Government Business Operations Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years 1995-96
(Letter Report, 07/01/95, GAO/IAP-95-18).

GAO presented its Government Business Operations issue area plan for
fiscal years 1995 and 1996.

GAO plans to: (1) improve agencies' capabilities to plan for and satisfy
their needs; (2) improve the federal acquisition process by streamlining
policies and improving contracting systems; (3) identify obstacles that
impede cost-effective businesslike acquisitions and assess their impact;
(4) improve the use of property that enhances mission accomplishment and
productivity; (5) promote the adoption of best practices in real estate
management; (6) promote strategies for disposing of government assets
that improve the return on investment to the government and taxpayers;
(7) identify opportunities to improve agency systems and practices; (8)
evaluate agencies' management reform initiatives; (9) assess whether
agencies are achieving mandated social policy goals in real estate asset
disposition; and (10) ensure that quality management efforts result in
improved service and responsiveness to customers.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  IAP-95-18
     TITLE:  Government Business Operations Issue Area Plan--Fiscal 
             Years 1995-96
      DATE:  07/01/95
   SUBJECT:  Strategic planning
             Real property
             Surplus federal property
             Assets
             Postal service
             Financial management
             Agency missions
             Cost effectiveness analysis
             Federal procurement policies
             Systems management

             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


General Government Division

July 1995

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS OPERATIONS
ISSUE AREA PLAN

FISCAL YEARS 1995-96

GAO/IAP-95-18



Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV


FOREWORD
============================================================ Chapter 0

As the investigative arm of Congress and the nation's auditor, the
General Accounting Office is charged with following the federal
dollar wherever it goes.  Reflecting stringent standards of
objectivity and independence, GAO's audits, evaluations, and
investigations promote a more efficient and cost-effective
government; expose fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in federal
programs; help Congress target budget reductions; assess financial
and information management; and alert Congress to developing trends
that may have significant fiscal or budgetary consequences.  In
fulfilling its responsibilities, GAO performs original research and
uses hundreds of databases, or creates its own when information is
unavailable elsewhere. 

To ensure that GAO's resources are directed toward the most important
issues facing Congress, each of GAO's 35 issue areas develops a
strategic plan that describes the significance of the issues it
addresses, its objectives, and the focus of its work.  Each issue
area relies heavily on input from congressional committees, agency
officials, and subject-matter experts in developing its strategic
plan. 

The Government Business Operations issue area does program and
evaluation work involving operations and activities of the General
Services Administration (GSA), which controls or oversees over $60
billion in annual government spending; United States Postal Service,
which has revenue in excess of $55 billion annually; and the
Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC), which still must dispose of over
$21 billion in assets.  The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is
now in the process of assuming the responsibilities of the Resolution
Trust Corporation, which is scheduled to terminate on December 31,
1995.  Additionally, this issue area operates a special response
group, which coordinates all work regarding White House operations as
well as responds to congressional inquiries regarding numerous other
federal agency activities, such as the Smithsonian Institution and
the U.S.  Mint. 

GAO has recently issued reports examining federal government building
lease programs, vendor default claims, postal labor relations, mail
service delivery and automation, RTC management reforms, asset
disposition programs, and White House procurement and travel office
operations. 

The principal themes in the government business operations area are

  -- effective acquisition, use, and disposition of government assets
     to both reduce costs and provide a greater return on investment;

  -- improved management for greater responsiveness in meeting agency
     goals and consumers' needs; and

  -- more efficient operations through alternative strategies for
     providing service. 

The pages that follow describe key planned work on these themes. 

Because events may significantly affect even the best of plans, our
planning process allows for updating the plan and responding quickly
to emerging issues.  If you have any questions or suggestions, please
call me at (202) 512-8387. 

J.  William Gadsby
Director
Government Business Operations Issues


CONTENTS
============================================================ Chapter 1


   FOREWORD
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:1

1


   TABLE I:  KEY ISSUES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:2

4


   TABLE II:  PLANNED MAJOR WORK
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:3

6


   TABLE III:  GAO CONTACTS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:4

7


TABLE I:  KEY ISSUES
============================================================ Chapter 2

Issue                                    Significance
---------------------------------------  ---------------------------------------
Asset and support services acquisition:  The General Services Administration
Are facilities, goods, and services      acts as the main government focal point
acquired in the most effective,          for over $60 billion of federal
efficient, and economical way to         procurements each year ranging from
achieve mission goals and return on      buildings and telecommunications
investment?                              equipment to everyday support services.
                                         Postal service acquisition programs
                                         constitute several billion dollars each
                                         year, primarily to ensure the accurate
                                         and timely delivery of the mail to over
                                         223 million locations daily. The
                                         Resolution Trust Corporation has acted
                                         as the government's guardian, holding
                                         company, and sales representative of
                                         billions of dollars in government-
                                         controlled assets; their safeguard has
                                         a significant effect on the ultimate
                                         return on investment upon disposition.

Asset maintenance and use: Are           The General Services Administration
financial assets, facilities, goods,     maintains over 1,700 federal buildings,
and services being maintained and used   whose operation, modernization, and
in ways that will optimize value,        general maintenance require continuous
reduce costs, and achieve mission        oversight and attention. Proper
goals?                                   maintenance of buildings is critical to
                                         the quality, health, safety, and
                                         usefulness of hundreds of thousands of
                                         federal employees. Proper building
                                         maintenance is vital to maintaining
                                         service value as well as ensuring
                                         continued income-producing capability
                                         commensurate with the private sector.


Asset disposition: Are asset             Continued challenges face the
disposition policies and practices       Resolution Trust Corporation as it
maximizing benefits to the government    winds down its operations and sells the
and U.S. citizens?                       assets under its control. Additionally,
                                         congressional oversight assumes greater
                                         importance as the inventory of federal
                                         historic buildings grows and the
                                         buildings deteriorate without the
                                         renovation needed to establish them as
                                         entities capable of housing tenants
                                         consistent with current technology.
                                         With federal downsizing and budget
                                         deficits, these issues remain at the
                                         forefront.

Management improvement: Are management   Both the General Services
systems and processes improving          Administration and the Postal Service
performance and being responsive to      are key providers of services that
customer needs?                          contribute to smooth government
                                         operation as well as provide for a
                                         vital network of communication for
                                         business transactions and household-
                                         to-household contacts.






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Objectives                               Focus of work
---------------------------------------  ---------------------------------------
--Improve agencies' capabilities to      --Monitor implementation of prior
plan for long-and short-term needs and   recommendations.
satisfy them.
                                         --Assess ongoing major reform efforts.
--Improve the federal acquisition
process by streamlining policies and     --Examine agency controls to prevent
procedures, improving contracting        fraud, waste, and abuse.
systems, and making the process more
responsive.

--Identify obstacles that impede cost-
effective businesslike acquisitions and
assess their impact.



--Improve maintenance and use of real    --Examine systemic obstacles, such as
and other property that enhance mission  budgetary limitations and lack of
accomplishment and productivity.         strategic planning, that impede cost-
                                         effective approaches.
--Promote the adoption of more
economically sound, businesslike         --Focus on agency and industry best
practices in maintaining and using       practices and initiatives.
property as valuable national assets.
                                         --Work with Congress and agency leaders
--Promote the adoption of "best          to generate awareness to be competitive
practices" in the real estate            and businesslike.
management area.

--Promote the adoption of innovative,    --Focus on process incentives to
economically sound, businesslike         illustrate the need for private sector
incentives and strategies for disposing  strategies.
of government assets that improve the
return on investment to the government   --Work with executive branch and
and the taxpayer.                        congressional officials to design
                                         better approaches to asset disposition
--Improve federal agencies'              and close facilities deemed no longer
organizational structures and processes  needed.
for disposing of real and personal
property and financial assets.

--Identify opportunities to promote      --Review and evaluate agency management
improvements in agency systems and       systems and processes.
practices.
                                         --Identify objective measurement
--Evaluate how agency management reform  systems.
initiatives are tracked and what
progress they show.                      --Examine changes in customer
                                         utilization resulting from program
--Assess whether agencies are achieving  implementation.
mandated social policy goals in real
estate asset disposition programs.       --Review surveys of customer
                                         satisfaction and evaluate measurement
--Ensure that quality management         techniques.
efforts result in improved service and
responsiveness to customers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TABLE II:  PLANNED MAJOR WORK
============================================================ Chapter 3

Issue                               Planned major job starts
----------------------------------  ----------------------------------
Asset and support services          --Deployment of automation
acquisition                         equipment related to delivery
                                    point sequencing of mail

                                    --GSA contracting and
                                    administration practices

Asset maintenance and use           --Economical alternatives for
                                    providing services in areas
                                    currently not providing sufficient
                                    return on investment

                                    --GSA's building modernization
                                    program

                                    --The government's return on
                                    concessions

                                    --The National Air and Space
                                    Museum care of its aircraft
                                    collection

Asset disposition                   --RTC's Equity Partnership Sales
                                    Program

                                    --Utilization surplus real and
                                    personal property

Management improvement              --Improvement in postal ratemaking
                                    process

                                    --Monitoring of GSA's ongoing
                                    major reform efforts

                                    --Role and mission of the Board of
                                    Governors and Postal Rate
                                    Commission

                                    --Adequacy of Postal Service's
                                    controls of over $55 billion in
                                    postal revenue
----------------------------------------------------------------------

TABLE III:  GAO CONTACTS
============================================================ Chapter 4


      DIRECTOR
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.1

J.  William Gadsby, (202) 512-8387


      ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.2

Gaston L.  Gianni Jr., (202) 736-0479
Michael E.  Motley, (202) 512-8126


      ASSISTANT DIRECTORS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.3

John S.  Baldwin Sr.
James T.  Campbell
Ronald L.  King
Gerald Stankosky
John L.  Vialet

*** End of document. ***