4. Update and refocus the Executive Order establishing the President's Council on Management Improvement. (2) The President should revise the role and change the name of the President Council on Management Improvement (PCMI) to reflect the changed role of the council and its members in relation to the new PMC. The PCMI, established in 1992 by Executive Order 12816, needs to focus its work on improving administration, consistent with the overall management responsibility of the President's Management Council.(22) The PCMI is a large advisory body chaired by OMB's Deputy Director for Management and composed of at least 44 members from executive branch administrative-management staff organizations. Its members are responsible for a variety of staff activities in their agencies concerned with administrative matters (e.g., food service, security, motor pools, building maintenance), personnel, budget, procurement, information resource management, and other administrative management issues corresponding to the compliance, clearance, and review responsibilities of OMB, OPM, and GSA. PCMI's name and some of its functions broadly focus on overall management of the federal government. For example, the executive order authorizes the PCMI to recommend "improvements in Government management and operations . . . and . . . the development, review, revision, and implementation of Government-wide policies in support of the central management agencies of the federal government."(23) However, PCMI activities are primarily focused on administrative management concerns and not the implementation of broad management policies and programs. Nevertheless, these activities are important to the continuous improvement of government operations. The PCMI should continue in operation, but its functions should be clearly defined as improving administrative management. The responsibilities and experience of the PCMI's members position it to act as a clearinghouse, communications network, and advisory body for reviewing the appropriateness of existing and proposed administrative directives and regulations. A name such as the "President's Council on Executive Branch Administration'' might better describe the PMCI's functions. Because of its size, the PCMI has proven to be too large and unwieldy to be effective. The PCMI's membership should be reduced to a smaller group, much like the President's Management Council.
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