Principal Investigator: George Roy Elmore, Jr. (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Sponsor: GWRI
Start Date: 1972-05-01; Completion Date: 1972-05-01;
Keywords:
Description:
Responsibilities of the states for management of their water resources have been increasing rapidly in the view of the public and under the requirements of Federal programs. The State of Georgia has been among those governments in states with abundant water resources which have given minimum attention to water resources management. As a result the organization of the State’s executive branch has been inadequate to meet many current demands for management. The issue by issue response of the State has proven unsatisfactory to those who desire more comprehensive and coordinated water resources management. The organizational structure of resources management agencies in Georgia has appeared to impede progress toward better coordination and more comprehensive management. Therefore many concerned citizens have viewed reorganization as a necessary step toward improved State programs. However there has been disagreement over the appropriate form of organizational structure and over the significance of organizational structure in achieving better water resources management. The objectives of this research are to identify effects of organizational structure of the executive branch of Georgia state government on its functional programs of water resources management so that a more objective assessment of the importance of organizational structure can be made.
The natural resources organization structure of Georgia has been compared to that of five other states with the aid of a research model developed from classical public administration theory. An outline of an ideal state water resources program was developed and applied to Georgia’s state and Federal water resources programs. This information was used to test hypotheses about the effect of organizational structure on water resources programs.
It was found that, although the power of the available techniques of analysis and the available data were not sufficient to define organizational structure as cause and program as effect, the structural forms recommended by classical public administration theory were regularly associated with more highly developed programs. Existing and potential shortcomings of Georgia’s water resources programs which appear to be related to organization are interagency conflict, ineffective leadership from the governor, difficulty in adapting to change, and the omission of programs for water resources planning, flood protection, dam safety, and water rights. Possibilities for improvement of Georgia’s organization suggested by the organization of other states are discussed.