The BureaucracyThe Invisible Government

Bureaucracy

• A large organization structured hierarchically to carry out specific functions to make it more efficient

The Weberian Model of Bureaucracy

• The five characteristics of bureaucracy.• Hierarchy-pyramid• Formal rules (SOP)• Division of Labor• Maintenance of files• Professionalization• Maintenance of files and records Freedom of Information Act (1974)• Goals-promote the “public good”, but how is that measured?

This causes many people to believe the bureaucracy is wasteful.

• Monopolistic Model—businesses with little to no competition and can therefore operate unchecked will little to no incentive to operate cost-effectively

Weberian model of bureaucracy

• Standardization:• Ensures the retiree in

Idaho is getting the same benefits as the retiree in New York

• Expertise and competence:• Allows people to work

for a period of time and become experts in that field allowing them to carry out laws and policies more effectively

Weberian model continued

• Accountability• Allows Congress to

follow up on money being earmarked for certain purposes, such as air pollution, and make sure was being spent effectively

• Coordination• Allows agencies with

cross purposes to work together on policy or goal, instead of working independently of each other

Image of Bureaucracy

• People have a very negative image of government bureaucracy—Why?• Faceless• Nameless• “red tape”• (Compare the agent at the DMV to a cell phone customer

service rep)• (What do we think of when we think of a fireman)• “…we expect bureaucracies not merely to expend maximum

effort in solving societal problems but to dispose of them entirely, whether solvable or not.” Charles Goodsell

The Structure of American Bureaucracies

• The Executive Office of the President—includes NSC, OMB, CEA• Cabinet Departments-15 departments directly responsible to

President, but also responsible to their department• Workers below the secretaries are employees, and therefore permanent• Departments are collection of agencies

• Independent Agencies-not part of Cabinet, report to President perform specialized functions • Independent Executive Agencies: perform specialized functions such as NASA,

CIA, EPA• Independent Regulatory Agencies: make and implement rules and regulations to

protect the public (appointed by President, but cannot be fired by him FED, SEC, FCC

• Government Corporations-work off its profits, not funded by Congress (Post Office, TVA, FDIC, AMTRAK)

• Other Bureaus• (When an agency is raised, it is symbolically important to show the

governments commitment such as the Veterans’ administration)

Organization of the U.S. Government

No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan, 1964

Bureaucrats at Work

Department of Interior

National Intelligence bureaucracypost 9/11

Organization of Homeland Security Agencies after 9/11

The Merit System

• The spoils system• The Pendleton Act

• Passed after Garfield assassination

• Merit system and the civil serviceHatch Act

• Heads of departments are primarily appointed, and therefore temporary

Neutral Competence• The idea of neutral competence

• Despite stereotypes, most government employees work efficiently and inexpensively.

• Roughly 2.9 million people work for the government bureaucracy-2nd to Wal-Mart

• The bureaucracy is largely staffed by people hired for their skills, not their political leanings.

Roles of the Bureaucracy

• Rulemaking• The process of deciding what exactly the laws passed by

Congress mean.• Adjudication

• A process designed to establish whether a rule has been violated.

• Bureaucratic Lobbying• bureaucrats identify the problems and limitations of existing

laws and programs and recommend changes to the president and congressional committees.

Functions of Bureaucracy

• Policy Implementation• Making Policy-delegated legislative authority because

what Congress passes is to vague to be effective• Regulation-establish standards and impose restrictions

on violations of those standards• They must publish their rule-making procedures, hold open

hearings on proposed rules and hear public input

• Collecting Data and Doing Research• Provide Continuity-elected officials come and go,

bureaucrats never leave which provides for continuity and professionalization and consistency; but also means change is slow and expensive

Growth of Bureaucracy

• Original Cabinet: State, Treasury, War, Attorney General

• Post-Civil War: Industrialization created new demands on government needing new organizations• Labor, Agriculture, Interior, Justice and regulatory agencies

• The Great Depression: new agencies to handle New Deal

• 1960s and 1970s: agencies needed to protect Environment, fight poverty, promote civil rights, worker safety• HUD, Transportation, Energy, Education Departments, along with

EPA, OSHA, EEOC

• Despite its tremendous growth, many believe the bureaucracy is woefully undermanned in relation to the population and the demands placed on it

Controlling the Bureaucracy

• Interest Groups and Individuals-interest groups want bureaucracies to adopt rules and enforcement practices they favor

• Iron Triangle- influence committees• Pressure agency directly• Indirect influence-some commissioners come

to their regulatory agencies from the industries they regulate

• Individual citizens- “whistleblowers” can open their agencies to the public’s view (Civil Service Reform Act 1978)

Controlling the Bureaucracy, cont.

• Congress and the Bureaucracies• Oversight-often counteracted by iron triangles

• Appropriations, creating or reorganizing

• Legislative vetoes

• The President and the Bureaucracies• Appointment and dismissal-many employees protected from

president by seniority and merit

• Budget process

• Lobbying and mobilizing public opinion

• The Judiciary and the Bureaucracies• Judicial review

Privatization-Advantages and Disadvantages

• Advantages• Less red tape and

bureaucracy• More competition• Can obtain special skills• Improve service quality• Ideology-less government is

better• More choices for people

(school vouchers)• Better at saving money,

innovating, communicating

Disadvantages• Higher potential for

corruption• Incentives to reduce quality• Reduced access to service

for the disadvantaged• Resulting cost savings

directed away from taxpayer

• Decreases citizen participation

• Accountability is difficult