscal year 2002. As a
result, revenues have not covered expenses, and the sales program has
sustained significant annual operating losses. (See fig. 3.)

Figure 3: GPO Revenues and Expenses from Sales of Publications for Fiscal
Years 1999-2003

Dollar amount (in millions)

80

60

40

20

0 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

                                  Fiscal year

Revenues

Expenses

Source: GAO analysis of GPO financial data.

Note: Dollar amounts have not been adjusted for inflation.

By comparison, the losses from GPO's procured printing business are less
significant: $15.8 million over the last 5 years. According to GPO, its
federal agency print jobs at one time generated close to $1 billion a
year. In fiscal year 2003, the amount was just over half that-$570
million.

12Judith C. Russell, U.S. Superintendent of Documents, "The Federal
Depository Library Program: Current and Future Challenges of the
Electronic Transition," paper presented at the annual meeting of the
American Association of Law Libraries (Seattle, Wash.: July 15, 2003).

Changes in Printing and Dissemination Affect How Federal Agencies Use GPO
Services

These changes in federal printing and dissemination are also creating
challenges for GPO's long-standing structure for centralized printing and
dissemination. As mentioned earlier, agencies are to notify GPO of
published documents (if they used other printing sources), which allows
GPO to review agency documents to determine whether the documents should
be disseminated to the depository libraries. If they should be, GPO can
then add a rider to the agency's print contract to obtain the number of
copies that it needs for dissemination.13 However, if agencies do not
notify GPO of their intent to print, these documents become "fugitive
documents" and may not be available to the public through the depository
library program.

In responding to our surveys, executive branch agencies reported that they
are producing a significant portion of their total printing volume
internally, generally on desktop publishing and reproduction equipment
instead of large-scale printing equipment. In addition, while most
agencies (16 of 21) reported that they have established procedures to
ensure that documents that should be disseminated through the libraries
are forwarded to GPO, 5 of 21 did not have such procedures, thus
potentially adding to the fugitive document problem.

Responding agencies also reported that although currently more government
documents are still being printed than are being published electronically,
more and more documents are being published directly to the Web, and their
numbers are expected to grow in the future. Most agencies reported that
documents published directly to the Web were not of the type that is
required to be sent to GPO for dissemination. However, a GPO official, in
commenting on this, said that unless there is a specific reason why a
document should not be disseminated to the public, such as if it is
classified or of administrative interest only, GPO should have the
opportunity to evaluate whether that document is suitable for
dissemination through its depository library system.

Of the five agencies that did publish eligible documents electronically,
only one said that it had submitted these documents to GPO. As electronic
publishing continues to grow, such conditions may contribute further to
the fugitive document problem.

13Receiving these copies at the rate of the original order is much less
expensive than arranging a separate print run.

Change in Printing and Dissemination Affect Relationship between GPO and
Executive Branch Customers

The ongoing agency shift toward electronic publishing is also creating
challenges for GPO's existing relationships with its executive branch
customers. In responding to our surveys, executive branch agencies
expressed overall satisfaction with GPO's products and services and
expressed a desire to continue to use these services for at least part of
their publishing needs. However, these agencies reported a few areas in
which GPO could improve-for example, in the presentation of new products
and services. (We provide further results from our surveys on agency
satisfaction in app. III.)

Further, some agencies indicated that they were less familiar with and
less likely to use GPO's electronic products and services. As shown in
table 3, these agencies were hardly or not at all familiar with services
such as Web page design and development (8 of 28), Web hosting services (8
of 29), and electronic publishing services (5 of 28). As a consequence,
these agencies were also less likely to use these services. With the
expected growth in electronic publishing and other services, making
customer agencies fully aware of GPO's capabilities in these areas is
important. Table 3 provides agency responses on their familiarity with
various GPO products and services.

Table 3: Executive Agency Familiarity with GPO Services Agency familiarity with
                             GPO products/services

                                                                Hardly 
                                                                  or   
      GPO product/service    Extremely Very Moderately Somewhat not at Totala 
                                                                 all   
       Archiving/storage             2    5          7        5      9 
            Binding                  6   12          4        4      3 
    CD-ROM development and           4    6         12        3      4 
          production                                                   
    Converting products to           4    5         13        3      4 
       electronic format                                               
       Custom finishing              5    8          8        4      4     29 
     Duplication/print on            9    8          7        2      2     28 
            demand                                                     
     Electronic publishing           2    9          8        4      5     28 
      Federal Depository            12   10          4        1      2     29 
        Library Program                                                
     Financial management            4    9          7        6      3     29 
           services                                                    
       GPO sales program             8    8          8        2      3     29 
     Institute for Federal                                                    
    Printing and Electronic         12    7          4        4      2     29
          Publishing                                                   
     Large format printing           4    7          7        4      6     28 
     Production Inventory            7    6          5        5      6     29 
        Control System                                                 

(Continued From Previous Page)

                 Agency familiarity with GPO products/services

                                                                Hardly 
                                                                  or   
      GPO product/service    Extremely Very Moderately Somewhat not at Totala 
                                                                 all   
        Preflighting b               7    9          7        3      3 
Press sheet inspection c         14   10          2        2      1 
      Printing (in-house)           17    6          3        2      1 
     Product dissemination           8    7          7        2      5 
         Reimbursable                5    2         10        6      6 
     storage/distribution                                              
       Typography/design            12    6          4        4      3 
          Web hosting                1    4          6       10      8 
           Web page                  1    5          5        9      8 
      design/development                                               

Source: GAO analysis of agency-reported data.

aNot all agencies answered every question.
bPreflighting is checking printed or electronic copy before printed copies
are made.
cPress sheet inspection is a review of printed sheets before printed
copies are made.

A few of the responding agencies reported less than satisfied ratings for
some GPO products and services. Among these services were financial
management services (7 of 23) and Web page design/development (3 of 10).
Agencies also reported not using some GPO products and services, including
Web hosting and Web page design/development services (18 of 28),
converting products to electronic format (11 of 28), and electronic
publishing services (9 of 28). Table 4 shows the results of our survey on
agency satisfaction with GPO services, which includes agencies' reports of
products and services that they do not use.

    Table 4: Executive Agency Level of Satisfaction with GPO Services Agency
                    satisfaction with GPO products/services

                                     Above            Below      Don't 
    GPO product/service   Excellent average Average average Poor  use  Totala 
     Archiving/storage            1       4       6       0    2    15     28 
          Binding                 4       9       4       0    2     9     28 
CD-ROM development and         3       4       9       1    2     9     28 
         production                                                    
Converting products to         3       6       7       0    1    11     28 
     electronic format                                                 
      Custom finishing            4       6       4       0    2    12     28 
    Duplication/print on          5       5       6       1    2     9     28 
           demand                                                      
Electronic publishing          4       7       7       0    1     9     28 

(Continued From Previous Page)

                 Agency satisfaction with GPO products/services

                                     Above            Below      Don't 
    GPO product/service   Excellent average Average average Poor  use  Totala 
     Federal Depository           9       6       4       3    2     3 
      Library Program                                                  
    Financial management          2       4      10       3    4     5 
          services                                                     
     GPO sales program            5       4      10       2    1     5 
Institute for Federal                                               
        Printing and             11       7       5       0    1     4 
Electronic Publishing                                               
Large format printing          4       3       9       0    1    10 
    Production Inventory          2       4      11       1    1     9 
       Control System                                                  
        Preflighting              2       8       6       0    2    10 
Press sheet inspection         8       9       5       0    2     4 
    Printing (in-house)           7       7       5       2    2     5 
Product dissemination          4       7       6       1    2     7 
        Reimbursable              1       2       4       0    2    19 
    storage/distribution                                               
     Typography/design            3       9       4       1    2     9 
        Web hosting               1       2       5       1    1    18 
          Web page                1       2       4       1    2    18 
     design/development                                                

Source: GAO analysis of agency-reported data.

aNot all agencies answered every question.

GPO Is Taking Action to Address Challenges

GPO officials agreed with our assessment of the impact of technological
change and said they are taking action to make GPO a more customerfocused
organization. According to these officials, GPO is

o 	taking a new direction with its Office of Sales and Marketing,
including hiring an outside expert and establishing nine national account
managers, who spend most of their time in the field building relationships
with key customers, analyzing their business processes, identifying
current and future needs, and offering solutions;

o 	working with its largest agency customer, the Department of Defense, to
determine how to work more closely with large in-house printing
operations;

o 	evaluating recommendations received from the Depository Library
Council; and

o 	continuing to implement a Demonstration Print Procurement Project,
jointly announced with the Office of Management and Budget on June 6,
2003.

The Demonstration Print Procurement Project is to provide a Web-based
system that will be a one-stop, integrated print ordering and invoicing
system. The system is to allow agencies to order their own printing at
reduced rates, with the option of buying additional printing procurement
services from GPO. According to GPO, this project is also designed to
address many of the issues identified through our executive branch
surveys, particularly the depository library fugitive document problem.

Recommended Next Steps	Although executive branch agencies generally
expressed satisfaction with GPO products and services, their survey
responses indicate some areas for improvement. Accordingly, we recommend
that the Public Printer

o 	work with executive branch agencies to examine the nature of their
inhouse printing and determine whether GPO could provide these services
more economically;

o 	address the few areas in which executive branch agencies rated GPO's
products, services, and performance as below average;

o 	reexamine GPO's marketing of electronic services to ensure that
agencies are aware of them; and

o 	use the results of our surveys to work with agencies to establish
processes that will ensure that eligible documents (whether printed or
electronic) are forwarded to GPO for dissemination to the public, as
required by law.

Expert Panel Suggests Strategic Options for GPO's Future Role

The Public Printer and his leadership team recognize the challenges that
they face in the very competitive printing and dissemination marketplace
and have embarked upon an ambitious effort to transform the agency. First
and foremost, the Public Printer agrees with the need to reexamine the
mission of the agency within the context of technological change that
underlies GPO's current situation. To assist in that process, our expert
panel developed a series of options for GPO to consider in its planning.
Briefly, the panel suggested that GPO

o 	develop a business plan to focus its mission on information
dissemination as its primary goal, rather than printing;

o 	demonstrate to its customers-including agencies and the public-the
value it can provide;

o 	improve and extend partnerships with agencies to help establish itself
as an information disseminator; and

o 	ensure that its internal operations-including technology, how it
conducts business with its customers, management information systems, and
training-are adequate for efficient and effective management of core
business functions and for service to its customers.

We shared the results of the panel with GPO leadership, who commented that
the panel's suggestions dovetail well with their own assessments. These
leaders stated that they are using the results of the panel as a key part
of the agency's ongoing strategic planning process. The panel members are
listed in appendix IV.

Create a New Vision Focusing on Dissemination

In view of the changing federal government printing and dissemination
environment, the panel suggested that GPO first needs to create a new
vision of itself as a disseminator of information, and not only a printer
of documents. As one panel member put it, GPO should end up resembling a
bank of information rather than a mint that stamps paper.

As a first step in this new vision, according to the panel, GPO needs to
develop a business plan that emphasizes direct electronic dissemination
methods over distribution of paper documents. The panel identified several
elements that could be included in such a business plan:

Improving GPO Access. GPO Access should be upgraded, and particular
emphasis should be placed on improving the search capabilities.

Investigating methods to disseminate information directly. For example,
GPO could develop additional services to "push" data and documents into
the hands of those who need or want them. To become more active in
disseminating data, GPO could provide information to public interest or
advocacy groups that are interested in tracking government information on
certain subjects. These groups require something like a news clipping
service, and the panel suggested that this is

one way in which GPO could provide "value-added" service for which it
could collect fees.14

Modernizing production processes. GPO should be moving toward production
processes that will allow it to prepare a document once for distribution
through various media (print or electronic). In the past, most
organizations have focused on printing paper documents that are then
turned into electronic ones. According to the panel members, the strategy
for the future is to publish electronically and print only when necessary.

Promote the federal use of metadata. GPO should support the use of
metadata-descriptive information about the data provided that is carried
along with the data-across the federal government as a requirement for
electronic publishing.

Providing increased support to the depository libraries. According to the
panel, the depository libraries will continue to play an important role in
providing access to electronically disseminated government information-
through GPO Access and other tools-to that portion of the public that does
not have access to the Internet. To support this role, GPO will have to
ensure that the depository libraries receive training in electronic search
tools, especially in GPO Access.

GPO officials stated that its Office of Innovation and New Technologies,
established in early 2003, is leading an effort to transform GPO into an
agency "at the cutting edge of multichannel information dissemination."15
A major goal in this effort is to disseminate information while still
addressing the need "to electronically preserve, authenticate, and version
the documents of our democracy." Also, GPO has established an Office of
New Business Development that is to develop new products and service ideas
that will result in increased revenues. GPO officials stated that they are
using the results of the panel discussion to categorize and prioritize
their initial compilation of ideas for new products and services and, in
this

14GPO is authorized to collect fees to reimburse its revolving fund for
services and supplies provided, including charges for overhead. 44 U.S.C.
S:309(b)(1).

15The mission of this office is to find new technologies that can help GPO
with the challenges of acquiring, authenticating, versioning,
disseminating, and preserving digital information. According to GPO, each
of these functions related to digital asset management is crucial to its
future.

context, plan to assess how these ideas would improve operations and
revenue.

Demonstrate Value to Customers and the Public

The panel also agreed that, while GPO appears to provide value to agencies
because of its expertise in printing and dissemination, it is not clear
that agencies and the general public realize this. Therefore, GPO should
focus on demonstrating its value to federal agencies and to the public.
According to the panel, areas that GPO could emphasize include the
following:

Providing competitively priced printing that meets customer needs.

GPO should collect the data to show that it can, in fact, provide the
"best value" for the government print dollar. GPO should demonstrate its
capabilities by assisting agencies to select optimal alternatives for
obtaining their printing.

Providing expert assistance in electronic dissemination. Given GPO's major
role in providing information dissemination, one panel member suggested
that GPO provide its expert advice on electronic Web site dissemination to
agencies. Once again, GPO could develop information that demonstrates how
it can add value in this area.

Disseminating government information to the public. GPO should focus on
demonstrating the usefulness of agencies' sharing information with GPO for
public dissemination. In addition, the depository libraries and GPO Access
should be made better known to the public. GPO could demonstrate its value
to the public as a trusted source of authentic government information.

GPO agreed that demonstrating its value is an important part of its new
customer service direction. GPO's Office of Sales and Marketing is also
working to augment customer service, including hiring an outside expert
and establishing nine national account managers, as mentioned earlier.

Establish Partnerships with According to the panel, GPO should establish
partnerships with other Collaborating and Customer agencies and enhance
the partnerships it already has. These partnerships Agencies can be used
to assist GPO in establishing itself as a disseminator and

depository of information and to expand agencies' use of GPO in this role.
Specifically, the panel suggested that GPO establish partnerships with the
other information dissemination and preservation agencies (such as the
National Library of Medicine, the Office of Scientific and Technical

Information, the Library of Congress, and the National Archives and
Records Administration) with which it has related responsibilities.
Through ongoing dialogue with these agencies, GPO will be able to (1)
coordinate standards and best practices for digitizing documents and (2)
work with agencies to archive documents in order to keep them permanently
available to the public. GPO could be successfully marketed as the source
of government information for public use.

In addition, the panel suggested that GPO improve and expand its
partnerships with other agencies. Most agencies consider GPO a resource
for printing documents; however, it now has the capability to assist in
the collection and dissemination of electronic information.

GPO agreed that partnerships with other agencies, particularly the
information dissemination agencies, would be a key item in its
transformation. GPO has made efforts to join various working groups within
the government working on information dissemination issues. Most recently,
the Public Printer has been added to the oversight committee of the
National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program
(NDIIPP), a national cooperative effort to archive and preserve digital
information, led by the Library of Congress.

Improve Internal Operations	The panel suggested that GPO would need to
improve its internal operations to be successful in the very competitive
printing and dissemination marketplace. Panel members suggested that GPO
consider the following strategies.

Emphasize the use of technology to address future needs. The panel members
suggested that GPO hire a chief technical officer (in addition to its
chief information officer), who would focus on bringing in new printing
and dissemination technologies while maintaining older technologies.

Improve how it conducts business with its customers. An electronic means
for submitting printing requests would streamline the printing process for
GPO customers. One panel member noted that when his organization started
an electronic submission system for manuscripts, the number of requests it
received increased dramatically because such systems made it easier for
the user. (GPO's demonstration project, currently being piloted at the
Department of Labor, includes use of a Webbased tool for submitting
printing requests.)

Improving management information systems. GPO should overhaul its outdated
management information systems and acquire new ones that can provide
management with the information it needs to effectively monitor operations
and to make good business decisions.

Enhance employee training. GPO's transformation should include significant
improvements to employee training. GPO customer service employees should
have the knowledge they need to effectively assist customers not only in
printing publications and creating electronic documents, but also in
advising customers on the best form of dissemination (paper or electronic)
for their jobs.

GPO agreed that its internal operations need improvement. Among its
actions to address the adequacy of its internal functions, GPO has hired a
chief technical officer. The chief technical officer serves as a
codirector of the Innovation and New Technology Office and provides
principal guidance in the creation and development of technology designed
to accelerate the transformation of GPO into a 21st century information
organization using state of the art solutions to provide the highest
quality government information services to the nation.

GPO Has Made the Case for Change, but Actions to Advance Transformation
Needed

Large-scale change management initiatives, such as organizational
transformations, are not simple endeavors and require the concentrated
efforts of both leadership and employees to realize intended synergies and
to accomplish new organizational goals. We have identified a number of key
practices and related implementation steps that have consistently been
found at the center of successful transformations.16 Collectively, these
key practices and implementation steps can help agencies transform their
cultures so that they have the capacity to fulfill their promises, meet
current and emerging needs, maximize their performance, and ensure
accountability. GPO has applied some key practices as part of its
transformation effort, such as involving top leadership and strategically
communicating with employees and other stakeholders. However, it has not
fully applied key practices that emphasize planning and goal setting. For
example, GPO has not developed a plan for its transformation that would
include goals and strategies to achieve its goals. Such a plan is

16U.S. General Accounting Office, Results-Oriented Cultures:
Implementation Steps to Assist Mergers and Organizational Transformations,
GAO-03-669 (Washington, D.C.: July 2, 2003).

important to pinpoint performance shortfalls and gaps and suggest
midcourse corrections.

GPO's Leadership Has Clearly Articulated the Need to Transform and Taken
Steps to Ensure the Continued Delivery of Services

Because transformation of an organization entails fundamental change,
strong and inspirational leadership is indispensable. Our work has found
that leadership articulating a succinct and compelling reason for change
helps employees, customers, and stakeholders understand the expected
outcomes of the transformation and engenders not only their cooperation,
but also their ownership of these outcomes. In addition, to ensure that
the productivity and effectiveness of the organization do not decline,
leadership must also balance the continued delivery of services with
transformation activities.

                             Key transformation practice Implementation steps 
              Ensure top leadership drives the transformation.  o  Define and 
          articulate a succinct and compelling reason for change.  o  Balance 
               continued delivery of services with transformation activities. 

On several occasions and to different audiences, the Public Printer has
reiterated the need for GPO to move from the 19th century to the 21st
century. The Public Printer bases his case for change on three
interrelated points that are consistent with our findings discussed above:

o 	GPO's printing business and customer base has decreased significantly
in recent years due to the government's and public's increased use of and
reliance on electronic documents, necessitating GPO to establish itself as
the leading organization within the federal government for dealing with
the collection, authentication, and preservation of government
documents-rather than a traditional printing operation.

o 	GPO has failed to update its technological abilities to keep pace with
changes in the information dissemination environment, and as a result must
update its technology to address the needs of today's customers and
information users and stay alert to future trends and changing needs.

o 	GPO's retained earnings, which were normally available to fund
technological investment, are virtually depleted, requiring GPO to change
the way in which it does business to ensure that it can reverse the trend
of financial losses.

GPO's precarious financial condition makes it essential that its leaders
effectively balance transformation efforts with the continued delivery of
services. The Public Printer created and filled eight top leadership
positions. The creation of these positions recognized that the demands of
transforming while managing an ongoing operation can strain leadership, as
well as the importance of organizational structure as a key factor
affecting an agency's management control environment. These positions,
which had no counterpart in GPO's former organization, can help ensure
that GPO balances its transformation efforts with its day-to-day
operations. For example, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) focuses
primarily on dayto-day activities, the Chief of Staff focuses on strategic
planning, and the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO), CIO, and CFO address
both types of activities within their respective functional areas.17 (See
fig. 4.)

17On June 3, 2004, GPO's Chief of Staff was appointed to serve as Acting
CHCO and the Public Printer's Special Assistant following the departure of
the CHCO. The Acting CHCO stated that GPO would continue implementing the
many transformation efforts initiated by the Human Capital Office.

Figure 4: GPO's Organization as of June 2004

New positions Source: GAO analysis.

GPO Has Set Interim Goals for Its Operating Units While It Works on a
Strategic Plan

The mission and strategic goals of a transformed organization must become
the focus of the transformation, define the culture, and serve as the
vehicle for employees to unite and rally around. In successful
transformation efforts, developing, communicating, and constantly
reinforcing the mission and strategic goals give employees, customers, and
stakeholders a sense of what the organization intends to accomplish, as
well as helping employees determine how their positions fit in with the
new organization and what they need to do differently to help the new

organization achieve success. Adopting leading practices for
resultsoriented strategic planning and reporting, including those mandated
for executive agencies in the Government Performance and Results Act
(GPRA), can help focus transformation efforts. While GPO is not required
to follow GPRA, the act can provide a relevant framework for GPO to follow
in developing its strategic plan.18 GPRA requires that strategic plans
include several elements, including a mission statement, goals and
objectives, and approaches or strategies to achieve goals and objectives.
The framework can help an agency meet management control standards by
enabling top management review of actual performance against planned
performance.19

                              Key transformation practice Implementation step 
         Establish a coherent mission and integrated strategic goals to guide 
             the transformation. Adopt leading practices for results-oriented 
                                            strategic planning and reporting. 

GPO is establishing a mission and strategic goals. Its overall approach is
to consider the information gathered in the past year on GPO's current
environment-including the results of our work-and develop its strategic
plan by the summer of 2004. Specific responsibilities for drafting a
strategic plan have been placed with the Chief of Staff, who, beginning in
April 2004, held biweekly meetings with the Public Printer to discuss the
direction for the strategic plan.20 These meetings were meant to provide
the Chief of Staff with updates on the Public Printer's vision, which,
according to a GPO official, is being developed as he meets with
stakeholders and industry leaders.

Over the past year, the Public Printer has spoken with employees,
stakeholders, and the Congress to help focus and refine a vision for GPO's
future. On April 28, 2004, the Public Printer made his most clear and
direct statement of his vision for GPO thus far, stating that GPO has
"begun to

18U.S. General Accounting Office, Results-Oriented Government: GPRA Has
Established a Solid Foundation for Achieving Greater Results, GAO-04-38
(Washington, D.C.: Mar. 10, 2004).

19U.S. General Accounting Office, Standards for Internal Control in the
Federal Government, GAO/AIMD-00-21.3.1 (Washington, D.C.: November 1999).

20GPO's Chief of Staff will continue to have responsibility for GPO's
strategic planning in his new position as Special Assistant to the Public
Printer and Acting CHCO.

develop a new vision for the GPO: an agency whose primary mission will be
to capture digitally, organize, maintain, authenticate, distribute, and
provide permanent public access to the information products and services
of the federal government." GPO's strategic plan has the potential to
unite employees around the new mission and determine what they need to do
to help GPO transform and achieve success in the new environment.

Although GPO has not fully developed its mission and strategic goals,
GPO's leadership has started to change GPO's culture by setting interim
goals for major operating units. Managers told us that in the past, GPO's
culture was to not set goals in order to avoid being held accountable for
results. More specifically, GPO did not set or track any organizational
goals and, therefore, did not develop the capacity to measure performance.
The COO began to change GPO's culture by leading an initiative in October
2003 to develop goals for its operating units and told us that it was
important to begin to focus managers' attention on priority issues and
hold them accountable for progress. He said he viewed the interim goals as
a necessary step to prepare GPO managers to operate in a results-oriented
environment after GPO's strategic plan is completed.

The COO met with the heads of each business unit to develop goals that
they thought would be consistent with GPO's yet-to-be-developed strategic
mission based on discussions with the Public Printer. Once the goals were
developed, the COO and business unit managers identified areas where some
interdependence with other managers' goals might exist. Each manager is
responsible for achieving between 6 and 11 goals that are specific to his
or her business unit, and 6 additional goals that are common across GPO.
The common goals are as follows:

o  offer training opportunities to all employees in necessary job skills;

o  establish baseline information on customer satisfaction;

o  resolve all reportable conditions from financial audits;

o 	establish a line of communication through regular meetings to
disseminate information;

o  complete second-level reorganizations; and

o 	establish adequate off-site backup to enable continuity of essential
operations.

GPO's efforts to set goals are a significant step toward strengthening
communication and accountability; however, many of the goals do not
emphasize outcomes. For example, one of the goals for both the Customer
Services and Information Dissemination divisions is to implement the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) compact demonstration program.21
While this demonstrates that GPO has incorporated crosscutting goals
between its operating units, this goal is a statement of a task to be
accomplished rather than an outcome to be achieved.

While goals are important for establishing accountability, so too are
measures, because they allow leaders to perform their management control
responsibilities for monitoring performance and ensuring resolution of
identified performance gaps. GPO's COO has stated that he would like to
strengthen performance measurement as GPO sets its goals for fiscal year
2005. To this end, GPO has the opportunity to learn from the practices of
leading organizations that implemented results-oriented management. Among
other things, such leading organizations generally developed measures that
were tied to program goals, demonstrated the degree to which the desired
results were achieved, and were limited to the vital few that were
considered essential to producing data for decision making.22

Recommended Next Steps 	Consistent with the efforts under way, the Public
Printer should ensure that GPO's strategic planning process includes
development of

o 	a comprehensive agency mission statement to define the basic purpose of
GPO;

o 	agencywide long-term goals and objectives to explain what results are
expected from the agency's main functions and when to expect those
results;

o 	approaches or strategies to achieve goals and objectives to align GPO's
activities, core processes, and resources to support achievement of GPO's
strategic goals and mission;

21GPO and OMB entered a compact on June 6, 2003, in which GPO would create
a demonstration project designed to provide federal agencies flexibility
in choosing their own printing services.

22U.S. General Accounting Office, Executive Guide: Effectively
Implementing the Government Performance and Results Act, GGD-96-118
(Washington, D.C.: June 1996).

o 	a description of the relationship between the long-term and annual
goals to show expected progress;

o 	an identification of key external factors to help determine what
actions will be needed to meet the goals; and

o 	a description of program evaluations used to establish or revise
strategic goals, and a schedule for future program evaluations.

The Public Printer should reinforce a focus on results by continuing
efforts to set goals, measure performance, and hold managers accountable
by adopting leading practices of organizations that have been successful
in measuring their performance. First, the measures that GPO develops
should be

o 	tied to program goals and demonstrate the degree to which the desired
results were achieved,

o 	limited to the vital few that are considered essential to producing
data for decision making,

o  responsive to multiple priorities, and

o  responsibility-linked to establish accountability for results.

Second, GPO leadership needs to recognize the cost and effort involved in
gathering and analyzing performance data and make sure that the data it
collects are sufficiently complete, accurate, and consistent to be useful
in decision making.

GPO Can Strengthen Its Principles are the core values of the new
organization; like the mission and Transformation by Focusing strategic
goals, they can serve as an anchor that remains valid and enduring on a
Key Set of Principles while organizations, personnel, programs, and
processes may change. Core

values define the attributes that are intrinsically important to what the
newand Priorities organization does and how it will do it. They represent
the institutional

beliefs and boundaries that are essential to building a new culture for
the organization.

                              Key transformation practice Implementation step 
         Focus on a key set of principles and priorities at the outset of the 
        transformation. Embed core values in every aspect of the organization 
                                                to reinforce the new culture. 

GPO leadership has not adopted a set of agencywide core values to help
unify GPO to achieve its transformation, but has created a task team under
the direction of the Deputy Chief of Staff to develop them. Although the
core values have yet to be developed, they are referenced in draft
performance agreements for its senior managers.

The experience of a GPO unit demonstrates the benefits of having core
values. According to the Director of the Pueblo Document Distribution
Center, core values were developed in 1998 that helped change the center's
culture and focus employees on improving the center's performance. The
employees at Pueblo had a series of meetings to develop and agree on the
core values, thereby taking ownership of them and reinforcing employees'
understanding that they were responsible for the success of the Pueblo
facility. Figure 5 shows a banner detailing these core values that hangs
prominently in the facility.

Figure 5: Banner Displayed at GPO's Pueblo Document Distribution Center

Employees said that the banner is a constant reminder that their
individual and organizational success is dependent on how well they employ
the core values as they serve their customers. The Pueblo Document
Distribution Center Director said that establishing core values has helped
employees take ownership for improving customer service, as measured by
the center's per order error rate. He said that the employees understand
the importance of these core values because most of their work is done on
a reimbursable basis for other federal agency customers, the center's
primary source of funding. Efforts to improve customer service are
consistent with the recommendation made by the panel of printing and
information dissemination experts we convened.

Recommended Next Steps The Public Printer should

o 	articulate to all employees how the core values can guide GPO's
transformation and serve to anchor GPO's transformation efforts and

o 	ensure core values developed by units within GPO are consistent with
GPO's agencywide core values.

GPO Does Not Have a Transformation Plan, but Has Taken Steps to
Demonstrate Progress

Because a transformation is a substantial commitment that could take years
to complete, it must be carefully and closely managed. As a result, it is
essential to establish and track implementation goals and establish a
timeline to pinpoint performance shortfalls and gaps and suggest midcourse
corrections. Further, research suggests that failure to adequately
address-and often even consider-a wide variety of people and cultural
issues is at the heart of unsuccessful transformations. Thus, people and
cultural issues must be monitored from day one of a transformation.

                             Key transformation practice Implementation steps 
           Set implementation goals and a timeline to build momentum and show 
              progress from day one.  o  Make public implementation goals and 
                   timeline.  o  Seek and monitor employee attitudes and take 
             appropriate follow-up actions.  o  Identify cultural features of 
           transforming organizations.  o  Attract and retain key talent.  o  
                Establish an organizationwide knowledge and skills inventory. 

Make public implementation goals and timeline. GPO has not established a
transformation plan with specific time frames and goals for which
leadership would be held accountable. Although GPO leadership has stated
that a critical phase of its transformation is to develop a strategic plan
by the summer of 2004, other more specific goals and timelines for the
transformation, which could be linked to those being included in the
strategic plan, are under development.

GPO has the opportunity to ensure that its transformation remains on track
and is ultimately successful by applying project management principles.
Project management is a control mechanism that provides some assurance
that desired outcomes can be achieved. It involves establishing key goals,
tasks, time frames, and responsibilities that guide project accomplishment
and ensure accountability. GPO leaders have acknowledged general
weaknesses in GPO's project management capabilities and have identified
this as a skills gap that is being addressed through training initiatives.
By enhancing project management skills at various levels of the
organization and applying project management principles to key efforts
like the

transformation, GPO can have greater assurance that these efforts will
produce desired outcomes.

Seek and monitor employee attitudes and take appropriate follow-up
actions. Because people are the drivers of any merger or transformation,
monitoring their attitudes is vital. Top leadership should also take
appropriate follow-up actions to avoid creating negative attitudes that
may translate into actions that could have a detrimental effect on the
transformation.

In February 2003, GPO leadership sought employee attitudes by implementing
an employee climate survey, an important first step to establish a
baseline on employee attitudes and concerns. After the survey was
completed, GPO leadership adopted recommendations to address employee
concerns. GPO will have the opportunity to take additional follow-up
actions based on a second employee survey it plans to administer in the
coming months. This survey has the potential to provide GPO leadership
with updated information on GPO employee attitudes and views on GPO's
transformation.

Identify cultural features of transforming organizations. Because a change
of culture is at the heart of a successful transformation, it is important
for leadership to gain a better understanding of the organization's
beliefs and values prior to, or early in, the transformation process. By
listening to GPO employees and customers, GPO management determined that
its culture was not sufficiently customer focused in dealing with
agencies' printing needs. Instead, GPO relied on the requirement in Title
44 that federal agencies use GPO for their printing needs and made little
effort to develop customer relationships and anticipate the needs of its
customers. As mentioned earlier, to foster a more customer-oriented
culture, GPO has created new positions, national account managers,
responsible for developing relationships with customer agencies. The
national account managers' role is to develop relationships with agency
customers and provide them with information about the products and
services that GPO can offer to meet their information dissemination needs.

Similarly, GPO's former CHCO spoke with GPO employees about their views of
the Human Capital Office and identified features of the office's culture
that he is trying to change. The recent restructing of the Human Capital
Office is aimed at creating a culture that is more customer focused,
breaking down organizational barriers, and enhancing internal and external
communication. For example, the Human Capital Office has been

reorganized into teams dedicated to support GPO's operating units. These
teams will be able to address the full range of human resources
activities, from hiring to retirement, as well as worker safety issues.
According to GPO, physically locating the human capital team members with
the business unit staff ensures that the operating units' human resources
needs are more easily met, improves communication between the units and
the Human Capital Office, and allows for faster decision making.

Attract and retain key talent. Success is more likely when the best people
are selected for each position based on the competencies needed for the
new organization. To help ensure that GPO retained key talent needed for
GPO's transformation, the Public Printer appointed experienced GPO
employees to fill the top management positions of Superintendent of
Documents, Managing Director of Customer Services, and Managing Director
of Plant Operations. (One of the three employees has over 40 years of
experience at GPO.) According to the Public Printer, each of these
individuals is committed to helping GPO transform and successfully meet
the needs and demands of GPO's customers in the 21st century. In addition,
these appointments ensured that a vast amount of institutional knowledge
remained at GPO during the transformation and were meant to give other
current GPO employees a clear message that, while GPO is transforming and
changing the way it does business, there is a place for current GPO
employees at all levels of the new organization.

To ensure that GPO attracts the people it needs to successfully transform
and to obtain the next generation of technical skills needed to prepare
GPO for the challenges of the 21st century, the Public Printer has
increased the recruitment of outstanding college scholars. GPO has
implemented a recruiting initiative at universities and colleges that
emphasize fields of study that would benefit GPO in meeting its current
and emerging needs. For example, the initiative will target graduates in
printing and graphic communication; electrical, mechanical, and chemical
engineering; and business administration.

In response to a request from the General Counsel of GPO, we recently
provided an advance decision that GPO may use appropriated funds to
provide recruitment and relocation payments and retention allowances to
certain GPO employees, but suggested that it consult with the Joint
Committee on Printing before doing so.23 GPO is exploring these and other

23B-301837 (Apr. 28, 2004).

strategies to enhance its ability to recruit and retain top talent with
needed skills and knowledge. We have reported that agencies have
successfully used human capital flexibilities, such as recruitment and
retention allowances, as important human capital strategies to assist in
reaching program goals.24

Establish an organizationwide knowledge and skills inventory. A knowledge
and skills inventory can help a transforming organization identify the
skills and competencies of the existing workforce that can help the
organization adapt to its new mission. In addition, a transforming
organization needs to define the critical skills and competencies that it
will require in the future to meet its strategic program goals and
identify how it will obtain these requirements, including those that it
will need to acquire, develop, and retain (including full-and part-time
federal staff and contractors) to meet future needs.25

GPO's Human Capital Office is planning to complete a knowledge and skills
inventory to identify the skills and competencies of the existing
workforce. In a memorandum to all GPO employees, the former CHCO explained
that the Workforce Development Department will undertake a comprehensive
skills assessment involving all employees to strategically determine how
GPO will need to retrain the workforce as the transformation proceeds. The
skills assessment will include a number of measurement tools and methods,
including skills tests, electronic and paper-based surveys, interviews,
focus groups, and observations of work. The knowledge and skills inventory
could help GPO as it reorganizes and shifts focus to new missions and
competencies.

Knowledge and skills inventories have been used by agencies to identify
related training needs. We have reported that agencies have used a variety
of approaches in assessing skills and competencies to identify training
needs. For example, agencies used workforce planning models; assessed the
workforce in view of organizational, occupational, and unit-based

24U.S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: Effective Use of
Flexibilities Can Assist Agencies in Managing Their Workforces, GAO-03-2
(Washington, D.C.: Dec. 6, 2002).

25U.S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: Key Principles for
Effective Strategic Workforce Planning, GAO-04-39 (Washington, D.C.: Dec.
11, 2003).

competency standards; and evaluated job performance appraisals and
information from individual development plans.26

While GPO completes the skills assessment of its current employees, it
plans to also complete a systematic identification of new skills and
competencies that it will need in the future. When GPO leadership
completes both of these efforts, it will be able to pinpoint skills gaps
within its workforce and develop strategies to ensure that GPO retains,
develops, and acquires employees with these skills. These efforts can
serve to help employees understand how they can enhance their skills to
contribute to GPO's future and are consistent with the recommendation to
strengthen training made by the panel of printing and information
dissemination experts that we convened.

The skills inventory is an important step to ensure that GPO employs
people with the skills necessary for its future mission. However, until
GPO leadership finalizes the mission and goals of the transformed GPO, it
cannot determine fully the skills needed to achieve current and future
programmatic results or develop strategies focused on those skills.

Recommended Next Steps The Public Printer should develop a documented
transformation plan that

o 	outlines his goals for the transformation and when he expects to meet
these goals and

o 	identifies critical phases and essential activities that need to be
completed.

The CHCO should

o 	determine, based on the results of the upcoming employee survey,
whether any changes are needed to the transformation strategies and

o 	ensure that the development of human capital strategies focuses on the
skills gaps identified by GPO leadership.

26U.S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: Selected Agencies'
Experiences and Lessons Learned in Designing Training and Development
Programs, GAO-04-291 (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 30, 2004).

GPO's Management Team Is in Place, but Attention to Daily Transformational
Activities Could Be Strengthened

Dedicating a strong and stable implementation team that will be
responsible for the transformation's day-to-day management is important to
ensuring that it receives the focused, full-time attention needed to be
sustained and successful. Specifically, the implementation team is
important to ensuring that various change initiatives are sequenced and
implemented in a coherent and integrated way. Top leadership must vest the
team with the necessary authority and resources to set priorities, make
timely decisions, and move quickly to implement top leadership's decisions
about the transformation.

                             Key transformation practice Implementation steps 
        Dedicate an implementation team to manage the transformation process. 
             o  Establish networks to support implementation team.  o  Select 
                                                high-performing team members. 

The Public Printer has put in place a senior management team, referred to
as the management council, which can help bring GPO into the future. This
council is composed of the COO, CFO, CHCO, CIO, Superintendent of
Documents, Managing Director of Plant Operations, Managing Director of
Customer Services, the Chief of Staff, the Deputy Chief of Staff, General
Counsel, and the Inspector General. According to GPO officials, the
management council does not have regularly scheduled meetings and only
meets when convened by the Public Printer. About 80 percent of the
management council's time is devoted to long-term, transformational
activities, while 20 percent of the time is devoted to addressing
day-to-day operational issues.

A second management team, referred to as the operations council, is
composed of the CFO, CHCO, CIO, Superintendent of Documents, Managing
Director of Plant Operations, and Managing Director of Customer Services;
this council meets weekly with the COO. According to GPO officials, this
council spends about 80 percent of its time dealing with day-to-day
operations and 20 percent with transformation issues. Although the
operations council occasionally discusses transformation-related issues,
its meetings are not structured around specific transformation tasks or
decisions required to make progress on the transformation. Instead, the
meetings give each member of the council an opportunity to provide an
update on issues affecting his or her unit's operations, improve
communication among GPO's top managers, and ensure that crosscutting
issues in day-to-day operations receive management attention.

GPO leadership recognizes the importance of establishing networks to
support its transformation efforts, and it is creating a network of task
forces to lead the development of various transformational strategies. For
example, GPO created a task force to focus on "revenue enhancements and
new investments." This task force will be chaired by the CFO, and will
include members of other GPO business units, such as New Business
Development and Information Technology and Systems. The Public Printer
directed the chairpersons of the task teams to select task force members
and develop the strategies that will be the basis for GPO's strategic plan
by June 17, 2004. Our work on transformations has found that establishing
networks, including a senior executive council, functional teams, or
crosscutting teams, can help the implementation team conduct the day-today
activities of the transformation and help ensure that efforts are
coordinated and integrated.

GPO leaders have acknowledged that creating the support capacity and
accountability for daily transformation activities could help ensure that
the transformation continues to make progress. These leaders said that
responsibilities for day-to-day transformation activities could include
setting priorities, proposing milestones, tracking progress, providing
analysis to support decision making, and coordinating among teams.

Recommended Next Steps	The Public Printer should establish a
transformation team, or augment the management council, to address the
day-to-day management of GPO's transformation effort. The team should
include high-performing employees who have knowledge and competencies that
could help GPO plan its future. Establishing such a team could create the
focus needed to stimulate and sustain GPO's transformation efforts.

GPO Is Planning Changes to Strengthen Its Performance Management System

A performance management system can help manage and direct the
transformation process and serves as the basis for setting expectations
for individuals' roles in the transformation. To be successful,
transformation efforts must have leaders, managers, and employees who have
the individual competencies to integrate and create synergy among the
multiple operating units involved in the transformation effort. Individual
performance and contributions are evaluated on competencies such as change
management, cultural sensitivity, teamwork and collaboration, and
information sharing. Leaders, managers, and employees who demonstrate

these competencies are rewarded for their success in contributing to the
achievement of the transformation process.

                              Key transformation practice Implementation step 
           Use the performance management system to define responsibility and 
                 assure accountability for change. Adopt leading practices to 
             implement effective performance management systems with adequate 
                                                                 safeguards.a 

a For information on key practices that we have identified for
implementing effective performance management systems, see U.S. General
Accounting Office, Results-Oriented Cultures: Creating a Clear Linkage
between Individual Performance and Organizational Success, GAO-03-488
(Washington, D.C.: Mar. 14, 2003).

GPO plans to implement a new performance management system for its
executives and will later work on changes for employees at other
organizational levels. As part of this effort, GPO is exploring the use of
competencies to provide a fuller assessment of performance. For example,
GPO has developed performance agreements for its senior managers based
upon the executive core qualifications adopted by the Office of Personnel
Management for senior executives and included responsibilities such as
leading strategic change. Each responsibility will be linked to three or
four competencies. Additionally, the draft performance agreements include
interim goals that GPO developed for its operating units and other
elements that we have identified as important for executive performance.27
They include, for example, specific levels of performance that GPO plans
to link to strategic objectives to help senior executives see how they
directly contribute to organizational results.

Until GPO's strategic plan is completed, however, GPO will not be able to
fully align individual performance competencies or expectations with
organizational goals. The completion of the strategic plan will provide
human capital officials with the information needed to develop
competencies and expectations for employees that have a direct link to
GPO's goals, providing employees with the information they need to
understand how their performance leads to organizational success.

As part of GPO's effort to strengthen performance management, GPO plans to
pilot a new system that, beginning with its senior executives, will more

27U.S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: Senior Executive
Performance Management Can Be Significantly Strengthened to Achieve
Results, GAO-04-614 (Washington, D.C.: May 26, 2004).

closely link an individual's pay with his or her performance. Linking pay
to performance is a key practice for effective performance management. We
have reported that efforts to link pay to performance require adequate
safeguards,28 including reasonable transparency and appropriate
accountability mechanisms, to ensure the fair, effective, and
nondiscriminatory implementation of the system. The Human Resources Office
has begun developing a pay-for-performance program that will use measures
of effectiveness that directly link individual performance with
organizational goals and objectives. The newly established Workforce
Development, Education and Training Office will be required to develop and
deliver training to supervisors and managers on performance management.
The objective is to ensure that supervisors and managers are equipped with
the necessary skills to effectively manage their employees, help drive
change efforts, and achieve results.

Recommended Next Steps	The CHCO should continue developing a performance
management system for all GPO employees that creates a line of sight by
linking employee performance with agency goals. The CHCO should ensure
that GPO's new performance management system has adequate safeguards,
including reasonable transparency and appropriate accountability
mechanisms, to ensure the fair, effective, and nondiscriminatory
implementation of the system.

GPO Has Improved Communication, an important management control, is most
effective when Communication, but Can done early, clearly, and often, and
when it is downward, upward, and Better Address Employee lateral.
Successful organizations have comprehensive communication

strategies that reach out to employees, customers, and stakeholders
andNeeds seek to genuinely engage them in the transformation process.

                             Key implementation practice Implementation steps 
         Establish a communication strategy to create shared expectations and 
            report related progress.  o  Communicate early and often to build 
              trust.  o  Ensure consistency of message.  o  Encourage two-way 
             communication.  o  Provide information to meet specific needs of 
                                                                   employees. 

28GAO-03-488.

The Public Printer communicated his intention to transform GPO early and
often and to various audiences. For example, in his confirmation hearing
in October 2002, the Public Printer told Congress that GPO "must step back
and take a new look at the changing and emerging information needs of its
customers and develop a deeper understanding of its true strengths so that
it can determine how best to build a new business model." Then again, just
8 days after the Public Printer took office, he publicly stated his
intention to transform GPO. In his communications with employees, the
Public Printer has also frequently expressed his intention to transform
GPO. For example, GPO's biweekly management newsletter, the GPO Link,
often contains articles about GPO's transformation. Transforming
organizations have found that communicating information early and often
helps to build an understanding of the purpose of the planned changes and
builds trust among employees and stakeholders.

GPO leadership has communicated a consistent message about the
transformation to employees, customers, and other stakeholders through
such methods as sponsoring conferences, attending customers' meetings, and
speaking with relevant trade magazines. For example, in correspondence
with the Congress, employees, and the library community, the Public
Printer and other senior managers have used similar terms and concepts
when discussing GPO's transformation. This consistency is important in
ensuring that GPO's employees, customers, and other stakeholders
understand the current environment under which GPO operates. A message to
employees and others affected by a transformation that is consistent in
tone and content can alleviate the uncertainties generated during the
unsettled times of large-scale change management initiatives.

GPO leadership has encouraged two-way communication by instituting methods
for employees and others to provide feedback and ask questions. For
example, GPO's intranet site has a section called "Ask the Public
Printer." On the site, the Public Printer fields questions on issues
ranging from training opportunities, to building renovation issues, to
contingency planning. In addition, the Public Printer holds periodic town
hall meetings that include time for employees in attendance to ask him
questions in person. In addition, stakeholders have been asked to
communicate with GPO leaders. For example, on January 22, 2004, the
Depository Library

Council29 provided GPO with advice on topics that the Public Printer
identified as important to the future of GPO. The Public Printer expects
to use feedback from stakeholders such as the Depository Library Council
as GPO develops its strategic plan. Two-way communication is central to
forming the effective internal and external partnerships that are vital to
the success of any organization.

GPO leadership has also made significant efforts to improve communication
between management and employees. For example, GPO established the
Employee Communications Office, which was developed with the vision "to
have the best informed workforce in the U.S. Government by
over-communicating organizational clarity and the mission and vision of
the new GPO." An important initiative undertaken by the Employee
Communications Office is the development of GPO Link, a biweekly
newsletter that reports on activities of GPO's top managers.

Despite these efforts, because GPO's future mission and strategies have
not yet been decided, the Public Printer has been unable to communicate
the nature of the change that GPO needs to make in a way that addresses
the specific needs of employees. During a communications focus group GPO
held in October 2003, employees stated that recent efforts to improve
communication were positive, but failed to provide the specific
information needed to alleviate job concerns. These concerns were also
voiced during town hall meetings led by the Public Printer in January 2004
and were consistent with concerns raised by union representatives in their
discussions with us about GPO's transformation. Employees have indicated
they are unsure about their future in the new GPO, and are seeking
specific information on the skills they will need to remain useful to GPO.
Communicating with employees about their specific concerns can help them
understand how they might be affected and how their responsibilities might
change with the new organization.

GPO managers, union leaders, and employees have indicated that employees
are unsure of their role in GPO's transformation. Union leaders told us
that much of the communication has been rhetoric with insufficient detail
regarding how the transformation will affect employees. For example, the
Public Printer has stated that the transformation will bring GPO into the
21st century, but the specifics of what jobs might be lost or

29The Depository Library Council is an organization established to provide
advice on policy matters dealing with the Depository Library Program.

changed have not been discussed because GPO is developing its mission and
strategic plan.

Recommended Next Steps	The Public Printer can augment GPO's communication
about the transformation to include additional information that employees
can use to understand their role in building the GPO of the 21st century.
As GPO's strategic planning effort moves forward, communication with
employees should include topics such as GPO's new mission, strategic
goals, and in particular, employee concerns about their role in the new
environment. As key decisions are made, communication should address how
GPO's transformation will affect employees so that they understand how
their jobs may be affected, what their rights and protections might be,
and how their responsibilities might change.

GPO Can Expand the Employee involvement strengthens the transformation
process by Involvement of Employees including frontline perspectives and
experiences. Further, employee in the Transformation involvement helps to
create the opportunity to establish new networks and

break down existing organizational silos, increase employees'
understanding and acceptance of organizational goals and objectives, and
gain ownership for new policies and procedures.

                             Key transformation practice Implementation steps 
         Involve employees to obtain their ideas and gain their ownership for 
         the transformation.  o  Use employee teams.  o  Involve employees in 
                planning and sharing performance information.  o  Incorporate 
             employee feedback into new policies and procedures.  o  Delegate 
                              authority to appropriate organizational levels. 

The former and Acting CHCO, CIO, CFO, and Managing Director of Customer
Services told us that they are adopting team-based approaches for
accomplishing their units' goals, which includes improved customer
service. For example, GPO combined the former procurement division with
the customer services division to create teams of employees who have a
range of skills to address customer needs. Previously, GPO's customers
were shuffled between these two divisions, neither of which was clearly
accountable for addressing the customers' needs. A GPO official explained
that by changing to a team approach, where a group of about five employees
is responsible for all work with a customer, accountability for meeting
the needs of that customer is clear and may lead to improved

service. A teams-based approach to operations can create an environment
characterized by open communication, enhanced flexibility in meeting job
demands, and a sense of shared responsibility for accomplishing
organization goals and objectives.

GPO units can expand the involvement of employees and use their feedback
in planning and sharing performance information, which can help employees
accept and understand the goals of their units and their role in achieving
them. For example, GPO officials told us that the CFO has shared goals for
his division with his managers, who have, in turn, shared the goals with
their employees. Therefore, all employees under the CFO know the goals of
the division and how their work and performance helps realize the goals.
However, not all division managers have shared goals with their employees.
The practice of involving employees in planning and sharing performance
information can be transferred to other GPO units as GPO's transformation
progresses.

Major transformations, like GPO's, often include redesigning work
processes, changing work rules, or making other changes that are of
particular concern to employees. GPO has made or plans to make changes to
many of its policies and procedures. As we mentioned earlier, for example,
GPO is planning to pilot test a new pay-for-performance system, beginning
with its senior managers. We have reported on other agencies' attempts to
involve employees and unions in developing aspects of its personnel
systems.30 For example, at the Department of Homeland Security, employees
and union representatives played a role in shaping the design of a
proposed personnel system. The design process attempted to include
employees by creating multiple opportunities for employees to provide
feedback.

GPO has taken some actions to delegate authority to employees. Soon after
the new Public Printer took office, GPO instituted a time-off awards
program, which provides supervisors with a means to recognize employees
for their productivity, creativity, dedication, and outstanding
contributions to the mission of GPO. Before GPO created this award
program, supervisors did not have the authority to recognize and reward
outstanding performance. In a transformation, employees are more likely to
support

30U.S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: DHS Personnel System
Design Effort Provides for Collaboration and Employee Participation,
GAO-03-1099 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 30, 2003).

changes when they have the necessary authority and flexibility-along with
commensurate accountability and incentives-to advance the organization's
goals and improve performance.

Delegating certain personnel authorities is important for managers and
supervisors who know the most about an organization's programs and can use
those authorities to make those programs work. The former Deputy Public
Printer told us that decision making on many day-to-day matters was
centralized within his office. For example, his approval was required for
all training requests from GPO employees. The current Public Printer has
delegated authority to approve training to lower level managers who are
more familiar with the employees' work requirements and, therefore, have a
better understanding of the training individual employees need to improve
their performance.

We have reported that agency managers and employees have important roles
in the success of training and development activities.31 Managers are
responsible not only for reinforcing new competencies, skills, and
behaviors but also for removing barriers to help employees implement
learned behaviors on the job. Furthermore, if managers understand and
support the objectives of training and development efforts, they can
provide opportunities for employees to successfully use new skills and
competencies and can model the behavior they expect to see in their
employees. Employees also need to understand the goals of agencies'
training and development efforts and accept responsibility for developing
their competencies and careers, as well as for improving their
organizations' performance.

Recommended Next Steps	GPO leadership should involve employees more in
planning and decision making for the future, allowing employees to gain
ownership of the transformation. For example, the CHCO should incorporate
employee feedback as part of the process for developing GPO's pay for
performance system and in training and development activities.

31U.S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: A Guide for Assessing
Strategic Training and Development Efforts in the Federal Government,
GAO-04-546G (Washington, D.C.: March 2004).

World-Class Management Practices Can Strengthen GPO's Transformation

Successful change efforts start with a vision of radically improved
performance and the relentless pursuit of that vision. Leaders of
successful transformations seek to implement best practices in systems and
processes and guard against automatically retaining the approaches used in
the past. Instead of developing optimal systems and processes,
transforming organizations risk devoting attention to attempting to mend
less than fully efficient and effective systems and processes merely
because they are already in place. Over the longer term, leaders of
successful mergers and acquisitions, like leaders of successful
organizations generally, seek to learn from best practices and create a
set of systems and processes that are tailored to the specific needs and
circumstances of the transforming organization.

GPO leadership has articulated a vision to transform GPO into a worldclass
organization and has taken some initial steps toward this objective, most
notably with respect to human capital management. However, because
significant change efforts are difficult and take a long time, continued
leadership attention is needed. The commitment of the Public Printer, the
appointment of a COO, and other key leadership selections are positive
steps in this regard. In particular, we have reported that COOs can be
part of a broader effort to elevate attention to management and
transformation issues, integrate various key management and transformation
efforts, and institutionalize accountability for addressing management
issues leading a transformation. By their very nature, the problems and
challenges facing agencies are crosscutting and thus require coordinated
and integrated solutions. However, the risk is that management
responsibilities (including, but not limited to, information technology,
financial management, and human capital) will be "stovepiped" and thus
will not be carried out in a comprehensive, ongoing, and integrated
manner.32

GPO Has Taken Numerous Having effective human capital policies and
procedures is a critical factor Actions to Strengthen in an organization's
management control environment. GPO's efforts to Human Capital Management
strengthen human capital management demonstrate a commitment to

                           these management controls.

32U.S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: Observations on Agencies'
Implementation of the Chief Human Capital Officers Act, GAO-04-800T
(Washington, D.C.: May 18, 2004).

In October 2003, we reported on how GPO leadership could advance its
transformation through strategic human capital management and made
numerous recommendations to GPO leadership that were based on leading
practices in strategic human capital management.33 Taken as a whole, these
recommendations represent a framework for radically improving GPO's human
capital practices. GPO's Human Capital Office is using our October 2003
report34 as GPO's roadmap for transforming its human capital management
and is actively implementing the recommendations we made. Much of GPO's
progress in improving its human capital management has been described
previously in this report. Our recommendations focus on four interrelated
areas:

o  communicating the role of managers in GPO's transformation,

o  strengthening the role of the human resources office,

o 	developing a strategic workforce plan to ensure GPO has the skills and
knowledge it needs for the future, and

o  using a strategic performance management system to drive change.

GPO has made clear progress toward adopting the leading practices that we
described in our October report, and has shown a continuing interest in
improving GPO's Human Capital Office by identifying management best
practices used by other organizations. The experience of transforming
organizations, including GAO, has shown that transformation must be based
on the best, most up-to-date management practices to reach its full
potential.35 Consistent with this practice, GPO leadership requested our
assistance in identifying and describing approaches and strategies used by
other organizations to restructure their workforces.

In response to this request, on January 20, 2004, we briefed GPO
leadership on the workforce restructuring efforts of the Federal Deposit
Insurance

33GAO-04-85.

34U.S. General Accounting Office, Government Printing Office: Advancing
GPO's Transformation Effort through Strategic Human Capital Management,
GAO-04-85 (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 20, 2003).

35U.S. General Accounting Office, Results-Oriented Government: Shaping the
Government to Meet 21st Century Challenges, GAO-03-1168T (Washington,
D.C.: Sept. 17, 2003).

Corporation, GAO, and the Treasury's Financial Management Service. The
briefing presented the lessons that these agencies learned from their
workforce restructuring efforts, with particular emphasis on efforts to
assist employees in finding other employment. The approaches and
strategies we highlighted were retraining, outplacement assistance,
workforce restructuring planning, communication, and employee and union
involvement. Our briefing contained specific examples, related agency
materials, and contacts that could provide further information and
assistance to GPO.

GPO's CIO Organization Has Begun to Transform

The Public Printer has stated that the new vision of GPO will be an agency
whose primary mission will be to capture digitally, organize, maintain,
authenticate, distribute, and provide permanent public access to the
information products and services of the federal government. To execute
this vision, he states that GPO must deploy the technology needed by
federal agencies and the public to gather and produce digital documents in
a uniformly structured database in order to authenticate documents
disseminated over the Internet and to preserve the information for
permanent public access.

However, improved information technology (IT) systems such as those
contained in the Public Printer's vision are not simple to develop or
acquire. Through our research of best IT management practices and our
evaluations of agency IT management performance, we have identified a set
of essential and complementary management disciplines that provide a sound
foundation for IT management. These include

o  enterprise architecture,

o  IT investment management,

o  software/system development and acquisition,

o  information security, and

o  IT human capital.

GPO's CIO understands that his IT organization, like all of GPO, will have
to transform to meet current and future needs. More specifically, he
acknowledges the need to establish IT management policies, procedures,

and practices in the key areas listed above. The CIO has taken steps, or
plans to take steps, to begin improving IT in each of these areas.

Enterprise Architecture	An enterprise architecture is to an organization's
operations and systems as a set of blueprints is to a building. That is,
building blueprints provide those who own, construct, and maintain the
building with a clear and understandable picture of the building's uses,
features, functions, and supporting systems, including relevant building
standards. Further, the building blueprints capture the relationships
among building components and govern the construction process. Enterprise
architectures do nothing less, providing to people at all organizational
levels an explicit, common, and meaningful structural frame of reference
that allows an agency to understand (1) what the enterprise does; (2)
when, where, how, and why it does it; and (3) what it uses to do it.

An enterprise architecture provides a clear and comprehensive picture of
the structure of an entity, whether an organization or a functional or
mission area. This picture consists of snapshots of both the enterprise's
current or "as-is" technical and operational environments, its target or
"tobe" technical and operational environments, and a capital investment
roadmap for transitioning from the current environment to the target
environment. An enterprise architecture is an essential tool for
effectively and efficiently engineering business practices, implementing
and evolving supporting systems, and transforming an organization. Managed
properly, it can clarify and help optimize the interdependencies and
relationships among an organization's business operations and the
underlying IT infrastructure and applications that support these
operations. Employed in concert with other important management controls,
such as portfoliobased capital planning and investment control processes,
architectures can greatly increase the chances that organizations'
operational and IT environments will be configured to optimize mission
performance. Our experience with federal agencies has shown that investing
in IT without defining these investments in the context of an enterprise
architecture often results in systems that are duplicative, not well
integrated, and unnecessarily costly to maintain and interface. The
development of an enterprise architecture is an essential part of a
successful organizational transformation.

Our research has shown that an organization should ensure that adequate
resources are provided for developing the architecture and that
responsibility for directing, overseeing, and approving enterprise
architecture development is assigned to a committee or group with

representation from across the organization. Establishing this
organizationwide responsibility and accountability is important in
demonstrating the organization's commitment to building the management
foundation and obtaining support for the development and use of the
enterprise architecture from across the organization. This group should
include executive-level representatives from each line of business, and
these representatives should have the authority to commit resources to
architecture-related efforts and enforce decisions within their respective
organizational units. Our research shows that enterprise architecture
efforts also benefit from developing an architecture program management
plan that specifies how and when the architecture is to be developed,
including a detailed work breakdown structure, resource estimates (e.g.,
funding, staffing, and training), performance measures, and management
controls for developing and maintaining the architecture. The plan
demonstrates the organizations' commitment to managing enterprise
architecture development and maintenance.

Currently, GPO does not have such an enterprise architecture. Its CIO
agrees that an enterprise architecture is an important tool and is working
to develop one for GPO. As the first step towards developing an enterprise
architecture, the CIO organization is in the process of documenting GPO's
current business processes and supporting IT architecture (the "as-is"
enterprise architecture). In doing this work, the agency is focusing first
on those business items of greater interest to two sets of critical
customers- the Congress and users of the Federal Register. The CIO has
also hired a manager to lead this effort who has significant experience in
the development and institutionalization of enterprise architecture and
related processes.

Investment Management	In concert with a properly developed and
institutionalized enterprise architecture, an effective and efficient IT
investment management process is key to a successful transformation
effort. An effective and efficient IT investment process allows agencies
to maximize the value of their IT investments and to minimize the risks of
IT acquisitions. This is critically important because IT projects, while
having the capability to significantly improve an organization's
performance, can become very costly, risky, and unproductive. Federal
agency IT projects too frequently incur cost overruns and schedule
slippages while contributing little to mission-related outcomes.

GPO's transformation may require significant investment in IT and related
efforts. Therefore, it is essential that GPO effectively manage such

investments. We have developed a guide to effective IT investment
management based on a select/control/evaluate model:

o 	Select. The organization (1) identifies and analyzes each project's
risks and returns before committing significant funds to any project and
(2) selects those IT projects that best support its mission needs. This
process should be repeated each time, reselecting even ongoing
investments, as described below.

o 	Control. The organization ensures that, as projects develop and
investment expenditures continue, the project continues to meet mission
needs at the expected levels of cost and risk. If the project is not
meeting expectations or if problems have arisen, steps are quickly taken
to address the deficiencies. If mission needs have changed, the
organization can adjust its objectives for the project and appropriately
modify expected project outcomes.

o 	Evaluate. The organization compares actual versus expected outcomes
after a project is fully implemented. This is done to (1) assess the
project's impact on mission performance, (2) identify any changes or
modifications to the project that may be needed, and (3) revise the
investment management process based on lessons learned.

To oversee the investment management process, an investment review board
is established, made up of managers, that is responsible and accountable
for selecting and monitoring projects based on the agency's investment
management criteria. The IT investment board is a key component in the
investment management process. An organizationwide investment board has
oversight responsibilities for developing and maintaining the
organization's documented IT investment process. It plays a key role in
establishing an appropriate IT investment management structure and
processes for selecting, controlling, and evaluating IT investments. The
organization may choose to make this board the same board that provides
executive guidance and support for the enterprise architecture. Such
overlap of responsibilities may enhance the ability of the board to ensure
that investment decisions are consistent with the architecture and that it
reflects the needs of the organization.

This model allows an organization to effectively choose, monitor, and
evaluate projects. GPO intends to complete a major transformation of
itself within a few years, with most of its transformation based on
improved IT

capabilities. For an organization like GPO, in the midst of
transformation, effective oversight of its IT investments is essential.

Currently, GPO does not have an IT investment management process. GPO's
CIO said that his review of projects at GPO indicated that in the past,
for example, most projects were selected without documentation such as a
cost-benefit analysis, economic justification, alternatives analysis, and
fully validated requirements. The CIO's long-term goal is to implement a
standard investment management process requiring such items. As a
beginning, he is working on a list of required documents that each new
information technology proposal will have to provide before it can be
approved by GPO management. He is holding workshops aimed at introducing
the business managers to this documentation and providing training in the
meaning and use of these documents in support of project initiation.

Software/System Development Underlying enterprise architecture management
and investment

and Acquisition Capability	management is the ability to effectively and
efficiently develop and acquire systems and software. GPO's CIO is aware
that his organization's development and acquisition capabilities could be
improved and plans to take steps to achieve these improvements.

The CIO has tasked one of his new managers to begin improving key process
areas for software development and acquisition. On the basis of this
manager's recommendation, GPO has selected the software acquisition models
of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) as its
standard for this process. The IEEE defines a nine-step process for the
acquisition of software, which GPO plans to implement for future software
acquisitions. The CIO also plans to implement a process for software
development, but has not determined which model to use.

IT Security	Dramatic increases in computer interconnectivity, especially
in the use of the Internet, are revolutionizing the way our government,
our nation, and much of the world communicate and do business. The
benefits from this have been enormous. However, this widespread
interconnectivity poses significant risks to computer systems and, more
importantly, to the critical operations and infrastructures they support,
such as telecommunications, power distribution, and national defense. The
same factors that benefit operations-speed and accessibility-if not
properly controlled, also make it possible for individuals and
organizations to inexpensively interfere with or eavesdrop on these
operations from remote locations for purposes of fraud or sabotage, or for
other malicious or mischievous purposes. In

addition, natural disasters and inadvertent errors by authorized computer
users can have devastating consequences if information resources are
poorly protected.

As GPO transforms, its information resources will become increasingly
dependent upon correctly functioning IT. Whereas in the past, GPO needed
only to have several paper copies of each document available, greater
security measures will be required as GPO implements a database for
permanent public access to all federal government information.

GPO's current information security could be improved. In fiscal year 2003,
an independent audit of GPO's internal controls, done as part of a review
of GPO's financial statements,36 found that GPO did not have in place an
effective security management structure that provides a framework and
continuing cycle of activity for managing risk, developing security
policies, and monitoring the accuracy of GPO's computer security controls.
Among the specific findings:

o 	Security-related policies and procedures had not been documented or had
not been kept current and did not reflect GPO's current environment. These
policies also provided no guidance for developing risk assessment
programs.

o 	Local network administrators did not have guidance in developing formal
procedures to perform network administration duties, such as creating and
maintaining user accounts, periodically reviewing user accounts, and
reviewing audit logs.

o 	GPO had not established a comprehensive business continuity and
disaster recovery plan for its mainframe, client-server platforms, and
major software applications.

The CIO has ongoing projects aimed at addressing each of the issues
outlined by the audit organization. First, he is in the process of issuing
new security-related policies and procedures reflecting GPO's current
environment. The CIO's security organization is also working on policies
and procedures and guidance for local network administrators. Finally, GPO
is negotiating with other legislative branch agencies to use their

36GPO Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2003, Independent Auditor's Report
(Washington, D.C.: 2003).

backup computer facility and is developing a business continuity and
disaster recovery plan for GPO's platforms and major software
applications.

IT Human Capital	As mentioned earlier, the Public Printer has emphasized
the importance of strategically managing GPO's people in order to
successfully transform the organization. The CIO, like other GPO managers,
considers human capital a vital part of his organization's operations as
well as critical to the success of GPO's transformation efforts.

The CIO and his managers are reviewing the current human capital situation
and taking interim steps to improve. At the same time, they are working
with GPO's human capital organization to develop a strategy to improve
GPO's human capital management capability for the long term. For example,
the CIO has tasked each IT area manager to complete such a review of his
or her staff and report the results to the CIO. While a few needed skill
sets will be hired from the outside, the emphasis for the CIO organization
in the near term will be on finding needed skills inside the organization
and retraining individuals with related skills. The CIO is also providing
training to his CIO staff on project management and related issues.

Recommended Next Steps	Like efforts in other parts of GPO, the CIO's
actions to improve GPO's IT capabilities are important first steps.
However, much more needs to be done to establish an effective IT
investment process, to establish an enterprise architecture, and to
improve the agency's system development and acquisition, security, and
human capital capabilities. Therefore, we recommend that the Public
Printer direct the GPO CIO to do the following.

o 	Begin an effort to create and implement a comprehensive plan for the
development of an enterprise architecture that addresses completion of
GPO's current or "as-is" architecture, development of a target or "to-be"
architecture, and development of a capital investment plan for
transitioning from the current to the target architecture. As part of the
capital investment plan, designate an architecture review board of agency
executives who are responsible and accountable for overseeing and
approving architecture development and maintenance, and establish an
enterprise architecture program management plan.

o 	Begin an effort to develop and implement an investment management
process by (1) developing guidance for the selection, control, and
evaluation processes and then (2) establishing an investment review

board responsible and accountable for endorsing the guidance, monitoring
its implementation, and executing decisions on projects based on the
guidance.

o 	Develop and implement a comprehensive plan for software development and
acquisition process improvement that specifies measurable goals and time
frames, sets priorities for initiatives, estimates resource requirements
(for training staff and funding), and defines a process improvement
management structure.

o 	Establish the appropriate security and business continuity policies,
procedures, and systems to ensure that its information products are
adequately protected.

o 	Ensure that GPO's Human Capital Office, in its efforts to develop and
implement a human capital strategy, considers the special needs of IT
human capital.

Financial Management's Role in Supporting Transformation

Sound financial management practices that produce reliable and timely
financial information for management decision making are a vital part of a
strategic plan to achieve transformation. In recent testimony37 the Public
Printer acknowledged that GPO is in a precarious financial position with
sustained significant financial losses over the past 5 years, which appear
to be structural in nature. Such structural losses point out the clear
need for transformation. In response to GPO's financial condition, the
Public Printer has taken positive, immediate steps to stem losses, cut
costs, and curtail certain program activities.

Given the importance of GPO's business transformation, it is imperative
that transformation efforts be clearly linked to financial management
results and receive the sustained leadership needed to improve the
economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of GPO's business operations
through its transformation plan. The transformation plan should provide a
strategic-level "road map" from the current environment to the planned
future environment, including a link to current cost-cutting and other

37Bruce R. James, Public Printer of the United States, Statement Before
the Committee on House Administration U.S. House of Representatives
"Transformation of the U.S. Government Printing Office to Meet the Demands
of the 21st Century" (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 28, 2004).

financial improvement initiatives. In addition, management needs reliable
and up-to-date information on progress, including financial results.

As discussed in our executive guide on best practices in financial
management,38 dramatic changes over the past decade in the business
environment have driven finance organizations to reevaluate their role.
The role of financial management and reporting will be critical to
managing the progress and impact of GPO's transformation efforts.

In the transformation environment, GPO will need to define a vision for
its financial management organization such that it is a value-creating,
customer-focused partner in business results in order to build a
world-class finance organization and to help achieve GPO's transformation
goals. As reported and shown in figure 6, certain success factors, goals,
and practices are instrumental in achieving financial management
excellence.

38U.S. General Accounting Office, Executive Guide: Creating Value Through
World-class Financial Management, GAO/AIMD-00-134 (Washington, D.C.: April
2000).

Figure 6: Achieving Best Practices in Financial Management

Source: GAO.

We compared best practices that would be most applicable to GPO's
financial management operations and transformation efforts to many of the
activities and goals planned by GPO. Overall, GPO and its CFO have taken
many actions and have plans for efforts that are consistent with many best
practices in financial management; however, additional emphasis is needed
for other best practices that enhance GPO's transformation and to ensure
that planned efforts are fully supported. In addition, GPO's strategic
planning for transformation should include the actions, plans, and goals
to be initiated by its CFO and its financial management team to ensure
that

GPO's weakening financial position does not undermine its transformation
goals.

Making Financial Management an Entitywide Priority

Our prior report observes that the chief executive should recognize the
important role the finance organization plays in improving overall
business performance and involve key business managers in financial
management improvement initiatives. This is especially important in a
transformation environment. In order to make financial management an
entitywide priority, the organization should (1) build a foundation of
control and accountability, (2) provide clear strong executive leadership,
and (3) use training to change the culture and engage line managers.

GPO has shown that financial reporting and the audit process are important
management and oversight tools for building a foundation of control and
accountability by routinely receiving "unqualified" audit opinions on its
annual financial statements. In addition, GPO receives an opinion on its
management assertion on internal controls from its external auditor.
Additional accountability is provided through oversight from the GPO
Office of Inspector General established by Title 44, U.S. Code, section
3901. Also, GPO has expanded reported financial information beyond audited
financial statements to include performance information on revolving fund
operations such as printing and binding operations, purchased printing,
and procured printing.

Our executive guide on best practices in financial management also
recognizes that the chief executive officers of leading organizations
understand the important role that the CFO and the finance organization
play in improving overall business performance of the organization.
Consequently, the CFO is a central figure on the top management team and
heavily involved in strategic planning and decision making. In this
regard, the Public Printer established the CFO position shortly after
arriving at GPO and has included the CFO as a member of the management
council.

The key to successfully managing change and changing organizational
culture is gaining the support of line management. To change the
organizational culture and enlist the support of line managers, many
organizations use training programs. This training may be geared towards
providing line managers with a greater appreciation of the financial
implications of their business decisions and transformation efforts.

GPO has engaged its nonfinancial managers with financial-related goals.
For example, customer services, which includes purchased printing, has a
goal of increasing revenue by identifying potential government work and
increasing business to GPO. As discussed earlier in this report, account
managers are assigned to increase revenue from federal agencies through
regular customer agency visits, presentations at selected agencies to
highlight GPO services, and targeting customers for specialized outreach
efforts.

GPO could provide a greater emphasis on training its nonfinancial managers
on the financial implications of business decisions and the value of
financial information. Training on how to fully use the financial
information they receive not only produces better managers, but also helps
break down functional barriers that can affect productivity and impede
improvement efforts, especially in a time of transformation. In addition,
training and other tools facilitate and accelerate the pace of the change
initiative, which helps to reduce the opposition that could ultimately
undermine the effort.

Redefine the Role of Finance

Today, leading finance organizations are focusing more on internal
customer requirements by providing products and service that directly
support strategic decision making and ultimately improve overall business
performance. Again, this is critical in a transformation environment. Best
practices reported by our prior review of leading financial organizations
include actions to (1) assess the finance organization's current role in
meeting mission objectives, (2) maximize the efficiency of day-to-day
accounting activities, and (3) organize finance to add value.

Consistent with best practices for redefining financial operations, GPO
has plans to integrate on-line workflow systems for all major operations
including the receipts and processing operations, to streamline the budget
formulation process, and to eliminate all paper-based accounting and
budget reports. Customer feedback is also useful both in the future to
assess the perceived benefits of changes related to transformation and to
use as a baseline on which to compare future changes. The CFO plans to
establish a baseline of information on customer satisfaction based on our
survey of GPO's major customers. This includes a planned assessment of
customer satisfaction with services provided, identification of areas for
improvement, implementation of plans to increase the value and efficiency
of services provided, and identification of key performance measures.

Provide Meaningful Information to Decision Makers

Financial information is meaningful when it is useful, relevant, timely,
and reliable. Therefore, organizations should have the systems and
processes required to produce meaningful financial information needed for
management decisions. Financial organizations should (1) develop systems
that support the partnership between finance and operations, (2)
reengineer processes in conjunction with new technology, and (3) translate
financial data into meaningful information.

Our executive guide for best practices in financial management suggests
that relevant financial information should be presented in an
understandable, simple format, with suitable amounts of detail showing the
financial impact and results of cost-cutting initiatives and
transformation efforts. Leading finance organizations have designed
reporting formats around key business drivers to provide executives and
managers with relevant, forward-looking information on business unit
performance. We believe that such reports can be a key to linking GPO's
financial management efforts to transformation.

GPO provides financial information to its key decision makers that is
consistent with best practices for reports that are useful and relevant to
key decision makers. The GPO CFO provides monthly summaries for each of
GPO's key operational areas, including plant operations, customer service,
sales program, salaries and expenses programs, and administrative support
operations, as well as other information on the status of appropriated
funds, billings, and contractors. The information includes cumulative
year-to-date summaries, profit and loss statements, use of employees and
staff levels, and other information specific to each operational area. The
CFO organization is developing plans to provide financial, administrative,
and analytical support to all of GPO in addition to the monthly
information packages provided to the management council.

GPO is also developing plans to replace legacy information systems to
integrate and streamline internal and external ordering as well as
inventory and accounts payable processes. GPO expects to greatly improve
the monthly financial processes with information necessary to make
calculations regarding time spent on performance or cost analysis and on
transaction processing. This information can be useful in gauging office
efficiencies as a result of changes and transformation efforts.

Build a Team That Delivers Results

The finance function has evolved over the past decade from a paper-driven,
labor-intensive, clerical role to a more consultative role as advisor,
analyst, and business partner. Many leading finance organizations have
seen a corresponding shift in the mix of skills and competencies required
to perform this new role.

GPO has plans and goals that are consistent with best practices for
financial organizations. GPO should ensure that these plans are completed,
fully supported, and expanded, especially in light of the critical
function that finance will play in GPO's transformation efforts.
Specifically, the CFO is completing input for training plans that include
both skill and education assessments of administrative support staff,
budget operations staff, and staff in the Office of Comptroller. The CFO
stated that he is directly involved in recruiting talented staff for GPO's
financial operations and is coordinating with the human resource office on
developing a career path and opportunities for rotational assignments for
financial-related staff.

While these planned and developed efforts are consistent with best
practices for financial organizations, GPO should keep focused on the need
to ensure that its financial professionals are equipped to meet new
challenges and support their agency's mission and goals. This requires GPO
to develop a finance team with the right mix of skills and competencies
and to play the role needed in GPO's transformation efforts.

GPO has taken actions through ongoing efforts and planned goals that are
often consistent with best practices for financial management.
Nevertheless, unless it includes critical financial management activities
in strategic plans for transformation, GPO creates the risk of undermining
its ultimate goal of successful transformation. Without the link to
transformation, GPO may lack the commitment to sustain sound financial
management and lose the benefit of best practices that may be used as
tools to assist decision makers during a period of great change.

We recommend that GPO

o 	emphasize training on the usefulness and understanding of financial
information to nonfinancial managers who are critical to GPO's business
operations;

o 	ensure that planned GPO and CFO efforts and goals in redefining the
role of finance, providing information to decision makers, and building a

team that delivers results receive the full and consistent support of
GPO's top management;

o 	ensure that management is receiving the financial information needed to
manage day-to-day operations and track progress against transformation
goals; and

o 	recognize the importance of financial management and reporting in
strategic plans for transformation.

Concluding Observations

The Public Printer has taken action to transform GPO in response to
changes in the environment for printing and information dissemination.
Change is not optional for GPO-it is required, and it is driven by
declines in GPO's printing volumes, printing revenues, and document sales.
The panel we convened of printing and information dissemination experts
identified options for GPO's future that focused on GPO's role in
information dissemination rather than printing. GPO leadership is using
the panel's suggestions to inform its strategic plan and set a direction
for the agency's transformation.

We have noted that setting a clear direction for the future is vital to
GPO's transformation. GPO's draft strategic plan is to be completed
imminently; however, its transformation efforts are at a critical
juncture, and GPO leadership will need to take further actions to
strengthen and sustain GPO's transformation by using the nine key
practices that we identified to help agencies successfully transform. One
of these practices, related to ensuring that top management drives the
transformation, has already been fully applied by GPO's leadership. Our
recommendations, outlined in this report, will assist GPO with the
implementation of the eight practices where GPO's efforts are still under
way.

GPO leadership has articulated a vision to transform GPO into a worldclass
organization and has taken some initial steps toward this objective. GPO
is actively implementing our prior recommendations to strengthen strategic
human capital management and has also taken steps toward improving
information technology and information technology management. GPO could
build on this progress by focusing additional leadership attention on
adopting best practices in these areas.

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

We provided a draft of this report on June 9, 2004, to the Public Printer
for review and comment. We received written comments from the Public
Printer, which are reprinted in appendix II. The Public Printer agreed
with the content, findings, and recommendations of the draft report.

In his written comments, the Public Printer stated that this report,
together with our October 2003 report on human capital management, will
support many future actions that are necessary to bring about a successful
transformation of GPO. For example, GPO will use our recommendations,
along with the panel's suggestions, to develop a customer service model
that partners with GPO's agency customers to meet their publishing needs.
Further, the Public Printer said that he fully agrees with our assessment
of GPO's human capital environment and will make significant investments
in workforce development in order to train existing employees in the
skills required for 21st century printing and information processing. In
addition, he added that GPO is moving toward becoming a world-class
organization in both financial management and information technology
management by adopting leading business practices.

GPO also provided minor technical clarifications, which we incorporated as
appropriate in this report.

We are sending copies to the Public Printer, as well as the Joint
Committee on Printing, the House Appropriations Legislative Subcommittee,
the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, and the House Committee
on Administration. We will also make copies available to others upon
request. In addition, the report will be available at no charge on GAO's
Web site at http://www.gao.gov.

If you have any questions about this report, please contact J. Christopher
Mihm or Steven Lozano on (202) 512-6806 or [email protected] and
[email protected]. Questions concerning the expert panel, the survey of
executive branch agencies, and information technology issues should be
directed to Linda Koontz at (202) 512-6240 or Tonia Johnson at (202)
5126447 or [email protected] and [email protected]. Questions about GPO's
financial management should be directed to Jeanette Franzel at (202)
5129471 or Jack Hufnagle at (202) 512-9470 or [email protected] or
[email protected]. Other contributors to this report were Barbara Collier,

Benjamin Crawford, William Reinsberg, Amy Rosewarne, and Warren Smith.

J. Christopher Mihm Managing Director, Strategic Issues

Linda Koontz Director, Information Technology

Jeanette Franzel Director, Financial Management and Assurance

Appendix I

Scope and Methodology

To help explore the options for the future for the Government Prining
Office (GPO), we contracted with the National Academy of Sciences to
convene a panel of experts to discuss (1) trends in printing, publishing,
and dissemination and (2) the future role of GPO. In working with the
National Academy to develop an agenda for the panel sessions, we consulted
with key officials at GPO, representatives of library associations,
including the Association of Research Libraries and the American Library
Association, and other subject matter experts. The National Academy
assembled a panel of experts on printing and publishing technologies,
information dissemination technologies, the printing industry, and trends
in printing and dissemination. This panel met on December 8 and 9, 2003.

To obtain information on GPO's printing and dissemination activities-
including revenues and costs-we collected and analyzed key documents and
data, including laws and regulations; studies of GPO operations; prior
audits; historical trends for printing volumes and prices; and financial,
budget, and appropriations reports and data. We did not independently
verify GPO's financial information, but did perform limited tests of the
work performed by external auditors. We also interviewed appropriate
officials from GPO, the Library of Congress, and the Office of Management
and Budget. To determine how GPO collects and disseminates government
information, we collected and analyzed documents and data on the
depository libraries, the cataloging and indexing program, and the
International Exchange Service program. We also interviewed appropriate
officials from GPO.

To determine executive branch agencies' current reported printing
expenditures, equipment inventories, and preferences, familiarity and
level of satisfaction with services provided by GPO, and current methods
for disseminating information to the public, we developed two surveys of
GPO's customers in the executive branch. We sent our first survey to
executive agencies that are major users of GPO's printing programs and
services. It contained questions on the department's or agency's (1)
familiarity with these programs and services and (2) level of satisfaction
with the customer service function. These major users, according to GPO,
account for the majority of printing done through GPO. We sent one survey
each to 7 independent agencies and 11 departments that manage printing
centrally. We also sent one survey each to 15 component agencies within 3
departments that manage printing in a decentralized manner. A total of 33
departments and agencies were surveyed. The response rate for the user
survey was 91 percent (30 of 33 departments and agencies).

Appendix I Scope and Methodology

We sent our second survey to print officers who manage printing services
for departments and agencies. These print officers act as liaisons to GPO
and manage in-house printing operations. This survey contained questions
concerning the department's or agency's (1) level of satisfaction with
GPO's procured printing and information dissemination functions; (2)
printing preferences, equipment inventories, and expenditures; and (3)
information dissemination processes. These agencies include those that
were sent the user survey plus two others that do not use GPO services. We
sent this survey to 11 departments that manage printing centrally, 15
component agencies within 3 departments that manage printing in a
decentralized manner, and 9 independent agencies. A total of 35
departments and agencies were surveyed. The response rate for the print
officer survey was 83 percent (29 of 35 departments and agencies).

To develop these survey instruments, we researched executive agencies'
printing and dissemination issues with the assistance of GPO's Customer
Services and Organizational Assistance Offices. We used this research to
develop a series of questions designed to obtain and aggregate the
information that we needed to answer our objectives. After we developed
the questions and created the two survey instruments, we shared them with
GPO officials. We received feedback on the survey questions from a number
of internal GPO organizations including Printing Procurement, Customer
Services, Information Dissemination, and Organizational Assistance.

We pretested the executive branch surveys with staff at the Department of
Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency. We chose these
agencies because each had a long-term relationship with GPO, experience
with agency printing, and familiarity with governmentwide printing and
dissemination issues. Finally, we reviewed customer lists to determine the
appropriate agencies to receive the executive branch surveys. We did not
independently verify agencies' responses to the surveys.

To assess GPO's actions and plans for the transformation, we reviewed
statements by the Public Printer, Superintendent of Documents, and other
senior leaders; analyzed draft performance agreements, employee surveys,
communication plans, and strategic planning documents; GPO policies and
procedures; organizational charts; audited financial statements;
information from GPO's intranet; communications with employees from the
Employee Communications Office and Public Relations; and other relevant
documentation.

Appendix I Scope and Methodology

To obtain additional information and perspectives on GPO's transformation
issues, we interviewed key senior GPO officials, including the Deputy
Public Printer; Chief Operating Officer; Chief of Staff; Deputy Chief of
Staff; Superintendent of Documents; Deputy Superintendent of Documents;
Managing Director of Plant Operations; Managing Director of Customer
Services; the former and Acting Chief Human Capital Officer; Chief
Financial Officer; Chief Information Officer; and Director, Office of
Innovations and New Technology. We also interviewed GPO officials at the
next level of management responsible for information dissemination,
customer service, and human capital. To get employee perspectives, we
spoke with union leaders, attended town hall meetings, and analyzed
results of the employee survey and focus groups held by the Human Capital
Office. In addition, we visited the Pueblo, Colorado, Document
Distribution Center to talk with frontline managers about their views of
the transformation.

We used the practices presented in our report Results Oriented Cultures:
Implementation Steps to Assist Mergers and Organizational Transformations,
GAO-03-669, to guide our analysis of the actions taken by GPO to
transform. We developed the recommended next steps by referring to our
other models, guides, reports, and products on transforming organizations,
strategic human capital management, and best practices for information
technology and financial management, and by identifying additional
practices that were associated with and would further complement or
support current GPO efforts.

We performed our work from March 2003 through June 2004. During this time
we worked cooperatively with GPO leaders, meeting regularly with them
about the progress of their transformation initiatives and providing them
with information that they plan to use to develop GPO's strategic plan and
strengthen management. Because of this collaborative, cooperative
approach, we determined that our work in response to the mandate could not
be considered an audit subject to generally accepted government auditing
standards. However, in our approach to the work, we followed appropriate
quality control procedures consistent with the generally accepted
standards. For the general management review examining GPO's
transformational efforts, we did follow generally accepted government
auditing standards.

Appendix II

Comments from the Government Printing Office

Appendix II
Comments from the Government Printing
Office

Appendix III

Executive Agency Satisfaction with GPO Services

Agencies responding to our surveys were generally satisfied with the
Government Printing Office (GPO) and its services. Many agencies rated
certain services favorably:

o 	18 of 19 that use electronic publishing services rated these as average
or above,

o 	16 of 17 that use large-format printing services rated these as average
or above, and

o 	16 of 17 that use services to convert products to electronic format
rated these as average or above.

However, a few of the responding agencies suggested areas in which GPO
could improve, as the following examples illustrate:

o 	7 of 23 that use financial management services (such as billings,
payments, and automated transfers) rated these as below average or poor;

o 	3 of 10 that use Web page design/development rated it as below average
or poor; and

o 	5 of 24 that use the Federal Depository Library Program rated it as
below average or poor.

Table 5 (repeated from the body of the report) summarizes (1) agency
users' levels of satisfaction with GPO's services and (2) products and
services that they do not use.

                                  Appendix III
                     Executive Agency Satisfaction with GPO
                                    Services

 Table 5: Satisfaction with Products and Services Agency satisfaction with GPO
                               products/services

                                     Above            Below      Don't 
    GPO product/service   Excellent average Average average Poor  use  Totala 
     Archiving/storage            1       4       6       0    2    15 
          Binding                 4       9       4       0    2     9 
CD-ROM development and         3       4       9       1    2     9 
         production                                                    
Converting products to         3       6       7       0    1    11 
     electronic format                                                 
      Custom finishing            4       6       4       0    2    12 
    Duplication/print on          5       5       6       1    2     9 
           demand                                                      
Electronic publishing          4       7       7       0    1     9 
     Federal Depository           9       6       4       3    2     3 
      Library Program                                                  
    Financial management          2       4      10       3    4     5 
          services                                                     
     GPO sales program            5       4      10       2    1     5 
Institute for Federal                                               
        Printing and             11       7       5       0    1     4 
Electronic Publishing                                               
Large format printing          4       3       9       0    1    10 
    Production Inventory          2       4      11       1    1     9 
       Control System                                                  
       Preflighting b             2       8       6       0    2    10 
Press sheet inspection         8       9       5       0    2     4 
             c                                                         

Printing (in-house) 7 7 5 2 2 5 28 Product dissemination 4 7 6 1 2 7 27
Reimbursable storage/distribution 1 2 4 0 2 19 28 Typography/design 3 9 4
1 2 9 28 Web hosting 1 2 5 1 1 18 28 Web page design/development 1 2 4 1 2
18 28

Source: GAO analysis of agency-reported data.

aNot all agencies answered every question.
bPreflighting is checking printed or electronic copy before printed copies
are made.
cPress sheet inspection is a review of printed sheets before printed
copies are made.

As the table shows, in responding to questions on customer satisfaction,
some agencies indicated that they did not use certain electronic services:

o 	18 of 28 do not use Web hosting and Web page design/development
services,

o 	11 of 28 do not use services to convert products to electronic format,
and

                                  Appendix III
                     Executive Agency Satisfaction with GPO
                                    Services

o  9 of 28 do not use electronic publishing services. Some responding
agencies identified other services that they did not use:

o  19 of 28 do not use reimbursable storage and distribution services,

o  15 of 28 do not use archiving and storage services,

o  12 of 28 do not use custom-finishing services,

o  10 of 27 do not use large format printing services, and

o  10 of 28 do not use preflighting services.

In addition, we asked agencies about specific GPO services, which are
reported in the sections that follow.

Level of Satisfaction with GPO Term Contracts

Most of the responding agencies' print officers were generally satisfied
with GPO's Print Procurement Term Contracts organization-the group that
awards and manages long-term multiple print contracts. All print officers
responding to our survey rated this organization as average or above in
the following areas:

o  accessibility by phone,

o  cost of products and services, and

o  knowledge of products and services. Among the few less-than-average
ratings were

o 	presentation of new products and services-4 of 20 rated GPO's
performance below average,

o  timeliness-3 of 23 rated GPO's performance below average, and

o 	responsiveness to customer needs-2 of 24 rated GPO's performance below
average.

Table 6 shows the specific responses.

                                  Appendix III
                     Executive Agency Satisfaction with GPO
                                    Services

Table 6: Agency Print Officers' Ratings of GPO Term Contracts Agency ratings of
                               GPO term contracts

                                      Above           Below       No   
                                                                 basis 
          Feature         Excellent average Average average Poor  to   Totala 
                                                                 judge 
      Ability to solve            7      10       6       1    0     0 
          problems                                                     
Accessibility by phone         4      10      10       0    0     0 
        Accuracy of               6      11       5       1    0     0 
        information                                                    
    Communication skills          5      10       8       1    0     0 
    Cost of products and          6       7      10       0    0     0 
          services                                                     
          Courtesy                7       9       7       1    0     0 
    Presentation of new           1       6       9       4    0     3 
products and services                                               
       Product and/or             4      11       9       0    0     0 
     services knowledge                                                
      Professionalism             6      10       7       1    0     0 
     Responsiveness to            7       7       8       2    0     0 
       customer needs                                                  
         Timeliness               6       6       8       3    0     0 

Source: GAO analysis of agency-reported data.

aNot all agencies answered every question.

Level of Satisfaction with GPO Procurement Purchasing

Most of the responding agencies' print officers also were generally
satisfied with GPO's Print Procurement Purchasing organization-the
organization that manages one-time print procurements. Among the areas in
which the organization was highly rated were

o  ability to solve problems-all ratings were average or above,

o  accessibility by phone-all ratings were average or above, and

o  communication skills-all ratings were average or above. Among the few
less than average ratings were

o 	presentation of new products and services-4 of 16 rated this below
average,

o 	responsiveness to customer needs-2 of 19 rated this below average, and

o  timeliness-1 of 19 rated this below average.

                                  Appendix III
                     Executive Agency Satisfaction with GPO
                                    Services

                     Table 7 shows the specific responses.

  Table 7: Agency Print Officers' Ratings of GPO Procurement Purchasing Agency
                     ratings of GPO procurement purchasing

                                      Above           Below        No   
                                                                  basis 
           Feature         Excellent average Average average Poor  to   Total 
                                                                  judge 
      Ability to solve             5       6       8       0    0     0 
          problems                                                      
Accessibility by phone          4       9       6       0    0     0 
Accuracy of information         4      10       5       0    0     0 
    Communication skills           3       9       7       0    0     0 
    Cost of products and           5       7       7       0    0     0 
          services                                                      
          Courtesy                 4      10       5       0    0     0 
     Presentation of new           1       4       7       4    0     3 
    products and services                                               
Product and/or service          4       8       6       1    0     0 
          knowledge                                                     
       Professionalism             5       6       8       0    0     0 
      Responsiveness to            5       6       6       2    0     0 
       customer needs                                                   
         Timeliness                5       5       8       1    0     0 

                 Source: GAO analysis of agency-reported data.

Level of Satisfaction with GPO Regional Print Procurement

Most of the responding agencies' print officers were satisfied with GPO's
regional print procurement organizations, which manage print contracting
for agency organizations outside of Washington, D.C. Among the areas in
which these organizations were favorably rated were

o  ability to solve problems-all ratings were average or above,

o  accessibility by phone-all ratings were average or above, and

o  accuracy of information-all ratings were average or above. Among the
few less-than-average ratings were

o 	presentation of new products and services-2 of 15 rated this below
average, and

o  product and services knowledge-1 of 21 rated this below average.

                                  Appendix III
                     Executive Agency Satisfaction with GPO
                                    Services

                     Table 8 shows the specific responses.

Table 8: Agency Print Officers' Ratings of GPO Regional Procurement Agency
                      ratings of GPO regional procurement

                                      Above           Below       No    
                                                                  basis 
           Feature         Excellent average Average average Poor  to   Total 
                                                                  judge     a 
      Ability to solve             6      12       4       0    0     0 
          problems                                                      
Accessibility by phone          7       8       7       0    0     0 
Accuracy of information         7      11       3       0    0     0 
    Communication skills           3      13       6       0    0     0 
    Costs of products and          5      10       7       0    0     0 
          services                                                      
          Courtesy                 7      11       4       0    0     0 
     Presentation of new           1       5       7       2    0     6 
    products and services                                               
Product and/or service          4      10       6       1    0     0 
          knowledge                                                     
       Professionalism             7      10       5       0    0     0 
      Responsiveness to            8      10       4       0    0     0 
       customer needs                                                   
         Timeliness                8       8       6       0    0     0 

Source: GAO analysis of agency-reported data.

aNot all agencies answered every question.

Level of Satisfaction with GPO Information Dissemination

Most of the responding agencies' print officers were generally satisfied
with GPO's information dissemination. Among the areas in which this
function was favorably rated were

o  courtesy-all rated average or above,

o  product and/or service knowledge-all rated average or above, and

o  professionalism-all rated average or above. Among the few less than
average ratings were

o 	presentation of new products and services-3 of 13 rated this below
average, and

o  accessibility by phone-3 of 22 rated this poor.

                                  Appendix III
                     Executive Agency Satisfaction with GPO
                                    Services

                     Table 9 shows the specific responses.

Table 9: Agency Print Officers' Ratings of GPO Information Dissemination Agency
                    ratings of GPO information dissemination

                                      Above            Below       No   
                                                                  basis 
           Feature         Excellent average Average average Poor  to   Total 
                                                                  judge     a 
      Ability to solve             6       4      10       1    0     1 
          problems                                                      
Accessibility by phone          4       4      11       0    3     0 
Accuracy of information         6       6       8       1    1     1 
    Communication skills           6       3      13       1    0     0 
    Costs of products and          2       4      10       1    1     4 
          services                                                      
          Courtesy                 6       5      11       0    0     0 
     Presentation of new           0       4       6       3    0     9 
    products and services                                               
Product and/or service          4       5      10       0    0     3 
          knowledge                                                     
       Professionalism             6       3      12       0    0     0 
      Responsiveness to            6       3      11       0    2     0 
       customer needs                                                   
         Timeliness                6       3      11       0    2     0 

Source: GAO analysis of agency-reported data.

aNot all agencies answered every question.

Level of Satisfaction with GPO Customer Services

Most responding agencies were generally satisfied with the Customer
Services program. Among the areas rated as average or above were

o  ability to solve problems,

o  accessibility by phone,

o  accuracy of information,
o courtesy, and

o  professionalism.
Among the few less than average ratings were

o 	presentation of new products and services-9 of 25 rated below average
or poor,

                                  Appendix III
                     Executive Agency Satisfaction with GPO
                                    Services

o  cost of products and services-4 of 26 rated below average or poor, and

o 	timeliness and responsiveness to customer needs-2 of 28 rated below
average.

Table 10 shows the specific responses.

                    Agency ratings of GPO customer services

               Table 10: Agency Ratings of GPO Customer Services
                No                                                                Ability                                                                                                    Cost of                                      Presentation                Product                                              Responsiveness                                      
  Above  Below  basis  Feature Excellent average Average average Poor judge Total to solve 8 10 10 0 0 0  Accessibility 8 11 9 0 0 0  Accuracy of 9 10 9 0 0 0  Communication 10 4 13 1 0 0  products 6 7 9 3 1 2  Courtesy 14 7 7 0 0 0     of new    4 2 10 8 1 3   and/or   5 9 12 1 0 1  Professionalism 12 8 8 0 0 0   to customer   9 7 10 2 0 0                         
                to                                                                problems                  by phone                  information                  skills                      and                                        products and                service                                                  needs                                           
                                                                                                                                                                                             services                                       services                 knowledge                                                                          Timeliness 8 9 9 2 0 0 

Source: GAO analysis of agency-reported data.

Most of the responding agencies were generally satisfied with their most
recent experience with this program. Specifically,

o  27 of 29 were able to reach a customer service representative, and

o  27 of 29 felt that the customer service representatives were helpful.
Among the few less than positive ratings were

o 	7 of 29 strongly agreed or agreed that additional contact was required
to resolve the matter,

o  3 of 28 disagreed that their complaint was resolved in a timely manner,

o  3 of 29 disagreed that their question was answered in a timely manner.

Appendix III
Executive Agency Satisfaction with GPO
Services

                     Table 11 shows the specific responses.

        Agency rating of most recent contact with GPO customer services

      Table 11: Agency Ratings of Most Recent Experience with GPO Customer
                                    Services
                                                                                                                                              Question                                                                                 Needed                                        
                                                                                               Able to                                        answered                 Customer                              Complaint               additional                                      
 Strongly  Neither  Strongly  No    Feature agree Agree nor      Disagree disagree  to   Total directly 13 14 1 1 0 0  representative            in     12 14 0 3 0 0  rep did  0 2 2 19 6 0  problem        resolved  5 18 2 1 2 1  contact to 2 5 5 14 3 0  Customer 14 13 1 1 0 0 
           agree             basis                      disagree                   judge       reach a                                       reasonable                not know                              in timely                resolve                 rep was                
                                                                                                 GPO                                            time                    how to                                fashion                  matter                 willing                
                                                                                               customer                                        period                   handle                                                                                to help                

                 Source: GAO analysis of agency-reported data.

Appendix IV

Panel of Experts

Prudence S. Adler
Associate Executive Director
Federal Relations and Information Policy
Association of Research Libraries

Jamie Callan
Associate Professor
School of Computer Science
Carnegie Mellon University

Bonnie C. Carroll
President and Founder
Information International Associates, Inc.

Gary Cosimini
Business Development Director
Creative Pro Product Group
Adobe Systems Incorporated

John S. Erickson
Principal Scientist
Digital Media Systems Lab
Hewlett-Packard Laboratories

Michael Jensen
Director of Web Communications
National Academies Press

P. K. Kannan
Associate Professor
Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland

Nick Kemp
Senior Vice President of Operations
Nature Publishing Group

William C. Lamparter
President and Principal
PrintCom Consulting Group

Appendix IV Panel of Experts

Craig Nevill-Manning Senior Staff Research Scientist Google Inc.

Barbara Kline Pope Executive Director National Academies Press

MacKenzie Smith Associate Director for Technology MIT Library

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