Federal Bureaucracy

Institutions of Government #6

Definition of Bureaucracy

An administrative system, especially in a government, that divides work into specific categories carried out by special departments of nonelected officials

The literal translation of Bureaucracy is “rule by desks.”

Characteristics of a Bureaucracy

• Administration of government through departments• Consists of unelected often highly trained professionals• Task specialization • Hierarchical authority

Mythbusters about the Bureaucracy

Americans dislike

Bureaucrats

Americans have a favorable impression of their most recent interactions with a

bureaucrat.

Mythbusters about the Bureaucracy

Americans believe that bureaucracies are

“usually inefficient and wasteful”

A Pew Research Study said that 2/3 of all Americans feel

that way

Mythbusters about the Bureaucracy

Most federal Bureaucrats work in

Washington D.C.

Only 12% of Federal Bureaucrats work in

Washington D.C.

Mythbusters about the Bureaucracy

Government Bureaucracy is more

wasteful and inefficient than private industry

It isn’t the nature of the institution that dictates that. It’s the size of the

institution and the skills of the individuals

How do they function?AdministrationRoutine administrative work; provide services (ex: SSA sends social security checks to beneficiaries)Implementation Carry out laws of Congress, executive orders of the President (example: FBI breaks up criminal operation)Regulation Issue rules and regulations that impact the public (ex: EPA sets clean air standards)

Bureaucracy as Implementers

The Bureaucracy is the cat…..It sees the balloon (goal)

Bureaucracy as Implementers

How it should work….• Implementation means translating the goals and objectives of a policy into an OPERATING and ONGOING program. (Example: Affordable Care Act’s goals are to provide more people with insurance at less cost)• The process includes– Creating and assigning an agency to oversee the policy – Translate policy into rules, regulations and forms– Coordinating available resources to achieve the goals

This is the unseen step between creation of policy (in Congress) to results of policy (media)

So why don’t all programs work?

Faulty Program Design

Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense

So why don’t all programs work?

Lack of Clarity

1. Huck and Jim rafted down ____________ river.

Congressional laws can be ambiguous and imprecise

Laws may also conflict with other laws

a

So why don’t all programs work?

Lack of Resources

Agencies might be big but still might not have enough staff, or enough diversely trained staff,

or the authority to achieve the policy goal

So why don’t all programs work?It isn’t Standard Operating Procedure (S.O.P.)Needed to bring some sense of conformity to large

organizations.But difficult to break out of routine.

So why don’t all programs work?

Disposition of Administrators

Administrators in some cases have discretion (choice) over the responses of the agency.

Places where the S.O.P. doesn’t apply.

So why don’t all programs work?

FragmentationPolicies spread over many agencies

Bureaucracy as RegulatorsRegulationUse of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector

Federal agencies check, verify, and inspect many of the products and services we take for granted.

Federal and state agencies provide many services.

All regulation contains these elements….• A grant of power and set of directions from Congress• A set of rules and guidelines by the regulatory agency itself• Some means of enforcing compliance with congressional goals and agency regulations

Two Types of Regulation

Command-and-Control Policy: The government tells business how to reach certain goals, checks the progress, and punishes offenders. (Mandates)

Incentive System: market-like strategies used to manage public policy (Tax Credits)

Who is the Bureaucracy?

• 97% are career government employees

• Only 10% live in the D.C. area• 30% work for the D.O.D.• Less than 15% work for social welfare

agencies• Most are white collar workers:

secretaries, clerks, lawyers, inspectors & engineers

• Civil employees more diverse demographically than Congress

“Mommy, I want to be a Bureaucrat!”

•Civil Service: From Patronage to Protection– Patronage: job given for political reasons – Civil Service: system of hiring and promotion based on merit and nonpartisanship, created by the Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883)– Merit Principle: entrance exams and promotion ratings to find people with talent and skill– Hatch Act: prohibits government employees from active participation in partisan politics

Types of Bureaucratic

Agencies

The Cabinet Departments• Thirteen Cabinet departments headed by a secretary• Department of Justice headed by Attorney General• Each has its own budget, staff, and policy areas• Status as a cabinet department can be controversial• Cabinet heads not as trusted by Presidents because they represent the agency pointof view

The Independent Regulatory Agencies• Responsible for some sector of the economy making rules and judging disputes to protect the public interest• Federal Communications Commission

(FCC)• Federal Trade Commission (FTC)• Securities and Exchange Commission

(SEC)• Concern of “Capture of Agency”

by industry they regulate

Government Corporations• Business-like–provide services like private companies and typically charge for them• Postal Service and Amtrak

Independent Executive Agencies The agencies that don’t fit in anywhere else

General Services Administration (GSA)NASA

Controlling the Bureaucracy (Executive)

The President Can…..•Appoint the right people•Issue executive orders• Carry force of law and

are used to implement policies

• Alter an agency’s budget• Reorganize an agency• Creation of Department

of Homeland Security

Controlling the Bureaucracy (Legislature)

Congress Can…..• Create or abolish agencies and departments• Cut or reduce funding (power of the urse)• Investigate agency activities• Hold committee hearings• Pass legislation that alters agency functions• Influence or fail to confirm Presidential appointments

Iron TrianglesA mutually dependent relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and

congressional committees or subcommittees

Some argue they are being replaced by wider issue networks that focus on more than one policy.

3 Points• Bureaucracy is an inevitable consequence of complexity and

scale. Modern government could not function without a large bureaucracy. Through authority, specialization, and rules, bureaucracy provides a means of managing thousands of tasks and employees.

• Bureaucrats naturally take an “agency point of view,” seeking to promote their agency’s programs and power. They do this through their expert knowledge, support from clientele groups, and backing by Congress or the president.

• Although agencies are subject to oversight by the president, Congress, and the judiciary, bureaucrats exercise considerable power in their own right.

Life in A Bureaucracy