Abstract:
Robert Hermann, acting administrator of the State Department's Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs (1966-67), wants to liberalize the regulations governing visitor visas. He must decide whether and how to proceed in an environment still dominated by the legacy of the McCarthy era. The case describes Hermann's relationships with peers, superiors, and subordinates in the executive branch and in Congress. An appendix recounts the troubled history of the Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs, including a highly publicized fight between Hermann and Frances Knight, conservative head of SCA's Passport Office. The sequel details Hermann's successful efforts to change the visitor visa regulations, focusing in particular on his coalition-building efforts inside the bureaucracy.
Learning Objective:
The case can be used to demonstrate the need for, and techniques of, coalition-building to bring about changes in policy; illustrate the resources a governmental player can use in dealing with subordinates, superiors, and peers; and provide practice in assessing the stakes and predicting the stands of other players in the executive branch and Congress. The case may also be used to raise ethical issues concerning the obligations a manager-advocate has to his or her "authorizing environment."
