Chapter 13: The Bureaucracy Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning BUREAUCRATS GOVERNMENT WORKERS

Chapter 13: The BureaucracyChapter 13: The Bureaucracy

Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning

BUREAUCRATS

GOVERNMENT WORKERS

Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning3

Bureaucracies

• Bureaucracies are often handy political targets to blame for society’s ills.

• Yet, the same bureaucrats blamed for red tape have also accomplished some remarkable tasks: • NASA• TVA• National highway system

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Bureaucracies (cont)

• Americans tend to be against

• “Big Government” in the abstract, but they also demand all kinds of government services:

• Postal services• Social Security• Environmental protection• Airline regulation• Food safety 4


BEST of the Bureaucracy

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BEST of the BUREAUCRACY

STATE DEPARTMENT

Travel Warnings

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Goals and Standards

Bureaucratic Goals• Promote public interest• Provide services• Accomplish given tasks

Bureaucratic Standards• Efficient • Cost-effective• Not wasteful or corrupt• Openness

• Sunshine Act

• Federal Register Act

• Freedom of Information Act

• Administrative Procedure Act

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Federal Bureaucracies

• Collection of executive branch departments, agencies, boards and commissions that carry out responsibilities of federal government • Nearly five million federal employees• Must be transparent and equally fair to all• Orderly and predictable

• Responsibilities established by law (Congress)

• Implementation carried out by bureaucrats


The Executive Branch

• Constitution gives president power to appoint

• Article II, Section 2• President oversees

executive departments

• Focus on implementation


Cabinet Structure

• 15 major departments headed by cabinet secretaries• Secretaries appointed by president• Law and policy implementation• Provide advice to president• Determine department budgets

• Congress may create new cabinet departments– Newest --Homeland Security


© 2003 AP/Wide World Photos 2002 AP/ Wide World Photos

Newest Cabinet Department


What Defines a Bureaucracy?

1. Mission• Role and responsibilities

2. Hierarchical decision-making process• Ascending levels of authority

3. Expertise• Experts in issue area

4. Bureaucratic culture• Self-perpetuation


Role of Bureaucracy

• Define the problem

• Identify possible solutions

• Implement preferred course

• Assist in evaluating the policies


The Census and Government Services

This news story is about the U.S. Census process and how it affects government services provided to citizens.

Air Date: 2010

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Click the icon to open the movieVideo Supplied by Motion Gallery


Video Questions

1. How important is the Census for allocating government funds to states and programs?

2. Does the U.S. government need to gather racial information? Why or why not?

3. Other than demographic data, what other criteria do bureaucracies use when administering programs?

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Bureaucracy and the Policy Process

• Client Groups

• Congress

• Iron Triangles and Issue Networks:

long-term working relationships between interest groups, bureaucrats and Congress (or other decision-makers)

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The Veterans Affairs “Triangle”

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The Politics of Bureaucracy

• Bureaucracy and Public Opinion

• Bureaucracy and the President

• Bureaucracy and Policymaking

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Models of Bureaucracy

• Weberian model: neutral hierarchical system with formal procedures

• Acquisitive model: bureaucracies will always try to expand

• Monopolistic model: lack of competition leads to ineffeciencies

• U.S. bureaucracies more autonomous than those in other countries

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Growth of the Bureaucracy

• Post Office established 1775• Congress established Departments of

State, War, Treasury (1789)• Department of Interior (1849)• Department of Defense (post WWII)• Housing & Urban Development

(1965)• Department of Energy (1970s)• Department of Homeland Security

(2003)• About 2.7 million civilian employees

UPI Photo/Bill Greenblatt/Landov


A Profile of Bureaucracy: Government Employment—Federal, State, and Local

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Bureaucracy in Action

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© Bob Daemmrich /Stock, Boston /PictureQuest


Federal Agencies and Their Employees

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Government Employment at

the Federal, State, and

Local Levels



The Organization of the Federal Bureaucracy

1) Cabinet Departments2) Independent Executive Agencies3) Independent Regulatory Agencies

• Regulates a specific area of business or economy• Directed by presidential appointees

• Independent (removed from political influence)• Based on expertise

4) Government Corporations • Businesses run by the government• Postal Service, Amtrak, FDIC 26


Major Regulatory Agencies

• The Federal Trade Commission (1914) FTC

• The Federal Communications Commission (1934) FCC

• The Securities and Exchange Commission (1934) SEC

• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (1978)

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Deregulation

• The government regulation of industry, which increased during the New Deal administration of FDR, had by the 1970s become a target of criticism.

• In the 1970s, President Carter called for deregulation of airlines, banking, trucking, railroads, and telecommunications.

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The Growth of Social Regulation

• Although considerable deregulation of transportation, communications, and financial industries took place, social regulation increased during the 1970s and 1980s.

1) Americans with Disabilities Act

2) Civil Rights Act of 1991

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Staffing the Bureaucracy

• Political Appointees

• The aristocracy of the federal government

• Difficult to fire civil servants

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Modern Attempts at Bureaucratic Reform

• Sunshine Laws • The 1966 Freedom of Information Act • Changes after 9/11

• Sunset Laws require congressional review of existing programs to determine their effectiveness. If Congress does not explicitly reauthorize a program, it expires.

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The Civil Service

• Patronage appointments (spoils system)• Jackson presidency• Incompetence and corruption

• The Road to Reform• 1850s

• Pendleton Act (1863)• Establishes Civil Service Commission• Merit system appointments• Neutral competence 32


The Carter Reforms

• The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978

• Modernizes personnel system

• Whistleblowers Protection Agency

• Senior Executive Service (to fill top management positions)

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“I’m sorry, dear, but you knew I was abureaucrat when you married me.”

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Modern Attempts at Bureaucratic Reform (cont)

• Privatization

• Incentives for Efficiency and Productivity• The Government Performance and Results Act (1997)• Saving Costs through E-Government

• Whistleblowers• Daniel Ellsberg (Pentagon Papers); Bunny

Greenhouse (Halliburton); Coleen Rowley (FBI)• Many lose jobs or are demoted 35


Billion Dollar Fraud

Fraud and mismanagement are rampant in the Medicare program in Houston and across the nation.

Air Date: 2/08/2008

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Click the icon to open the movieVideo Supplied by Motion Gallery


Video Questions

1. When fraudulent practices associated with a bureaucracy (in this case, Medicare) come to light, who is usually blamed?

2. Should hospitals that overbilled Medicare be penalized? How?

3. Is it ethical for whistleblowers to receive a financial reward?

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Bureaucrats as Politicians and Policymakers

• The Rulemaking Environment

• Waiting periods and court challenges

• Negotiated Rulemaking

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Congressional Control of the Bureaucracy

• Ultimate control is in the hands of Congress because Congress controls the purse strings.

• Congressional bureaucratic control includes:• establishment of agencies and departments• the budget process• oversight conducted through investigations, hearings,

and review

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Questions for Critical Thinking

1. What could be done to eliminate iron triangles? 2. In modern times, we tend to equate the term

“bureaucracy” with “red tape” or inefficiency. How does the goal of neutrality and the need for specialization help reinforce those images?

3. Is privatization a good idea? What services or agencies should be exempt from private contracts?

4. How did lapses in regulatory agencies contribute to the recent mortgage lending crisis?

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Web Links

• U.S. Office of Personnel Management

• The Project on Government Oversight

• USA Jobs

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Web Links

• GAO—U.S. Government Accountability Office

• FAS—Federation of American Scientists

• OMB Watch

• Openthegovernment.org

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Documents

Chapter 13: The Bureaucracy Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning BUREAUCRATS GOVERNMENT WORKERS