Bureaucracy Flashcards
bureaucracy
According to Max Weber, a hierarchical authority structure that uses task specialization, operates on the merit principle, and behaves with impersonality. They govern modern states.
myths and realities
americans dislike bureaucrats (find them helpful)
bureaucracy is growing larger (only the states)
most work in D.C. (only 12%)
Bureaucrats are ineffective (no better way)
patronage
One of the key inducements used by political machines. A job, promotion or contract is one that is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone.
pendleton civil service act
Passed in 1883, an Act that created a federal civil service so that hiring and promotion would be based on merit rather than patronage.
civil service
A system of hiring and promotion based on the merit principle and the desire to create a nonpartisan government service.
merit principle
the idea that hiring should be based on entrance exams and promotion ratings to produce administration by people with talent and skill.
Hatch act
A federal law prohibiting government employees from active participation in partisan politics.
Office of Personnel Management
The office in charge of hiring for most agencies of the federal government, using elaborate rules in the process.
GS rating
A schedule for federal employees, ranging from GS 1 to GS 15, by which salaries can be keyed to rating and experience.
Senior Executive service
An elite cadre of about 9,000 federal government managers, established by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, who are mostly career officials but include some political appointees who do not require Senate confirmation.
plum book
lists of top federal jobs available for direct presidential appointment with senator confirmation (500 top and 2500 lesser) president searches
cabinet departments
15 departments with secretaries (attorney general for dept. of justice) different organization and staffs
Independent Regulatory Commissions
a government agency responsible for some sector of the economy making and enforcing rules to protect the public interest. it also judges disputes over these rules (alphabet soup) FCC or FDA
Government Corporations
a government organization that, like business corporations, provides a service that could be provided by the private sector and typically charges for its services. The U.S. Postal Serivce is an example.
Independent executive agencies
the government not accounted for by cabinet departments, independent regulatory agencies, and government corporations. Its administrators are typically appointed by the president and serve at the president’s pleaser. NASA is an example.
policy implementation
the stage of policymaking between the establishment of a policy and the consequences of the policy; translating goals and objectives into an operating program
elements of implementation
- creation of a new agency or assignment of a new responsibility
- translation of policy goals into operational rules and develop guidelines
- coordination of resources and personnel to achieve goals
program design
policy design defective in its basic theoretical conception
lack of clarity
unclear laws and policy due to members of congress trying to escape blame (Title IX)
lack of resources
lacks staff, training, funding, supplies, and equiment
Standard operating procedures
(red tape)
better known as SOP’s these procedures are used by bureaucrats to bring uniformity to complex organizations. Uniformity improves fairness and makes personnel interchangeable.
administrative discretion
the authority of administrative actors to select among various response to a given problem. Discretion is greatest when routines, or standard operating procedures, do not fit a case.
street-level bureaucrats
phrase coined by Michael Lipsky, referring to those bureaucrats who are in constant contact with the public and have considerable administrative discretion.
Fragmentation
responsibility for a policy is sometimes dispersed among several units
difficult to coordinate administration
hyperpluralism
voting rights act
implemented effectively due to a clear policy goal to register African americans to vote
used federal power to register 300,000 voters
privatization
private contractors have become a large branch that help during times of need and because of competition may have better service but they can be corrupt or expensive
regulation
the use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector. Regulations pervade the daily lives of people and institutions.
Munn v. Illinois
SCOTUS held right of government to regulate business operations
Command-and-control policy
the existing system of regulation whereby government tells business how to reach certain goals, checks that these commands are followed, and punishes offenders.
incentive system
a more effective and efficient policy than command-and-control; in the incentive system, market-like strategies are used to manage public policy.
deregulation
the lifting of restrictions on business, industry, and professional activities for which government rules had been established and that bureaucracies had been created to administer.
regulation process
- agencies develop a set of rules/guidelines
- enforce rules through court or administration
- contain elements: grant of power from congress, set of rules of guidelines, means of enforcing compliance
how presidents try to control the bureaucracy
appoint the right people to head the government agencies issue executive orders to agencies that have the force of law
change the budget
reorganize agency
congress tries to control bureaucracy
senate confirmation
change the budget
hold hearings (congressional oversight)
rewrite legislation
Iron triangles
mutually dependent relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees. They dominate some areas of domestic policymaking.
- mutually dependent
- decentralized and fragment element
issue networks
more widespread participation in bureaucratic policymaking with participants with tech expertise and emotional commitment
decreased predictability that comes with subgovernments
