Chapter Thirteen The Bureaucracy. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-2 Development of the Bureaucratic State Bureaucracies.

Chapter Thirteen

The Bureaucracy

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-2

Development of the Bureaucratic State

• Bureaucracies are large, complex organizations in which employees have very specific job responsibilities and work within a hierarchy of authority.


Development of the Bureaucratic State (Cont’d)

• Government at all levels grew enormously during the 20th century.

• Although there are a number of explanations for this growth, all of them point to the fact that society has become increasingly complex and that the public’s attitude toward business has changed.


CWW 13.1: Not So Big by Comparison


Development of the Bureaucratic State (Cont’d)

• Recent years have witnessed a movement toward reducing the size of the bureaucracy.

• The federal workforce has shrunk as a percentage of the American population while state and local governments have increased in their responsibilities, known as devolution.


Bureaus and Bureaucrats

• By examining the basic types of government organizations, such as departments, independent agencies, regulatory commissions and government corporations, we can better understand how the executive branch operates.


Bureaus and Bureaucrats (Cont’d)

• Most of the bureaucrats who work for the federal government are hired under the requirements of the civil service.

• System by which most appointments to the federal bureaucracy are made to ensure that government jobs are filled on the basis of merit, and that employees are not fired for political reasons (known as “patronage”).


Bureaus and Bureaucrats (Cont’d)

• Presidents can appoint fewer than 1 percent of all executive branch employees, though the ones they appoint fill the top policymaking positions.


Administrative Policymaking: The Formal Process

• The latitude that Congress gives agencies to make policy in the spirit of their legislative mandate is called administrative discretion.

• The policymaking discretion that Congress gives to agencies is usually exercised through rule making. These administrative procedures result in the issuance of regulations.


Administrative Policymaking: Informal Politics

• In his classic article “The Science of Muddling Through,” Charles Lindblom compared policymaking in the real world and in the ideal world, and he highlighted the difficulties bureaucracies have in trying to reach rational decisions.


Administrative Policymaking: Informal Politics (Cont’d)

• Agency policymakers encounter a number of constraints.

• The behavior of bureaucrats following norms is frequently a source of irritation. They often act “bureaucratically,” going “by the book.”


Problems in Implementing Policy

• Implementation is the process of putting specific policies into implementation. Ultimately, bureaucrats must convert policies from words on paper into action.


Problems in Implementing Policy (Cont’d)

• Many factors such as vague directives, the complexity of the endeavor, or lack of discretion can influence the implementation of programs and policies out in the field.

• Implementation is an incremental process in which trial and error eventually lead to policies that work.


Reforming the Bureaucracy

• Deregulation was an approach to reform that was championed by conservatives who prefer less government involvement in the economy.

• Presidents and agency administrators always seek to improve the performance of the bureaucracy.


Reforming the Bureaucracy (Cont’d)

• These initiatives tend to alternate between making government smaller and less intrusive and fighting waste in government.

• Private competition and outsourcing promote business-like practices that promote efficiency and innovation.


Figure 13.1: Don’t Cut Taxes!


Reforming the Bureaucracy

• The most recent wave of reform focused on government responsiveness and total quality management.

• Performance standards were adopted as a result of the Government Performance and Results Act.

Chapter Thirteen The Bureaucracy. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-2 Development of the Bureaucratic State Bureaucracies.

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