Completed Staff Work

“Getting It Right the First Time”

Presented by EDGARDO M. MACARANAS

May 2019
Background

• Completed Staff Work (CSW) originated as a military

concept. The term “CSW” was coined by Brigadier
G.E.R. Smith, sometime in 1943.

• It involves “the study of a problem, and presentation of

a solution, by a staff officer, in such form that all that
remains to be done on the part of the head of the staff
division, or the commander, is to indicate his approval
or disapproval of the completed action.”

• “Completed action” is emphasized because the more

difficult a problem is, the more there is a tendency to
present the problem to the boss in a piecemeal
fashion.
What Staff Work Is

Completed staff work is a single proposed

recommendation that:
– Has been thoroughly analyzed
– Has been coordinated
– Represents the best recommendation possible
– Requires simple approval or disapproval
– Is prepared in final form for signature
Simple Summary of the CSW process
Sample Procedural Guides of a CSW

• Step 1: Identify Issue and Establish Work

Process
– Determine the scope of the issue
– Develop a clear statement of the issue
– Identify decision makers
– Clarify needs/expectations of the decision maker.
– Set the timetable
– Identify internal and external stakeholders
– Identify the resources required
– Determine the characteristics of the project
Sample Procedural Guides of a CSW

• Step 2: Collect and Analyze Data

The process to accomplish successful “Completed Staff
Work” is grounded in how well you research the data that
will be used to make your decision.

– Research data and information

– Involve stakeholders
– Seek customer input

This is the point at which successful people make their

decisions based on current actual and not perceived.
Sample Procedural Guides of a CSW

• Step 3: Develop and Assess Options

– Use criteria to develop a final recommendation. E.g.,
cost; budget impacts; political considerations; and
alignment with department vision, purpose, and values, as
well as many other criteria, to mathematically determine
the best option.
– Develop cost options
(what is the cost associated with the alternatives?)
– Consider budget impacts
(overall implication of the alternative)
– Consider policy impacts
(how the alternatives mesh with current policy)
Sample Procedural Guides of a CSW

• Step 4: Recommendations and Draft Report

– Seek consensus of stakeholders on
recommendations
– Select the best option
– Resolve conflicts
– Consider presentation method
– Draft the report

Make certain it is a quality work and represents

everything you want it to be before it is handed off for
review.
Sample Procedural Guides of a CSW

• Step 5: Obtain Decision Maker Approval

– Schedule appropriate time that would be best to
give the report/presentation for the decision maker
– Alert decision maker to potential unresolved
conflicts. (there may be times when you will have
unresolved conflicts)

• Step 6: Implementation of Approved

Decision
The Staff
• It is the duty of a staff to research the details, analyze
your findings, prioritize and categorize, and choose
the one alternative you will recommend along with
the reasons for doing so.

• The individual may and should consult other staff

people. The product, whether it involves the
pronouncement of a new policy or affects an
established one, should be worked out in finished
formed before presentation to the boss for decision.

• They are to study, write and rewrite until a single

proposed action evolves with the best one of all
considered.
The Boss

• The boss needs answers not questions.

• The boss merely approves or disapproves.

• The boss should not be worried with long

explanations and memoranda.

• Writing a memorandum to the boss does not

constitute completed staff work, but writing a
memorandum for the boss to send to someone else
does.
The Final Test

“If you were the boss, would you be willing to

sign the paper you have prepared and stake your
professional reputation on its being right?”

If the answer is in the negative, take it back and

work it over, because it is not yet completed staff
work
Benefits of Completed Staff Work

The Completed Staff Work doctrine may result in more

work for the staff employee, but it results in more
freedom for the decision makers and the ability to
make more decisions.
It accomplishes 4 things:
1. The decision makers are protected from “half-baked ideas”,
voluminous memoranda, and poor oral presentations.
2. The staff employee who has a real idea to sell is enabled
more readily to find a market.
3. The staff employee develops leadership and decision-
making skills.
4. The organization’s performance is more effective and the
organization is more productive.
Preparation of Budget Proposals

The Department of Budget and Management issues

an annual Budget Call that defines the budget
framework; sets economic and fiscal targets;
prescribe the priority thrusts and budget levels; and
spells out the guidelines and procedures, technical
instructions and the timetable for budget preparation.

The guidelines and procedures contained in the

annual Budget Call can serve to facilitate CSW for
agency preparation of their respective budget
proposals.
Preparation of Budget Proposals

Preparation by various government agencies of their

detailed budget estimates ranking programs,
projects and activities shall subscribe to the
indicators and forms prescribed in the Budget Call
 As a
streamlined
process, all
proposed
budgetary
requirements
of an agency
shall be
indicated in
the prescribed
Budget
Preparation
Forms
The Budget Call provides specific instructions for the completion of the BP
forms
As illustrated in the sample BP
Form, personnel involved in the
development and determination
of agency proposal are required
to affix their signature.
This also recognizes that the
proposal underwent CSW
General Guidelines under the Budget Call

• Agencies shall submit Budget Preparation (BP) Forms

through the Online Submission of Budget Proposals
System (OSBPS) and transmit to DBM 3 hard copies of
the required BP Forms duly endorsed by the Agency
Head.
• The submitted hard copy must be the same as the
encoded data under the OSBPS.
• These must be submitted to the Administrative Service-
Central Records Division (AS-CRD) of the DBM.
General Guidelines under the Budget Call

• Agencies belonging to the education sector shall

submit budget proposals covering only those activities
to be implemented within the Calendar Year of the
Proposed Year (January to December) and NOT the
requirements for the whole Academic Year (June of the
proposed year to March of the succeeding year).
• Agencies shall prepare the indicative Annual
Procurement Plan (APP) to support their budget
proposals. APP shall be a consolidation of the different
Procurement Projects as contained in their respective
PPMPs. The indicative APPs shall be submitted to the
DBM as part of the budget proposals.
Organizational Structure and Staffing
Pattern (OSSP) Proposal
Documentary Requirements
• Agency Request – officially endorsed by the Head of
the Agency
• Legal Basis
• Rationale/background of the proposal
• Proposed organizational chart
• Proposed functional chart
• Proposed staffing pattern
– Number of positions; position title/salary grade; general
statement of proposed functions; organizational
deployment; computation of Personal Services Cost
• Organizational Linkages
• Funding Source
Minor OSSP Modification

Additional Documentary Requirements

• Existing organizational chart and proposed changes
• Existing functional chart and proposed changes

Reminder:
It is important that all documentary requirements are
complete, verifiable and accurate to successfully
proceed with the processing of the requests.
Evaluation of
OSSP and
Issuance of
NOSCA