The Rio Estrecho Authority

Organizations, whether in the public, nonprofit, or private sector, often must contend with the divisive issue of the perceived conflict between the institution’s interests and employees’ or community’s interests. The Rio Estrecho Authority, a special district government, administers and regulates waterways of the Rio Estrecho basin. Recent events have required the organization to consider alternative retrenching strategies. This leads to a situation that requires an employee to make a difficult decision. The values and norms within a given organization are often subject to alternative interpretations in dynamic, high-stress environments. This case study examines the individual, administrative dilemmas raised by these issues in the context of organizational decision-making processes.

Main Topics

Bureaucracy and structure, Decision making

Secondary Topics

Political context, Intergovernmental relations

Teaching Purpose

To examine the difficulties of balancing organizational demands and both professional and individual responsibility; it also discusses issues surrounding intergovernmental and political accountability and transparent communication to employees and the community.

The Organization

The Rio Estrecho Authority (REA). The Spanish Lake Project (SLP) operates under the auspices of the REA.

<target id="page_24" target-type="page">24</target>Main Characters

Thomas Fernandez, CEO of Rio Estrecho Authority

David Winter, Southern Regional Director

Daniel Kraves, Head Operations Officer for Spanish Lake Project

James Blackstock, member of the special group

Travis Cole, Dean Burke, the other members of the special group