Bureaucracy. Objectives Explore the importance of bureaucracy in American government and understand...

transcript

Bureaucracy

ObjectivesObjectives• Explore the importance of bureaucracy in American

government and understand the tensions between bureaucratic power and democratic ideals.• Discuss how Weber’s model reflects the development

of modern bureaucracy from other public bureaucracies around the world.• Examine the growth of federal bureaucratic power in

the United States.

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ObjectivesObjectives• Identify the numerous organizational structures that

make up the federal bureaucracy and describe the unique role that each one plays.• Analyze the factors that determine the true size of the

U.S. federal bureaucracy.• Understand the means by which the public holds

government administrators and their actions accountable.

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Democracy & Bureaucracy

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• Bureaucrats accomplish many important functions of government, but Americans tend to be suspicious of them.• Bureaucracy: • structure created to achieve complex goals

through coordinated action • undertaken either by governments (public

bureaucracy) or corporations (private bureaucracy).

• Expansion of government controversial; politicians often score points by denouncing big government.

• But without bureaucrats there would be less protection for citizens; their work is often taken for granted.

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Features of a Modern Democracy: Weber’s ModelFeatures of a Modern Democracy: Weber’s Model• Weber: German sociologist who wrote about the

historical evolution of administrative systems in the late 1800s.• His model of an ideal bureaucratic organization:

1. Hierarchy of authority2. System of rules3. Division and specialization of labor4. Written records5. Careers based on merit

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Features of a Modern Democracy: Weber’s ModelFeatures of a Modern Democracy: Weber’s Model• Weber also identified dysfunctional features of

bureaucracies:• Understanding fades up the ladder.• Bureaucrats make decisions based on rules

(depersonalization).• Specialization can blur the big picture.• Written records delay responses to new

developments.• Career officials may value future benefits over

current productivity.

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Distinctive Features of U.S. BureaucracyDistinctive Features of U.S. Bureaucracy• American bureaucracy is systematically different when

compared to that of other nations.• Several factors have contributed to this:• A cultural distrust of government power;• A lack of constitutional standing;• Uncertain guidance;• Neutral agents forced to be politica;l• Pragmatic structure.

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The Checkered History of Bureaucracy in the U.S.The Checkered History of Bureaucracy in the U.S.• American Revolution: resistance to centralized authority• Constitutional Convention: realization that some

centralization was necessary to provide for the public good• European monarchs in the 16th and 17th centuries

modernized their own nations with the creation of centralized administrations: France, England, Sweden, Russia, Prussia, Spain, and Portugal.

• Hamilton vs. Jefferson• Hamilton advocated for strong, energetic, central government

while Jefferson preferred to rely on the state governments.• Jefferson’s vision prevailed for most of the 19th century, but

practical need for services and coordination provided for by the federal government .

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The Checkered History of Bureaucracy in the U.S.The Checkered History of Bureaucracy in the U.S.• Nineteenth century brought new changes…• Powerful political parties• Patronage and the spoils system• Rotation in office: replacing incumbent job holders in the federal

government with new appointees who supported the winner in the election• Rotation in office determined one requirement for a modern

bureaucracy: People in the organization’s structure are interchangeable rather than irreplaceable.

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The Checkered History of Bureaucracy in the U.S.The Checkered History of Bureaucracy in the U.S.• Andrew Jackson also introduced several modern

procedures for controlling the bureaucracy:• Routine audits of spending• Reorganizing government structures• Explicitly stating an agency’s mission• Specializing jobs performed by employees

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The Creation of the U.S. Civil Service

• By the late 19th century government reformers believed that only the most meritorious citizens should be chosen for government jobs, NOT simply those loyal to the party.• Qualified professionals• Great Britain: competitive written exams in 1870• Canada: similar system in 1882; Japan in 1887; Prussia in

1873• James Garfield assassinated by a “disappointed office seeker”• Slow death and discussion of the current system led to

strong support for National Civil Service Reform League – joined by other groups as well to adopt reforms as a way to honor the fallen president

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The Creation of the U.S. Civil Service

• Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act (1883)• Created the U.S. civil service system in which government employees are

chosen based on expertise and experience rather than party loyalty.• All individuals would have an equal chance of competing for a

government position, and the prestige of public jobs would grow.• Congress reluctantly passed the reform legislation. Why?

• They felt it would weaken their ability to reward campaign supporters.

• Viewed as a major improvement over the earlier patronage system.• State, county and municipal governments adopted central features of the

federal system as well.• Competence-based hiring.• General principal of good government; less partisan pressure.• Rules for testing, hiring, firing, transferring, etc.• Pay system: General Schedule of Classified Positions• Pay levels; incentives for increasing grade and staying in position (steps)

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Structure of the Federal BureaucracyStructure of the Federal Bureaucracy• Departments• Cabinet departments

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Structure of the Federal BureaucracyStructure of the Federal Bureaucracy• Independent agencies• Part of the executive; not housed within particular

department• Each has a specific mission and often exercises

authority delegated from Congress to make and enforce regulations.• Examples: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA),

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA)• A few agencies are part of the legislative branch

including the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Library of Congress, Government Printing Office

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Structure of the Federal BureaucracyStructure of the Federal Bureaucracy• Independent regulatory commissions• Special group of agencies designed to allow experts,

not politicians, to oversee and regulate a sector of the economy, usually to protect consumers from unfair business practices, but also to protect the businesses in that sector.• Interstate Commerce Commission (1887); replaced

by Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in 1978; abolished by Congress in 1995.• 20th century: Commissions emerge to regulate

economy or other areas of public policy.• Airline industry

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Structure of the Federal BureaucracyStructure of the Federal Bureaucracy• Government corporations• British & Dutch governments were first to establish

organizations that mixed public and private sources. • East India Company is an example of a 17th-century

“corporation”• Today, they are business enterprises wholly or partly

owned by the government that Congress created to perform a public purpose or provide a market-oriented service, but designed to meet their costs by generating revenues through operations.• AMTRAK, U.S. Postal Service, Federal Deposit

Insurance Corporation

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Structure of the Federal Bureaucracy• Hybrid organizations are also called quasi-

governmental organizations (quagos)• Share some of the attributes of public- and private-

sector bureaucracies.• Example: The Smithsonian Institution• Is government owned and financially supported, and it is

administered by employees working for the federal government, but has many qualities of a private organization, with a governing board of regents, an endowment, and substantial profits.

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Structure of the Federal Bureaucracy• In the private sector, we find quasi-non-governmental

organizations (quangos)• These are essentially private-sector entities that exercise some public

responsibilities, much as the American Red Cross does when it provides assistance to victims of disasters.

• One other type of hybrid is the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs).• Financial services corporations created by Congress to provide credit to

targeted areas of American life• Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae – home mortgages

• Federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs)• Private, non-profit corporations that perform contract work for the

government.• Rand Corporation

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Size of the Federal BureaucracySize of the Federal Bureaucracy• How does one gauge the true size of government?• Who needs to be included? Those who work in the federal bureaucracy?• Military personnel?• Postal workers?• The hidden workforce: not directly employed but receive government

grants and contracts? • Estimated total: 14.6 million in 2005

• General decline in growth of federal employment• Comparative data suggests that the public sector in the United States

is not excessively large.• State and local government employment is far greater than federal.• But is the government larger than it needs to be? Duplication of effort?• 2011 report from the GAO identified multiple efforts across the federal

bureaucracy. Will redundant programs be eliminated? 27

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The Search for ControlThe Search for Control• How is the bureaucracy controlled? Indirectly through elected

officials.• Exercising control has become more difficult as the bureaucracy

has expanded and its powers have grown.• Congress gives government officials responsibility to develop

and carry out the many plans required to accomplish its policy goals. This is delegated authority.• And Congress often does not provide agency officials with

highly detailed guidelines on how to proceed. Rather it gives them administrative discretion.• Thus, agencies have considerable power in the process of

implementation of policy. 30

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The Search for ControlThe Search for Control• Over time, Congress and the president have devised

multiple, parallel means to exercise control. These methods include:• Annual budget - OMB• Authorization of programs – central clearance• Oversight of agency performance - Congress• Nomination and confirmation of political appointees • Reorganization of the bureaucracy- expansion of

reorganization authority; legislative veto• Management of public employees

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When Control Proves Elusive• While there are many means to control the bureaucracy, it is still

difficult to determine who really controls the them.• Requires effort: Congress and president both very busy with

limited time, competing priorities, and finite knowledge.• Congress protects its oversight prerogatives; president insists

on control through White House.

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When Control Proves Elusive

• Two masters? Who should the bureaucracy listen to? • Result: Bureaucrats have

become political - needs such as their budgets and their program goals.• Form close alliances with

committee members and staffs with whom they work, including interest groups. Iron triangle.

• American democracy keeps bureaucrats in a subservient position to elected officials.

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Bureaucracy. Objectives Explore the importance of bureaucracy in American government and understand...

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