Organizational Strategy
The Department of Transportation (DOT) was created in 1965 as
an executive department of government under the suggestion of then Federal Aviation
Agency (FAA) Administrator Najeeb Halaby. He recognized that if the government transportation
programs would do better if all transportation agencies were under one
department. This shocked everyone in government that the head of the FAA would
be willing to take his independent agencies and roll it in with another agency.
Halaby’s decisions were based on the fact that he thought if the government
embodied all transportation under one agency, then he wouldn’t be left out of
some of the top-secret aviation developments. Halaby recognized that the needs
of the economy were not being met with the current transportation system and
Johnson agreed, so DOT was created. Since then, DOT has drastically evolved
from five initial operating elements into twelve. In order for this to happen
there was a strategy that they followed and goals that they focused on. The
main goal of the DOT is to
“Serve the United States by
ensuring a fast, safe, efficient, accessible, and convenient transportation system
that meets our vital national interests and enhances the quality of life of the
American people, today and into the future” (DOT, 2018, par.1).
DOT set forth objectives that they wanted to meet and a time
frame for which they wanted to meet those objectives. The strategic plan is to
evaluate the safety issues that involve behavioral, vehicle, and
infrastructure, so that they can determine what is needed. Each department is
set up to do the same thing and then they discuss their findings with each
other and come up with plans of action to solve the current issues. This
feedback also comes back to them by way of the public input. For every project
that DOT does, the public can go onto the website, view it, and then address
their concerns, opinions, or even suggestions. As the needs for transportation
grow, DOT grows to meet those changes. Because they have a solid plan in place
already, it is easy for them adapt to the new demands.
One division of DOT is Statewide Aviation. This is the
section I work for. Here in Alaska, approximately 82% of the communities are
not served by roads and have no connection to a road system; therefore,
aviation is the bloodline to these communities. DOT’s strategic planning has
allowed them to maintain the 240 airports and help them to develop. DOT's structure is more of silo structure with many different departments who all have someone in a hierarchical position they answer to, but that is what works for this type of organization. DOT would not be able to achieve its goals if the company operated as a complex adaptive system.
Within the
next 10 years, DOT will have constructed, managed, and developed most these Alaskan airports
to better serve the community. As for my role, I see where I could possibly
contribute to this development of this strategy and possible help bring the organization to a more matrix style of organization.
Reference:
DOT.com. 2018. Retreived from: fhttps://www.transportation.gov/50/creation-department-transportation-summary
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