Luther H. Gulick Impact On Society

America has not always been the political powerhouse it now is. In fact, America and her politics began merely as an idea; they “began with a great dream and determination to show that democracy, freedom, and enterprise together are the answer to the political and social needs of humankind” (Gulick, 1990, p. 599). With the new ideas of governance and democracy that borne from the inception of the United States also came new approaches, ideas, and theories on how to efficiently and responsibly lead the people. Brilliant minds from all over the United States have contributed to the important aspect of social science in government, including one such man, Luther H. Gulick. Relatively unknown to common history books, Gulick is found in nearly every

As a general overview, Gulick made American public service, as well as executive routine, what it is today. However, his most notable and fascinating feats include founding the American Society for Public Administration and his groundbreaking work in Notes on the Theories of Public Administration, a theory that provided the frame for political reorganization. At the time, and even up to today, Gulick’s paper was overlooked preference to other’s works. Recently, a small number of people came to the defense of Luther Gulick, stating that his work was intellectually sound and unnecessarily misinterpreted (Hammond, 1990, p. 146-147). In essence, Luther Gulick’s Notes was the first of its kind to assume the importance of a “bottom-up” work environment, meaning he was aware of the significance of the menial things in an organization – such as the worth placed on everyday workers. He valued and described the importance of characteristics such as homogeneity, the unity of command, and coordination by all in the organization (Hammond, 1990, p. 147-149). While these generally seem like common facts that everyone in the public administration field should be aware of, he was one of the trailblazers in this branch of thinking, and can be credited with contributing to the development of the field

To be frank, it is found in nearly every aspect of the modern business model, governmental organization structure, and other organizational entities. Every business model has a hierarchy, a corporate ladder to climb, a central unit of command, and, usually, a department set up for the well-being and appreciation of its workers. However, one of the most vital and modern parts of United States’ government seems to be lacking from the theories described by Gulick. With the ever-growing threat of terrorism comes the ever-growing field of national security and intelligence committees. While the development of these entities are critical to the protection of our nation, many have criticized them, stating that they are unorganized, lack communication to one another, and are too expansive in power. One could ask: “Why does the intelligence agency have such a difficult time getting itself together?” After looking at Gulick’s departmentalization theories, Hammond states three big reasons that intelligence agencies cannot organize themselves: complexity, trade-offs and competing goals, and unrecognized virtues in each department (2007, p. 403-404). Ultimately, the reorganization of all of the United States’ intelligence agencies can be done only if, in accordance with Gulick’s theory, each individual facet of the operation works in coordination and cooperation. Although it is the most difficult part of the reorganization process,