Bureaucracy in a Democracy

Chapter 9 Bureaucracy in a Democracy Bureaucratic State • Bureaucracies--are large complex organizations in which employees have a very specific job responsibility and work within a hierarchy of authority. • These employees are known as bureaucrats • The study of bureaucracies centers around finding solutions to many kinds of problems faced by large organizations. The Bureaucrats • Some Bureaucratic Myths and Realities – Americans dislike bureaucrats. – Bureaucracies are growing bigger each year. – Most federal bureaucrats work in Washington, D.C. – Bureaucracies are ineffective, inefficient and always mired in red tape. – Most tasks are not controversial. The Bureaucrats • Who They Are and How They Got There – Most demographically representative part of government. – Diversity of jobs mirrors the private sector. Bureaucracy – – – – Division of labor Allocation of functions Allocation of responsibility Purchase of full-time employment – Identification of career within the organization Bureaucracies • Private Bureaucracy- • Public Bureaucracy Conundrum of Public Bureaucracy • We want public bureaucracies to be rational and efficient (make qualified decisions by experts). • On the other hand, we believe that public power must be held democratically accountable (this makes them less efficient). Administrative Policymaking: informal politics • Bureaucracies have great difficulties in trying to reach rational decisions • The “rational-comprehensive model” holds that administrators can rank values, clarify objects, explore possible solutions, and choose the most effective means to the desired goal (also known as the root method). Real world policymaking does not fit this criteria. Incremental Policymaking • Bureaucrats most often use incremental policymaking (the branch method). Sources of Bureaucratic Power • Bureaucracy has the responsibility, within broad guidelines set by elected executives and the legislature, to execute public policy. In other words, the bureaucracy has the responsibility of policy implementation. This subsumes the following source of power. – Discretion – Expertise – Clientele groups Discretion • . • This is important because all policies impose a cost on some individuals, while giving benefits to others Bureaucracies as Implementers • What Implementation Means – It includes: • Creating / assigning an agency the policy • Turning policy into rules, regulations and forms. • Coordinating resources to achieve the goals. Bureaucracies as Implementers • Why the Best-Laid Plans Sometimes Flunk the Implementation Test – Program Design. – Lack of Clarity. • Congressional laws are ambiguous and imprecise. • Sometimes the laws conflict with each other. – Lack of Resources. • Agencies may be big, but not in the right areas. Bureaucracies as Implementers • Why the Best-Laid Plans Sometimes Flunk the Implementation Test – Lack of Resources. (continued) • Many different types of resources are needed: personnel, training, supplies & equipment. • May also lack the authority to act. – Administrative Routine. • SOPs bring uniformity to complex organizations. • It is often difficult to change the routines. Bureaucracies as Implementers • Why the Best-Laid Plans Sometimes Flunk the Implementation Test – Administrator’s Dispositions. • Ability to select among various responses. • Street-level bureaucrats have the most discretion. – Fragmentation. • Some policies are spread among several agencies. • Some agencies have different rules for the same policy. Street Level Bureaucrats • This phrase was coined by Lipsky as he examined what happens at the point where policy is translated into practice, in various human service bureaucracies such as schools, courts and welfare agencies. He argues that policy implementation in the end comes down to the people who actually implement it: the practitioners or ‘street level bureaucrats’. Expertise • They have the ability to monopolize information. This in turn makes them issue experts. • Some argue that this is a problem as these individuals are not elected, and thus not responsible to the electorate Clientele Groups • Executive departments directed by law to foster and promote the interests of groups in the U.S. population (the Department of Agriculture). Understanding Bureaucracies • Bureaucracy and Democracy Issue Networks • Issue networks are loose and informal relationships that exist among a large number of actors who work in broad policy areas Powers that Bureaucracies do not have. • No power to create new policy • No powers of appointment • No power to choose their own broad policy goals. The Size of the Federal Bureaucracy • There are approximately 2.7 million federal employees • In 1968 there were 2.9 civilian employees • The size of the federal bureaucracy had declined as a percentage of the civilian workforce • 9/11 The Bureaucrats • Growth in Civilian Government Employees Bureaucrats • Bureaucrats perform the day to day tasks of the federal government • Bureaucrats Bureaucrats Bureaucracy • The federal bureaucracy is more representative of the general population than any other federal institution • President Johnson enacted an affirmative action program to encourage minority hiring in the federal agencies Civil Servants Politics and Bureaucrats • Federal Employees Political Activities Act--1993 Federal employees are now allowed to run for office in non-partisan elections and to contribute money to campaigns in partisan elections. The Organization of the Executive Branch: Questions • What are the agencies that make up the executive branch? • How can one classify these agencies according to their mission? Bureaus and Bureaucrats: Basic Types of Government Organizations • Departments are the largest units of the executive branch. The secretaries of these departments, such as the secretary of defense or of health and human services, form the president’s cabinet. • Independent agencies are not part of the cabinet department. Look much like cabinet departments but have a narrower area of responsibility. Some are controlled by the White House, while others have a good deal of autonomy. – Some independent agencies are structured as regulatory commissions and were formed to guard against unfair business practices. Others to protect the public’s safety • Government Corporations The Organization of the Executive Branch • • • • The Clientele Agencies Agencies for Maintenance of the Union The Regulatory Agencies Agencies for Distribution The Clientele Agencies Clientele Agencies • Department of Agriculture (1862)-established to promote the interests of farmers. • Housing and Urban Development • Department of Transportation • Department of Education • Department of Labor Agencies for Maintenance of the Union • Revenue agencies – Department of Treasury • IRS • Customs • Agencies for internal security – Department of Justice • FBI • ATF • Agencies for national security – Department of State – Department of Defense • “Imagine a company that’s owed $216 billion plus interest, a company with a 22percent error rate. A company that spent $4 billion to update a computer system--with little success.” The Regulatory Agencies – Food and Drug Administration – OSHA – FCC Bureaucracies as Regulators • Regulation in the Economy and in Everyday Life – Regulation: Use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector. – A Full Day of Regulation. • Federal agencies check, verify and inspect many of the products and services we take for granted. Bureaucracies as Regulators • Regulation: How It Grew, How It Works – All regulation contains these elements: Agencies for Distribution • Fiscal agencies, monetary agencies, and welfare agencies that redistribute wealth from one sector of society to another – – – – Department of Treasury Federal Reserve System Social Security Administration Dept. of Health and Human Services – Department of Agriculture Agencies for distribution • Fiscal and monetary agencies • Treasury Department--collects income, corporate, and other taxes. • Also responsible for managing the enormous national debt • Responsible for printing money Federal Reserve System • Has authority over interest rates and lending activities of the nation’s most important banks • The Federal Reserve Board--directs the operations of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks, which are the banker’s banks. Welfare Agencies • Social Security--which is the most expensive of the welfare programs (must contribute to receive). Can the Bureaucracy be Reduced: Questions • What methods have been used to reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy? • How effective can efforts to reduce the bureaucracy be? Can the Bureaucracy be Reduced? • Termination • Devolution • Privatization Termination Devolution Privatization Can the Bureaucracy be Controlled: Questions • How can the bureaucracy and democracy coexist? • How do the president and Congress manage and oversee the bureaucracy? • What is the most effective means to guarantee a responsible bureaucracy? The President as Chief Executive • The Civil Service System insulates many bureaucrats from presidential control • The Office of Management and Budget can be useful in controlling the agencies Presidents and the Bureaucracy • Presidents can appoint fewer than 1 percent of all executive branch employees, though the ones they do appoint fill top policymaking positions. • Presidents feel that they have insufficient control over the executive branch and would like to fill a larger number of positions in government. Understanding Bureaucracies • Bureaucracy and Democracy – Presidents Try to Control the Bureaucracy • • • • Appoint the right people. Issue executive orders. Tinker with the agency’s budget. Reorganize an agency. Congress and the Responsible Bureaucracy • Congress can control the conduct of the federal bureaucracy through oversight and the appropriations process Congress and the Bureaucracy • Administrative Discretion-- • Critics of bureaucracy frequently complain that agencies are granted too much discretion. They are a “power unto themselves.” Congress and the Bureaucracy • Congress is often vague in its policy directive when it establishes a new program or agency. • When agencies do something that Congress does not like, Congress has the power to reign in the agency. Congress uses the power of the purse. Congress and the Bureaucracy • Some critics maintain that the bureaucracy does not have enough discretion and that there are many layers of rules governing agency behavior which creates inflexibility. • The policymaking discretion that Congress gives to agencies is usually exercised through rule making. These administrative procedures result in the issuance of regulations. Issuance of Regulations • Regulations are controversial because they force people and business to act in a prescribed fashion. How Bureaucracies Are Organized • The Regulatory Agencies – Independent Regulatory Agency: Responsible for some sector of the economy making rules and judging disputes to protect the public interest. – Headed by a commission of 5-10 people. – Rule making is an important function watched by interest groups and citizens alike. The Citizen’s Role • Citizens may have a difficult time monitoring and controlling the federal bureaucracy • Accordingly, holding Congress and the president accountable becomes even more important Citizens and Bureaucracy • Citizens must become more involved • Citizens must be aware of their rights • Unfortunately this takes time and money-favors the upper-class