Tom Ridge: First Secretary of the Department of Homeland SecurityAntonella Demartini
PA 762
Case Study Presentation
December 7, 2011
Presentation Overview Ridge’s background National context Leader challenges and accomplishments
Constraining and facilitating factors Leadership theory Conclusion
Ridge’s Career of Public Service Vietnam veteran
Assistant District Attorney of Erie, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Representive, six terms Pennsylvania Governor, two terms Director of White House Office of
Homeland Security First Secretary of the Department of
Homeland Security
Context: National Crises & Extraordinary Legislation September 11, 2001 Anthrax poisoning, September 2001
PATRIOT Act, 2001 Homeland Security Act, 2002
Leader Challenges I No job description Overwhelming list of potential terrorist threats
infrastructure, bioterrorism, transportation security, water supply, natural disaster relief
Associated Press figures (Ridge, 2009, 67-68)600,000 bridges; 2,800 power plans (104 of them nuclear) 190,000 miles of natural gas pipelines; 95,000 miles of
coastline463 skyscrapers; 416 commercial airports 285 million people were spread out over 3,717,792 square
miles Review of daily threat matrix with CIA, FBI, DOJ,
Pentagon, NSA
Leader Challenges II Corroborating intelligence Risk management: weighing risks and
making tradeoffs because being all places at once was impossible
Culture of secrecy: “need to know culture” versus “need to share culture”
Local and state officials without adequate information, staffing, training, funding
Constraining Factors Political
Responsible for monitoring an overwhelming list of terrorism threats
Accountable to multitude of stakeholders Oversight by 86 Congressional committees (Ridge, 2009,
200) Economic
No funding for state and local jurisdictions - had to absorb cost in their budgets
Social Challenging the “keep everyone out” mentality Few believed increased security was about “secure
borders and open doors”
Facilitating Factors Political
No job description, no predecessor – discretion to devise methods/procedures/programs
Presidential support Economic (Ridge, 2009, 131)
$ 37.5 billion budget for FY 2003-2004 180,000 employees
Social Talk show host humor increased issue
awareness
Leader Accomplishments Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS) U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indication
Technology (US-VISIT) program Widespread support for the Transportation
Security Administration (TSA) Increased border/airport inspectors; vaccine
stockpiling; increased standards for water quality and food inspection
Leadership Theory I Traits/Characteristics: Ridge was a “decisive, clear
thinking executive who kn[ew] how to solve problems. He [was] a person of integrity and a person of good judgement” (Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, 2003).
Styles Strategic – aligned organization with the external
environment Achievement oriented - HSAS, US-VISIT, increased
security measures Collaborative – partnerships with federal/state/local
agencies
Leadership Theory II Transformational leadership theory because
unprecedented time Referent power, ideological appeal (career of public service)Triggers of change (9/11 and anthrax poisoning) creating
instability, crisis, need for change Leader of an open system (DHS) Split attention between internal and external demands
(multiple stakeholders) Adaptation to new processes, organizational structures,
technologies (22 gov’t agencies combined, biometrics) Environmental scanning, consulting, networking/partnering
Ethical leadership sacrificing personal life out of obligation to public service
Conclusion Effective leader who created a functioning
department Increased awareness of and national
preparedness for terrorism attacks in/on the United States
Questions?
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