BureaucrazyThe Epitome of Stupidity

Aubrey AllenGreg Evans

Logan ShivelyScott Fentress

Colorado HaberkornAlex LeeBaporis

What Is a Bureaucracy?

• bureaucracy– -a nation of politicans making and enforcing

so many rules and laws that you can't do anything w/o breaking one (Urban Dictionary)

– But really, • hierarchical authority structure • task specialization• merit principle• impersonality

Myths

• Americans dislike bureaucrats.

• Bureaucracies are growing bigger.

• Most work in Washington, DC.

• They are ineffective, inefficient, and mined in red tape.– Bureaucracies are like referees.

• Who you gonna call? Mythbusters!

The Truth

• There is no better substitute for bureaucracies.

• They are a necessary evil. Imagine life without people to deliver mail, test milk or issue Social Security payments.

• Bureaucracies employ all types of citizens.

From Patronage to Civil Service

• Pendleton Civil Service Act- created civil service

• Hatch Act

• Office of Personal Management

• General Schedule rating

• The Plum Book

Bureaucracies as Implementors

• What is implementation?– Stage of policymaking between the establishment of

a policy and the consequences of a policy

• 3 elements of implementation1. Creation of a new agency or modification of an old

agency

2. Translation of policy goals into guidelines and rules

3. Coordination of resources to achieve policy goals

Reasons that Implementation Fails

• Faulty program design

• Lack of clarity (goals too broad)

• Lack of resources

• Administrative routines (SOPs = red tape)

• Administrators’ dispositions (discretion)

• Fragmentation (too many agencies doing the same thing)

Bureaucracies as Regulators

• Regulation - use of government authority to control or change some practice in the private sector

• Examples of regulatory bureaucratic agencies– SEC, NLRB, EPA, DoT, FTC

History of Regulation

• The federal government did not regulate the private sector very much until the 1880s

• Munn v. Illinois (1877)– Upheld the right of government to regulate the

business practices of a firm

• Regulation grew rapidly during the New Deal of the Great Depression, and has increased ever since

Theory of Deregulation

• Deregulation - lifting of restrictions on business, industry, and professional activities

• Critics of regulation believe that regulation:– raises prices– Hurts America’s competitiveness in the global economy– Regulatory policies are often inefficient

• Command-and-Control Policy - typical system of regulation whereby government makes and enforces policies and punishes offenders

• Incentive System - more effective regulatory policy system that uses marketlike strategies to manage public policy

Organization of Bureaucracies

• The Cabinet Departments

• Independent Regulatory Commission

• Government Corporations

• Independent Executive Agencies

Cabinet Department

• 15 Cabinet Departments

• Heads of cabinets are assigned by the President

• Examples are Department of Defense and Department of Health and Human Services

Independent Regulatory Commission

• Responsible for some sector of the economy and making and enforcing rules to protect public interest

• These agencies are independent to avoid corruption and partisan influence.

• Examples are the Federal Reserve Board, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

• Government Corporations– Government organizations that provide services– Example is Post office– Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) – provide

power to support farmers

• Independent Executive Agencies– Any other bureaucratic agency– Appointed and serve at president pleasure– NASA is an example

Government Corporations / Independent Executive

Agencies

Understanding Bureaucracies

• Bureaucrats, one of two unelected policymaking institutions, are generally more representative than elected officials

• Presidents exert control over bureaucracies by:– Appointing the right people to head the agency– Issuing orders– Altering an agency’s budget– Reorganizing an agency

• Congress exerts control over bureaucracies by:– Influencing the appointment of agency heads– Altering an agency’s budget– Holding hearings– Rewriting the legislation or making it more detailed

Iron Triangles and Issue Networks

• Iron Triangles: Mutually dependent relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommmittees. They dominate some areas of domestic policymaking.

• Example: Subcommittee on aging, senior citizen’s interest groups and Social Security Administration agree on the need for more Social Security benefits.

• Make each policy independently of the others, sometimes even in contradiction to other policies.

• Issue networks

- More widespread participation in bureaucratic policymaking.

- Many of the participants have technical policy expertise and are drawn to issues because of intellectual or emotional commitments.

Bureaucracy and the Scope of Government

• Bureaucracy is constantly seeking to expand its size, budgets, and authority. • It has the role of promoting the economy, defending the country, managing

foreign affairs, providing services to farmers, businesses, and workers. • We expect bureaucracies to play an active role in dealing with social and

economic problems.

Bureaucracy…

• Is gay

• And Sarah Palin is a dick