Ghosts in the Bureaucratic Machine: Resurrecting the Principles of Administration in the Oklahoma Health Department

Abstract

An Oklahoma health department scandal erupted when the acting director was arrested for taking a bribe. More revelations quickly followed, including the existence of multiple “ghost employees” on payroll but having no identifiable job functions. More than 30 employees were terminated. Many faced criminal prosecution. TheTulsa World reported that malfeasance at the agency might have contributed to as many as 1,000 deaths in state nursing homes. The state’s governor assigned a cabinet secretary to rectify the situation. In telling the story of an agency’s denigration and eventual rebirth, the authors argue that no substitute exists for institutional regard for basic administrative principles. They revisit the work of Fayol and Gulick, two pioneers within the principles of administration school. Despite long-standing criticisms, their approach seems strongly validated in light of an agency that lost its way by ignoring fundamentals and was set back on course by an administrator who valued them.