Author Archives: Dr. O

About Dr. O

Studying and teaching about organizations is what I do as a professor of public management. My day job meshes nicely with my lifelong interest in chronic and critical organizational failures. Thus this blog. When I have something to say about any organization—private, public, non-profit, U.S. or elsewhere—that seems headed for the ditch, I’ll do it here.

Uncontrolled Comptroller: 53M/20 Years

Posted on by

One year for each 2.5 million the esteemed Dixon, IL comptroller stole from the city. Wonder if anyone who doesn’t get sentencing guidelines now thinks stealing 200K is only worth a month in jail.  Seriously, the real moral is that no one handling finances should ever be spared serious, regular audits and heathy oversight skepticism.    http://www.suntimes.com/news/18227927-418/ex-dixon-comptroller-gets-19-12-years-in-prison-in-53-million-theft.html

Philly Ticket Fixing Breaks

Posted on by

This report, commissioned by the Chief Justice of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court, set the stage for recent indictments of Philadelphia Traffic Court judges.  The Chief Justice, however, will no longer be commissioning traffic court reports.  His fellow justices assigned his oversight role to another judge in part, some suspect, because the report un-collegially cited the “consideration” shown a fellow Justice’s wife by Traffic Court functionaries. http://articles.philly.com/2012-11-22/news/35258842_1_traffic-court-judge-willie-singletary-judge-robert-mulgrew 

A Billion Arrivederchi

Posted on by

So, as the world’s financial system teetered on the brink and with Bear Stearns about to drop like the canary in the coal mine, an august Italian bank ponies up $12 billion to buy a bank that changed hands for $8 billion just months before, a sweet 50% premium.   You’d think this is about Italian bankers except that Bank of America pretty much did the same thing with respect to Countrywide Finance at the same time. Without study of decision-making in the executive suite that is neither indictment nor testimonial,  such bad bets will be no less likely to occur in the future.  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/business/global/monte-dei-paschi-di-siena-admits-985-million-in-losses-from-secret-deals.html?smid=pl-share

March 7 Update: Bank Exec Leaps to Death; Then Covers Himself with Tarp; + Update 2 

 

Failure to Evaluate

Posted on by

Kids in urban public school systems fall behind in alarming numbers and are handicapped for a lifetime as a result.  All involved are happy to say “the system” failed.  The majority who work in “the system” (in other words, teachers) easily find fault with management and the disadvantages students suffer at home.  But apparently what teachers’ unions see as the real threat to education today are meaningful measures that distinguish good teachers from bad.  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/18/nyregion/new-york-city-talks-on-teacher-evaluations.html?smid=pl-share  Update: State gets involved. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/31/nyregion/gov-andrew-m-cuomo-issues-ultimatum-in-teacher-evaluation-fight.html?smid=pl-share