Abstract:
When Joseph Tribble, a political appointee, assumed his position as an Assistant Secretary at the Department of Energy, he soon found himself in conflict with his Deputy Assistant Secretary, Maxine Savitz. A highly respected career civil servant of 15 years' standing, Savitz had been responsible for setting up many of the conservation programs that Tribble, acting under an administration mandate, now wished to cut back sharply or eliminate altogether. This case presents the story of the encounter between Tribble, the political appointee, and Savitz, the career civil servant, including Tribble's efforts to use the annual performance evaluation to indicate his dissatisfaction with Savitz's "mental attitude" and culminating in his decision to reassign her to a new position. To Savitz, the transfer, which she viewed as essentially a demotion, appeared to be a deliberate attempt to induce her to refuse the reassignment, and hence, give DOE grounds to dismiss her. The sequel summarizes the findings of an investigation by the Office of Special Counsel of the Merit System Protection Board.
Learning Objective:
This case has been used primarily as a vehicle for illuminating the relationship between political appointees and career civil servants, and the obligations, responsibilities, and privileges that attach to the respective roles. In a related vein, the case can be used to discuss the problems of political management.
