Highway Administration and Changing Times

As a part of the theme of this session, which is concerned with the role of highways in the national transportation scene, your program committee wanted to have discussed some of the administrative aspects of highway transportation. In particular, it desired that comment be made on the problem of “Maintaining Effective Highway Adminis­ tration.” This is, I assume, subject to interpretation. If one should take a restricted view of administration as pertaining largely to the process of organizational management, there is relatively little that could be said here that has not already been said well and in detail, in the now substantial literature concerned with management. Apart from the creation of adequate standards of performance of the special, technical and professional functions involved in highway affairs, the principles and processes of management would appear to be the same for a highway agency as for any other agency. Further, the possible implication that there may exist some easy or pat formula for an “effective” (meaning efficient?) management process could be misleading, for there appear to be many subtle factors involved in the achievement of a productive and efficient organization. And insofar as maintaining an effective organizational management scheme is con­ cerned, an obvious first requirement would be to have one. It is encouraging to note a rising and sincere interest, on the part of many highway administrators in the management process, as a part of the total job of producing highways and highway service. Across the country we find increasing attention being given by highway agencies to in-service training in the art and the processes of management. Various types of training programs, short courses, conferences and seminars are being given to improve the managerial know-how of personnel having administrative duties. And various types of in­ structional material are available. If one were to try to capsulize a practical suggestion for the im­ provement or maintenance of effective organizational management it