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Bureaucracy
The topic of the first Seminar will be bureaucracy. We will discuss the growth of American bureaucracy and the impact of a bureaucratic administrative structure on the daily lives of Americans.
Syllabus
Seminars: Thursdays at 8 PM EDTOffice hours: Wednesdays at 6 PM EDT AIM: profscrippsE-mail: [email protected]
Final Project – Unit 9
For your Final Project, you will interview a Public Administration professional. You will analyze their managerial and administrative processes by examining the impact of a current issue or situation on those processes.
The person should be employed in government or a nonprofit organization. This assignment will not only give you an opportunity to learn more about the field, but will also give you some real-world context for the skills and concepts you will study throughout your MPA program.
Interview Report
Your interview report should be 6-7 pages in length, not including the cover page and reference page, double-spaced, 12 point font (Arial, Courier, and Times New Roman are acceptable), written in paragraph form.
More details available by clicking on the Unit 9 Orange Tab.
Project Proposal – Unit 5
Before you conduct the interview, you will submit a short proposal to your instructor. Research the issues, policy concerns, or other current situations that are important to your chosen Public Administrator.
Project Proposal – Unit 5
More details available by clicking on the Unit 5 Orange Tab…
Written Assignments
Units 2, 4, 6 and 8Unit 8 is a GROUP PROJECTMore details available by clicking Orange
Tabs for these units.
Other Assignments
Discussion BoardSeminars
General Expectations
DB EtiquetteProfessionalism (especially in writing)If you’re late, communicate.
Any questions?
Public Administration Defined
All processes, organizations and individuals (the latter acting in official positions) associated with carrying out laws and other rules adopted or issued by legislatures, executives and courts.
Public Administration
Public administration in America today is a large and highly complex enterprise made up of thousands of smaller units that encompass the everyday activities of literally millions of citizens and government employees. The actions and decisions of public administrators touch the daily lives of virtually every American.
Public Administration
Public administrators also help formulate the rules and are increasingly involved in reciprocal relationships within and outside formal public organizational structure.
Public Administration
Other areas of concern for public administration are managerial efficiency in the operation of public agencies; and
The maintenance of ethical standards in decision-making, and improving the effectiveness (or results) of programs.
Public Administration
The term “public administration” also applies to an academic field of study and to the training of non-elected public officials.
Public Management
A field of practice and study central to public administration that emphasizes internal operations of public agencies and focuses on managerial concerns related to control and direction, such as planning, organizational maintenance, information systems, budgeting, personnel management, performance evaluation, and productivity improvement.
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy or a bureaucratic organization is characterized by an internal division of labor, specialization of work performed, a vertical hierarchy or chain of command, well-defined routines for carrying out operating tasks, reliance on precedents (previous actions) in resolving problems, and a clear set of rules regarding managerial control over organizational activities.
Bureaucracy
It is assumed that most of those working in a bureaucracy are professionals in their specialties and that their occupational loyalties rest with their organization rather than with a political party or other external affiliation.
Discontent
Bureaucracy often becomes a focal point of discontent not only because of its obvious discretionary authority but also because of the perception of its waste and mismanagement of scarce resources, its relatively obscure and secretive decision- making processes, and the degree to which it is insulated from or vulnerable to direct (elective) political controls.
Discretionary Authority
The ability of individual administrators in a bureaucracy to make significant choices affecting management and operation of programs for which they are responsible; particularly evident in systems with separation of powers.
Discussion Question
Why has public support of government bureaucracy declined in recent years?
Discussion Question
In the past, what has accounted for public support of bureaucracy?
Discussion Question
What actions can be taken to restore trust and confidence in bureaucracy?
Structure of Public Administration
Cabinet-level departments Independent regulatory agencies Government corporations Executive Office of the PresidentOther independent executive agencies
Cabinet
Departments: The most visible national executive organizations, such as the departments of State, Defense, Commerce, the Treasury, Justice, Labor, and the Interior.
Each department is headed by a secretary and a series of top- level subordinates, all of whom are appointed by the president with the approval of the Senate.
Policy leadership!
Smaller Units
Departments are composed of many smaller administrative units with a variety of titles, such as bureau, office, administration, and service.
Independent Regulatory Agencies
E.g., the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Federal Reserve Board (FRB), National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and U. S. International Trade Commission USITC).
How do these differ from Cabinet-level Departments?
Independent Regulatory Agencies
First, they have a different function — namely, to oversee and regulate activities of various parts of the private economic sector.
Independent Regulatory Agencies
Second, their leadership is plural rather than singular; that is, they are headed by a board or commission of several individuals (usually five to nine) instead of a secretary.
Independent Regulatory Agencies
Third, they are designed to be somewhat independent of other institutions and political forces.
Discussion Question
Why is it important for an agency like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to be independent from political forces?
Government Corporations
These are national, state, or local government organizations that are identical to private corporations in most of their structures and operations except one: they are government- owned.
These are conceived as corporate entities for a number of reasons.
Government Corporations
First, their legislative charters allow them somewhat greater latitude in day-to-day operations than other agencies enjoy.
Government corporations also have the power to acquire, develop, and dispose of real estate and other kinds of property while acting in their own names (rather than in the name of the parent government).
Government Corporations
Finally, they can bring suit in a court of law and are legally liable to be sued, also in their own name. They are each headed by a board of directors, much as private corporations are, and are engaged in a wide variety of governmental activities.
E.g., Amtrak, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the U.S. Postal Service, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
Executive Office of the President
The EOP is a collection of administrative bodies that are physically and organizationally housed close to the Oval Office and designed precisely to work for the president. Several of these entities are especially prominent and important, such as the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Other Independent Executive Agencies
Finally, there are miscellaneous independent agencies that have no bureaucratic departmental “home” but fit no other category we have discussed.
Other Independent Executive Agencies
Among these are the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB); the General Services Administration (GSA); the Office of Government Ethics (OGE); and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Types of Agencies by Organization
FunctionGeographyClientele-basedWork processes.
Organization
The foundations of organization, mentioned earlier, are function, geographic area, clientele, and work process.
The most common organizational foundation is according to function, indicating that an agency is concerned with a fairly distinct policy area but not limited to a particular geographic area.
Organization
Organization according to geography indicates that an agency’s work is in a specific region; examples include the TVA, the Pacific Command of the Navy, and the Southern Command of the U.S. Army.
Organization
Clientele-based agencies address problems of a specific segment of the population, such as the Veterans Administration (VA) or the Bureau of Indian Affairs ( BIA) and the “new” Social Security Administration (SSA), which was separated from the Department of Health and Human Services and became an independent agency on March 31, 1995.
Organization
Work process agencies engage predominantly (if not exclusively) in data gathering and analysis for some higher- ranking official or office and rarely if ever participate formally in policy making (although their work can have policy implications).
Growth of Bureaucracy
Beginning in the 1800s and continuing today, technological complexity gradually exceeded the capacities of legislative bodies and of political generalists to cope successfully.
This view assumes that professional specialization in a host of fields (including the physical and social sciences, management itself, and professions such as law and medicine), in effect, invaded the public service just as it assumed far greater importance in society at large.
Crisis Response
Governmental responses to crisis situations (such as economic depressions or military conflicts) cause both revenues and expenditures of government to move sharply upward.
Discussion Question
What are the implications for the future evolution of bureaucracies?
Are there other factors that may increase or decrease the size of government in the future?
Questions?
