Bureaucracy Ch 15 Bureaucrats o Some Bureaucratic Myths

Bureaucracy Ch 15

Bureaucrats o Some Bureaucratic Myths and Realities n n n Americans dislike bureaucrats. Bureaucracies are growing bigger each year. Most federal bureaucrats work in Washington, D. C. Bureaucracies are ineffective, inefficient and always mired in red tape. Scapegoats of American politics

How they got there o Who They Are and How They Got There n Civil Service: From Patronage to Protection. o o Patronage: Job given for political reasons. Civil Service: System of hiring and promotion based on merit and nonpartisanship. Merit Principle: Entrance exams and promotion ratings to find people with talent and skill. Office of Personnel Management: The federal office in charge of most of the government’s hiring. “Rule of 3”

The Bureaucrats o Who They Are and How They Got There n The Other Route to Federal Jobs: Recruiting from the Plum Book o o Published by Congress. Lists the very top jobs available for Presidential appointment. Presidents work to find capable people to fill the positions. Some plum jobs (ambassadorships) are patronage.

Three Theories n The Weberian Model. o o o Hierarchical authority structure Uses task specialization Operate on the merit principle Behave with impersonality A well-organized machine with lots of working parts.

Three Theories n The Acquisitive, Monopolistic Bureaucracy o o Bureaucracies seek to maximize their budgets Work to expand their powers and programs, even joining with Congress to expand their functions Often operate under monopolistic conditions Privatization could cut back on the monopolistic attitudes of the bureaucracies

Three Theories n Garbage Cans and Bureaucracies. o o o Operate by trial and error Typically loosely run Bureaucracies aren’t necessarily trying to find solutions to problems, sometimes the solutions are in search of problems.

Cabinets o The Cabinet Departments n n 15 Cabinet departments headed by a secretary Department of Justice headed by Attorney General Each has its own budget, staff and policy areas Republicans have been trying to eliminate several departments

Regulatory Agencies o The Regulatory Agencies n n n Independent: Responsible for some sector of the economy making rules and judging disputes to protect the public interest. Quasi legislative and Quasi judicial Headed by a commission of 5 -10 people. Rule making is an important function watched by interest groups and citizens alike. Concern over “capture” of the agencies.

The Other Two o The Government Corporations n n o Business like- provide a service like private companies and typically charges for its services. Postal Service, Amtrak are examples Independent Executive Agencies n n The agencies that don’t fit in anywhere else. NASA and GSA are examples.

Bureaucracies as Implementers o What Implementation Means n n It involves the translating the goals and objectives of a policy into an operating, ongoing program. It includes: o o o Creating / assigning an agency the policy Turning policy into rules, regulations and forms. Coordinating resources to achieve the goals.

Bureaucracies as Implementers o Why the Best-Laid Plans Sometimes Flunk the Implementation Test n n Program Design. Lack of Clarity. o o n Congressional laws are ambiguous and imprecise. Sometimes the laws conflict with each other. Lack of Resources. o Agencies may be big, but not in the right areas.

Bureaucracies as Implementers o Why the Best-Laid Plans Sometimes Flunk the Implementation Test n Lack of Resources. (continued) o o n Many different types of resources are needed: personnel, training, supplies & equipment. May also lack the authority to act. Administrative Routine. o o SOPs bring uniformity to complex organizations. It is often difficult to change the routines.

Bureaucracies as Implementers o Why the Best-Laid Plans Sometimes Flunk the Implementation Test n Administrator’s Dispositions. o o n Ability to select among various responses. Street-level bureaucrats have the most discretion. Fragmentation. o o Some policies are spread among several agencies. Some agencies have different rules for the same policy.

Bureaucracies as Regulators o Regulation in the Economy and in Everyday Life n n Regulation: Use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector. A Full Day of Regulation. o o Federal agencies check, verify and inspect many of the products and services we take for granted. Federal and state agencies provide many services.

Bureaucracies as Regulators o Regulation: How It Grew, How It Works n n n Command-Control Policy: Government tells business how to reach certain goals, checks the progress and punishes offenders. Incentive System: Market-like strategies are used to manage public policy. Some agencies are proactive, some are reactive.

Bureaucracies as Regulators o Toward Deregulation n n Deregulation: The lifting of restrictions on business, industry and professional activities. Regulatory problems: o o o n Raises prices Hurts U. S. ’s competitive position abroad Does not always work well But some argue regulation is needed.

Understanding Bureaucracies o Bureaucracy and Democracy n Presidents Try to Control the Bureaucracy o o Appoint the right people. Issue executive orders. Tinker with the agency’s budget. Reorganize an agency.

Understanding Bureaucracies o Bureaucracy and Democracy n Congress Tries to Control the Bureaucracy o o Influence presidential appointments. Tinker with the agency’s budget. Hold hearings. Rewrite the legislation or make it more detailed.

Understanding Bureaucracies o Bureaucracy and Democracy n Iron Triangles and Issue Networks o o A mutually dependent relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees. Exist independently of each other. They are tough, but not impossible, to get rid of. Some argue they are being replaced by wider issue networks that focus on more policies.