The primary directive for those who lead functional organizations

Make sure that the functional areas coordinate with one another, and do not work at cross purposes. The new GAO report gives us a nice example of a organization that ignores this advice:

The 345-page General Accountability Office report pinpointed 34 areas – from defense and job training to social services – where federal agencies, offices or programs have redundant objectives or are fragmented across several departments, something McConnell described as the government’s “virtual incompetence.”

For example, there are 15 agencies that deal with the nation’s food-safety system, which the GAO said has led to inconsistent oversight and an inefficient use of resources. There are 80 programs across multiple agencies that focus on economic development.