SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT BE RUN LIKE A BUSINESS? 1 Should the Government Be Run Like a Business? First Name Last Name PADM Admission Dr. Angel Pool-Funai Date Should the Government Be Run Like a Business? Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara, who served under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson during the Vietnam War, attempted to manage the DOD through data. One of the vestiges of this type of return-on-investment management system is what Harry Summers Jr. in his 1991 LA Times article, Body Count Proved to Be a False Prophet, called “the body-count syndrome.” McNamara tried to quantify what was needed to win the war in terms of the opposition’s body count. In the article, Summers related a story that circulated the Pentagon after Nixon took office in 1969: “Supposedly a computer was fed all the quantifiable data on the United States and North Vietnam--population size, gross national product, steel production, size of the armed forces, numbers of tanks, guns, ships, planes and the like. The computer was then asked, "When will we win?" Instantaneously it spit out the answer: "You won in 1964!"” Defense Secretary McNamara had created a simplistic ROI model—a private-sector business practice—that proved that “there is much more to war that those things which can be counted”. Another philosopher of war, Von Clausewitz totally rejected the quantifiers McNamara tried to put in place. In the summers article Clausewitz stated: "[In] war everything is uncertain, and calculations have to be made with variable quantities. [McNamara and his team] direct the inquiry exclusively toward physical qualities, whereas all military action is intertwined with psychological forces and effects…[and] continuous interaction of opposites… It is always aimed simultaneously at the moral forces which give it life.” Clausewitz points out an important distinction between public administration and business administration—that they are, by nature, fundamentally distinct types of administration. The question, “Should the government be run like a business?” is fundamentally flawed.[footnoteRef:2] It is the wrong question to ask. What does it mean to run anything like a business? Proponents argue that running something like a business means revenue should exceed expenses, initiatives should be revenue driven, and constituents should be treated like customers. Though well-intentioned, these viewpoints have pitfalls as illustrated in the DOD’s efforts to win the Vietnam War with numbers. A government that takes in more revenue than expenses is an inefficient government that overtaxes its constituents. [2: This question is intensely political. Phrasing the question like this gives a rhetorical advantage to libertarian leaning politicians. The question often comes with an implied premise that unlike business, government suffers from bureaucracy, debt, and constant political campaigning. This claim needs to be verified, and usually never is. Understanding that governmen ...

1. SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT BE RUN LIKE A BUSINESS?
1
Should the Government Be Run Like a Business?
First Name Last Name
PADM Admission
Dr. Angel Pool-Funai
Date
Should the Government Be Run Like a Business?
Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara, who served under
Presidents Kennedy and Johnson during the Vietnam War,
attempted to manage the DOD through data. One of the vestiges
of this type of return-on-investment management system is what
Harry Summers Jr. in his 1991 LA Times article, Body Count
Proved to Be a False Prophet, called “the body-count
syndrome.” McNamara tried to quantify what was needed to win
the war in terms of the opposition’s body count. In the article,
Summers related a story that circulated the Pentagon after
Nixon took office in 1969:
“Supposedly a computer was fed all the quantifiable data on the
United States and North Vietnam--population size, gross
national product, steel production, size of the armed forces,
numbers of tanks, guns, ships, planes and the like. The

2. computer was then asked, "When will we win?" Instantaneously
it spit out the answer: "You won in 1964!"”
Defense Secretary McNamara had created a simplistic ROI
model—a private-sector business practice—that proved that
“there is much more to war that those things which can be
counted”. Another philosopher of war, Von Clausewitz totally
rejected the quantifiers McNamara tried to put in place. In the
summers article Clausewitz stated:
"[In] war everything is uncertain, and calculations have to be
made with variable quantities. [McNamara and his team] direct
the inquiry exclusively toward physical qualities, whereas all
military action is intertwined with psychological forces and
effects…[and] continuous interaction of opposites… It is always
aimed simultaneously at the moral forces which give it life.”
Clausewitz points out an important distinction between public
administration and business administration—that they are, by
nature, fundamentally distinct types of administration.
The question, “Should the government be run like a
business?” is fundamentally flawed.[footnoteRef:2] It is the
wrong question to ask. What does it mean to run anything like a
business? Proponents argue that running something like a
business means revenue should exceed expenses, initiatives
should be revenue driven, and constituents should be treated
like customers. Though well-intentioned, these viewpoints have
pitfalls as illustrated in the DOD’s efforts to win the Vietnam
War with numbers. A government that takes in more revenue
than expenses is an inefficient government that overtaxes its
constituents. [2: This question is intensely political.
Phrasing the question like this gives a rhetorical advantage to
libertarian leaning politicians. The question often comes with an
implied premise that unlike business, government suffers from
bureaucracy, debt, and constant political campaigning. This
claim needs to be verified, and usually never is. Understanding
that government and business are distinct can lead to more
constructive questions like: How do we make government more
efficient? Are austerity and increasing taxes to eliminate debt

3. worth it? What can we do to increase the effectiveness of
elected public servants and public administrators?]
Those who argue that government should be run like a business
often fight for policies and regulations that make government
more efficient; however, those that argue a distinction should be
made between the two do not want government to be less
efficient, accountable, or transparent. In fact, many business
practices can be applied to government organizations and non-
profits to streamline their processes and procedures and provide
more for the greater good of that organization’s or
government’s constituency. A good public servant should look
to multiple avenues of organizational leadership and best
practices to improve their stewardship. It is in the careful
balance of public and private sector interests that a government
must operate to provide for the greater good of its people.
Governments and Businesses are fundamentally two different
types of organizations. They differ in their goals, their
organizations, and they are held accountable by different
institutions. For a business those institutions are primarily
stakeholders and secondarily customers; however, the
government should answer to all members of its constituency
equally—regardless of the stake they hold in society. Both
organizations can learn from one another to improve their
efficiency, transparency, and accountability. It is important to
understand these distinctions as a public servant or
administrator.
Reference
Marohn, C. (2018, June 18). Running Government Like a
Business. Retrieved May 30, 2019, from
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/6/18/running-
government-as-a-business
Marohn explained that a city should be run like a business. He
defines what that means simply by making sure that revenues
exceed expenses. He also pointed out pitfalls in a private-sector

4. minded city planner.
Mintzberg, H. (2017, March 31). The U.S. Cannot Be Run Like
a Business. Retrieved May 28, 2019, from
https://hbr.org/2017/03/the-u-s-cannot-be-run-like-a-business
The United States is not suffering from too much government so
much as from too much business all over the government.
Summers, H. G., Jr. (1991, February 09). Body Count Proved to
Be a False Prophet : Tactics: It was discarded after Vietnam
War. Military people now realize that quantifying victory is far
more complex. Retrieved May 30, 2019, from
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-02-09-mn-675-
story.html
Summers explained why the US tried to move itself away from
body-count in the First Gulf War. He showed how the
management of Vietnam under Johnson lead to a
misunderstanding of how data can influence policy to its
detriment.