When President George W Bush came into office in January 2001, he arrived from a campaign in which he had emphasised efficiency in government, particularly through the use of information technology, but had not revealed any plans for reorganising the executive branch. Then in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the organisation of the federal government for maintaining homeland security and combating terrorism became an important consideration for both the President and the 107th Congress. Establishment of the Office of Homeland Security in October 2001 as a co-ordinating entity as an important first step, followed by the President's June 6, 2002 call for the creation of a Department of Homeland Security. This book regards reorganisation and management as involving the alteration of the program administrative structure and operations of the executive branch for reasons of efficiency, economy and direction.

In Administrative Renewal, the periodic efforts to reorganize the executive branch during the 20th century are examined and analyzed. Receiving special attention are the landmark commissions, such as the Hoover Commissions of mid-century, to determine how they influenced the theory and practice of democratic administration