The Bureaucracy

Michael P. Fix

Bureaucracy Defined

An organizations with a hierarchical structure and specific responsibilities, which operate on management principles intended to enhance efficiency and effectiveness

Weber’s Characteristics of Bureaucratic Structures

Hierarchy Specialization Formalization Permanent staff

From wikipedia.org

Constitutional Basis for the Bureaucracy Article I, Section 8

Necessary and Proper Clause

Article II, Section 2

Organizational Structure of the Federal Bureaucracy

Departments Independent Agencies

Independent Regulatory

Commissions

Government Corporations

Departments

State (1789) Treasury (1789) Defense (1947; formerly the War

Department, created in 1789, and the Navy Department, created in 1798)

Justice (1870; created in 1789 as Office of the Attorney General – a part-time position, made a cabinet level department in 1870)

Interior (1849) Agriculture (1889) Commerce (1913) Labor (1913)

Health and Human Services (1953 as Health, Education, and Welfare; reorganized with Education as a separate department in 1979)

Housing and Urban Development (1965)

Transportation (1966) Energy (1977) Education (1979) Veterans Affairs (1989) Homeland Security (2002)

Independent Agencies

These agencies are independent from larger departments, but still under the control of the president.

Independent Regulatory Commissions

While these agencies are run by “political” figures, they are independent of both the president and larger departments.

Government Corporations

These agencies are run by an independent board in the same way as a private corporation.

Growth and Development of the Bureaucracy

The Development of the Bureaucracy

The Expansion of Federal Civil Employment

Shrinking Government

“Government is not the solution

to our problems; it is the problem”

Patronage vs. Merit System

Patronage System

Government employees are hired and fired based on

support for a political party or individual

candidate.

Merit System

Government employees are hired

based on their qualifications and

cannot be fired arbitrarily for political

reasons

Assassination of President Garfield

Patronage vs. Merit System

Pendleton Act (1883)

Hatch Act (1939)

Legislating Change

Image of the Bureaucracy

The Image of the Bureaucracy

Do federal agencies receive blame unfairly for falling short of perfection?

The Image of the Bureaucracy

Percentage of Americans rating the performance of the above agencies as “excellent” or “good”

Advantages and Problems with the Bureaucracy

The Advantages of Bureaucracy

Bureaucracies are created and evolve as a means to undertake the purposes and

responsibilities of organizations. They provide:

• Standardization• Expertise and Competence• Accountability• Coordination

The Problems of Bureaucracy

No Child Left Behind (2002)

Government Accountability Office reported in 2004 that the law had been poorly implemented

States complained that the U.S. Department of Education failed to provide appropriate guidelines

Transportation Security Administration

Created in November, 2001 after the 9/11 attacks

Agency was plagued with problems of theft and poorly-conducted background checks of employees

The Problems of Bureaucracy

Size – Can institutions this large effectively manage many of the tasks assigned them?

Coordination – Can agencies with offices throughout the country effective coordinate a single policy?

The Problems of Bureaucracy

The Iron TriangleInterest Groups

Congressional Committees

Bureaucratic Agencies

Bureaucratic Function

The Functions of the Federal Bureaucracy Implementation

Regulation

Administration

Providing Information

Implementation

The executive branch is charged with the enforcement of the law, and agencies are largely the mechanism for this.

However, most statutes contain vague language, so in implementing the law agencies often have great discretion on its exact meaning.

Regulations

General statutory language can become the basis for the bureaucracy’s development of its own precise rules, a form of agency-created law called regulations, which govern the topics under a particular agency’s jurisdiction

Statutes also specify the procedures that agencies must use in developing regulations

Administration

Carrying out the day-to-day

business of the government

From www.thefreedictionary.com

Providing Information

Bureaucrats provide information for Congress to use in crafting and approving statutes

Formal method

Committee proceedings or requests for reports and documents to be supplied by government agencies

Legislative staffers or members of congress contact agency officials with questions

Informal method

Quasi-Judicial Functions

Oversight and Accountability

Oversight and Accountability

All three branches of government have the power to subject the bureaucracy to oversight and accountability