2.3.1-2.3.3: The Bureaucracy

Omnibus Crime Bill (1997)

A bill with what appeared to be a wide-ranging ban on assault weapons that, under close inspection, was ineffective due to numerous loopholes.

mission duplication

A bureaucratic pathology in which the roles of different agencies within the bureaucracy are the same, or overlap.

mission conflict

A bureaucratic pathology in which the roles of different agencies within the bureaucracy interfere with one another.

reinventing government

A bureaucratic reform effort instituted by President Bill Clinton and headed by Vice President Al Gore.

symbolic politics

A cause of incrementalism, whereby politicians give the appearance of taking decisive action, in order to please the voting public, while they're actually avoiding making substantive policy changes in order to please specific interest groups.

bureaucracy problem

A collection of incentives and constraints facing those working to make government more efficient. They include accountability, equity, responsiveness, efficiency, and fiscal integrity.

agency imperialism

A common problem with governmental bureaucracies (and other bureaucracies as well), in which the agencies grow with no limit and without an eye to the benefits they're intended to provide.

incrementalism

A doctrine that holds that change in a political system occurs only by small steps, each of which should be carefully considered before proceeding to the next one.

independent executive agency

A federal agency that reports to the president but isn't part of a Cabinet-level department, including the Small Business Administration and the Office of Personnel Management.

government corporation

A government agency that operates like a business corporation, created to secure greater freedom of action and flexibility for a particular program.

line organization

A government or corporate unit responsible for providing services or products to the public, in contrast to a staff agency, which serves other agencies.

Hatch Act (Political Activities Act of 1939)

A law passed in 1939 that limited contributions to political parties and spending by political parties. Most importantly, the Hatch Act made it illegal for individuals and companies under contract with the federal government to contribute to political candidates or to political parties.

Pendleton Act (Civil Service Reform Act)

A law that made national government employment dependent on open, competitive exams.

sunset legislation

A law with provisions that call for the law's expiration after a certain period of time.

authorization

A legislative action establishing or continuing a certain amount of funding for an agency. Some authorizations terminate in a year; others are automatically renewed without further action.

acquisitive model

A model of bureaucracy in which top-level bureaucrats seek to expand their budgets and staff to gain greater power and influence in the public sector.

monopolistic model

A model of bureaucracy that compares bureaucracies to monopolistic business firms. Lack of competition in either circumstance leads to inefficient and costly operations.

National Partnership for Reinventing Government

A plan for bureaucratic reform launched under President Bill Clinton and headed by Vice President Al Gore. It's commonly known as "the plan to reinvent government."

hierarchy

A principle of organization in which each person or office is under control of and responsible to the next highest level.

merit system

A system for selecting employees through competitive testing, and retaining and promoting them based on their abilities, knowledge, and skills.

patronage system

A system in which elected officials make appointments to office or to confer contracts or other special favors based on party affiliation.

fourth branch of government

A term referring to the federal bureaucracy.

iron triangle

A three-way alliance between political organizations or agents. It's generally thought that iron triangles hinder the political process by putting their own interests ahead of national interests.

The Cabinet consists of:

A.executive agencies that regulate some component of the economy. B.agencies that deal with foreign policy. C.agencies that provide funding for small businesses. D.government corporations that charge fees for services. done Answer: E.None of the above

Which of the following is not a pathology of the federal bureaucracy?

Agencies competing to see which can be most efficient

President Clinton's National Performance Evaluation is an attempt to reform the federal bureaucracy. Which of the following is not a key principle of this "reinventing government" plan?

Allowing Vice President Al Gore to lead the plan

Civil Service Reform Act (1978)

An act that reformed the federal bureaucracy. It established the Office of Personnel Management and the Merit Systems Protection Board.

bureaucracy

An administrative system that executes policies and carries out specific functions by using standardized procedures in a hierarchical structure.

administrative agency

An agency that is part of the executive branch, an independent agency, or an independent regulatory agency . State and local governments also have administrative agencies.

Senior Executive Service

An elite group of governmental mangers outside the regular merit system, established by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978.

whistleblower

An employee who publicizes illegal, inefficient, or unethical actions in a government department or contractor working for the government.

General Service (GS) system

Basic pay system for the federal government's white collar employees.

garbage can model

Bureaucratic model that views bureaucracies as directionless, with little formal organization. According to this model, bureaucracies make decisions without the benefit of forethought and rational policy planning, relying instead on trial and error.

The federal bureaucracy is divided into three main components:

Cabinet departments, independent regulatory agencies, and government corporations.

appropriation

Congressional passage of a spending bill, specifying the amount of funds previously authorized that will actually be allocated for an agency's use.

Explore the definitions and theories of bureaucracy.

Definition and theories of bureaucracy A bureaucracy is the name given to any large organization that is structured hierarchically to carry out specific functions. You may think of bureaucracy in terms of government, thinking of agencies such as schools, but in fact, you encounter bureaucracy in a variety of places. For example, corporations such as McDonald's are organized in a bureaucratic fashion. Bureaucracies have a division of labor and specialization in which each worker has a specific job. They also have hierarchies: Groups of people in the bureaucracy are arranged in order of rank or grade and they follow standard operating procedures. Using McDonald's as an example, workers specialize by preparing the food, working the drive-through window, or working the counter. The hierarchy in a McDonald's outlet begins with the trainee at the bottom (whose specialty is making the fries) up through the assistant manager and the manager. There are a number of different theories to help understand the nature of a bureaucracy. The Weberian model, proposed by German sociologist Max Weber, is based on the assumption that bureaucracies exist to implement decisions in a neutral, almost mechanical way without political bias. Your readings suggest three other models. First, the acquisitive model proposes that bureaucrats will always try to expand the size of their agencies and their budgets. Second, the monopolistic model argues that bureaucracies are inefficient and costly because they have no competition. For example, many conservatives argue that public schools are of poor quality because they have no one to compete with. And finally, the garbage can model proposes that bureaucracies rarely act with purpose but wander aimlessly in search of solutions to problems. These ideas will be expanded on in the next tutorial on bureaucratic pathologies. For now, let's take a look at the functions and organization of the federal bureaucracy.

Bureaucracies tend to share several important characteristics. Which of the following best describes bureaucracies?

Division of labor and specialization

standard operating procedures

Established methods routinely followed for the performance of specific operations or in specific situations.

Examine bureaucratic pathologies and their causes.

First, let's look at bureaucratic pathologies and their causes. A pathology can be defined as a problem shared by most or all federal bureaus or agencies. Let's look at the five of the most common bureaucratic pathologies and relate them to the models we discussed previously. These pathologies often form the basis of complaints about the bureaucracy by both politicians and the public. The first pathology, and probably the most frequent complaint, is bureaucratic red tape. You may recall that the Weberian model calls for bureaucracies to follow sets of rules and standard operating procedures in order to carry out their functions efficiently. However, these rules and procedures have, in many cases, become so complex that they often cause significant delay and sometimes make it almost impossible to get anything done. A second bureaucratic pathology is that the missions of agencies sometimes conflict; that is, they work against each other. For example, while the surgeon general's office works to stop people from smoking, the Department of Agriculture subsidizes tobacco farming. A third pathology is that agencies often do the same thing, a problem known as duplication of mission. Once given a task, agencies are reluctant to give up control of their own bureaucratic turf, since doing so would likely mean accepting cuts in their budget. Fourth, agencies suffer from the pathology of imperialism when they seem to have unlimited growth without regard to the benefits they are supposed to provide. The three pathologies just mentioned (mission conflict, mission duplication, and agency imperialism) can all be linked to the acquisitive model of bureaucracy, which argues that bureaucrats will always try to expand the size and power of their agencies and of their budgets. Finally, agencies are often accused of bureaucratic waste when they spend money unnecessarily and without providing real benefits. This pathology is explained by both the monopolistic and garbage can models. Critics argue that agencies would be less wasteful if they had competition, or if they had clearly defined purposes. Now let's turn our focus to the causes of agency pathologies. Many of the problems suffered by government bureaucracy are a result of too little freedom. There is too little freedom when Congress controls bureaucratic pay, procedures, and goals. Agencies are restricted by a variety of outside forces, especially interest groups. In addition, the culture of the agency itself affects rewards to employees. Challenging the way things are done is generally not a path to career advancement. Looking at the pathologies we've described above, we need to remember that red tape is not unique to government; it infects all large bureaucracies. Red tape develops because of a need to insure that all parts of an organization work together. In government, there is need to satisfy legal requirements (such as accounting rules) and political requirements (such as accountability to Congress or the president). Conflict and duplication among agencies are often a reflection of Congress, which, with its wide diversity of opinion and its effort to represent a wide diversity of interests, sets up different and often inconsistent goals for various agencies. Because Congress is frequently unclear in specifying bureaucratic goals, an agency will tend to take the largest possible view of its task. Imperialistic agencies seek to defend and expand their turf in an effort to protect their jobs, budgets, and power. Waste certainly exists. You may have heard about the $600 toilet seats for the Pentagon and other excesses publicized by the 1984 Grace Commission Reportto President Reagan. However, the level of waste is often exaggerated, and where it does exist, it is usually the result of agency efforts to follow rules and regulations dictated by Congress.

the functions and organization of the federal bureaucracy.

Functions and organizations of the federal bureaucracy The key task of a federal bureaucracy is to make rules, called regulations, which interpret the laws enacted by Congress. A more technical definition of a regulation is the rule-making process of administrative agencies charged with the official interpretation of a statute. As for organization, the federal executive bureaucracy is divided into cabinet departments, independent regulatory agencies, and government corporations. Let's briefly review all three. There are currently 14 cabinet departments. Sometimes political scientists divide these departments into the inner cabinet and the outer cabinet. Examples of the former include departments of State, Treasury, Justice, and Defense. These are the oldest and most important cabinet departments, since they play essential roles in the day-to-day operation of government. On the other hand, some of the other cabinet departments were formed primarily to cater to the needs of various constituencies, such as the departments of Agriculture, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, and Veterans Affairs. Besides cabinet departments, there are independent regulatory agencies, which include agencies that regulate some sector of the economy or type of economic activity, such as the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Reserve Board. Those agencies that deal with foreign policy, such as the CIA and Peace Corps. And third, those agencies that provide funding for certain activities, such as the National Science Foundation and the Small Business Administration. Finally, there are government corporations. This category of bureaucratic organization is organized similar to a private corporation, except that it lacks stockholders and is not subject to taxes. These corporations charge fees for their services; examples include Amtrak, the Postal Service, and the FDIC.

Explore the incremental reform of the federal bureaucracy.

Incrementalism and the bureaucracy So, what exactly has been accomplished by these various attempts to reinvent government? Although both presidents Reagan and Clinton have portrayed themselves as major reformers of the bureaucracy, the path to bureaucratic change has been a gradual one and the steps taken have been small. One way to describe this is using the term incrementalism. In the past, bureaucratic growth was often an incremental process, with agencies seeking and usually receiving minor increases in their annual budgets. Today however, with both the Democrats and Republicans seeking to cut back the size and scope of the bureaucracy, we see incremental changes occurring in the opposite direction. Many agencies are now subject to minor decreases in their annual budgets and in their regulatory authority. In terms of reducing the size and scope of the federal bureaucracy, there are two primary causes of incrementalism. First, incrementalism is the product of divided government. With opposite parties in control of the executive and legislative branches, they are unlikely to agree on any major substantive changes in the mission of bureaucratic agencies. Despite presidential efforts to flank Congress (that is, to work around it rather than work with it), in the 1980s, presidents Reagan and Bush were forced to compromise with the Democratic-controlled Congress, and more recently, President Bill Clinton was forced to compromise in working out a budget agreement with the Republican-controlled Congress. Symbolic politics is a second cause of incremental politics. To please the voting public, politicians often give the appearance of taking decisive action. To please specific interest groups, politicians actually avoid substantive policy changes. For example, the 1997 Omnibus Crime Bill has what appears to be a wide ranging ban on assault weapons. Upon closer inspection, however, it is revealed to be filled with loopholes. On the one hand, the effect of incrementalism is to reduce bureaucratic power and funding. On the other hand, because proposed changes are often watered down as they work through Congress, or fail to win passage, or are vetoed by the president, incrementalism fails to provide agencies with substantive direction, which actually allows them greater freedom to act. This additional freedom, in turn, allows the other pathologies described earlier to persist. Thus, in a sense, incrementalism can be viewed as another bureaucratic pathology.

Which of the following is not a way Congress exercises control over the bureaucracy?

It can ask the Supreme Court to declare the bureaucracy's acts unconstitutional.

Government in the Sunshine Act

Law passed in 1977 requiring all multi-headed federal agencies to perform their duties in open sessions. Closed meetings are permitted for only specific subjects, such as national defense, but participants must keep minutes of those meetings.

Which of the following is not a reason why bureaucratic pathologies are likely to persist?

Max Weber predicted they would.

division of labor

Method of splitting the responsibilities associated with a job amongst different workers. Division of labor is used in bureaucracies.

Which of the following statements about the employees of the federal bureaucracy is not true?

Minorities are over-represented in numbers and in the number of powerful positions they hold.

Consider the size and cost of the bureaucracy.

Much attention has been given to the size and cost of the bureaucracy, which is the focus of our third topic. Certainly, over the history of the United States, the federal bureaucracy has grown tremendously in size, especially in the 20th century. Several factors are responsible for this, most notably the emergence of the United States as a world economic and military superpower and the increasing role of the government in regulating the economy. The total number of federal government workers has not grown over the last 25 years. As a percentage of the total U.S. workforce, the number in fact has steadily declined. However, there are more positions outside the government that are directly supported by public funds. For example, private corporations receive government contracts for goods or services and hire workers to provide these. Such contracts are common and give employment to thousands. As examples, Boeing workers make military aircraft and construction workers build or repair highways. It is interesting to note that the largest increase in bureaucratic growth has been at the level of local government. The current size of the federal bureaucracy is approximately 3 million civilian workers and 2.4 million people in the military. Funding for federal agencies varies widely from agency to agency. For example, expenditures ranged from $375 billion for the Social Security Administration to $3.7 billion for the Department of Commerce. Funding for the same agency can also vary over time. For example, the budget for the Department of Defense at the end of the Cold War declined from $286 billion in 1992 to $253 billion in 1996. The total 1996 expenditure for independent agencies other than the Environmental Protection Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Social Security Administration was $10.1 billion. Is $10 billion a lot of money, given the scope of responsibilities entrusted to these independent agencies? Keep in mind that the $10 billion was out of a budget of over $1.5 trillion.

See what efforts have been taken to reform the bureaucracy.

Next, let's look at efforts to reform the bureaucracy. We've looked at some of the pathologies of bureaucracy and their causes; now let's turn our attention to some of the efforts that have been made to address these problems. In this century alone there have been 11 major attempts to reform the bureaucracy, most of these having suggested granting presidents — who are after all chief executives — greater control of the bureaucracy. Some examples of these reforms include: the Brownlow Commission (1936 - 1937), which urged that the president be given more assistance; the 1947 - 1949 Hoover Commission, which suggested methods of improving upper management of the bureaucracy; and the Ash Council (1969 - 1971), which called for a major consolidation of existing agencies. The intent of all these reform efforts was to make it easier for the president and his cabinet to run the bureaucracy with an emphasis on improving efficiency, accountability, and consistency. All of these efforts involved presidentially appointed commissions and councils, as well as the executive branch itself. This raises interesting questions about congressional ability to control the bureaucracy. For example, why is the congressional oversight function inadequate in controlling the bureaucracy? What does this suggest about the separation of powers between legislative and executive branches and the various checks and balances in place to regulate the relationship? These questions will be addressed in a subsequent lesson. A decrease in the size and power of the federal government is a major goal of today's conservatives. Recent presidents responding to these conservative demands have initiated a policy of deregulation. For example, President Reagan eliminated federal control over airline competition in an attempt to allow the marketplace to determine which airlines served which destinations and at what fares. However, Reagan made no proposals to Congress to abolish any regulatory agency. Instead, he issued Executive Order 12291, which required the review of all proposals for new executive-branch regulations by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This order significantly strengthened the political clout of the OMB and enabled the Reagan administration to cut the number of rules and regulations appearing in the Federal Registrar almost in half. President Clinton, with his National Performance Review (popularly known as the plan to "reinvent government"), began an effort for bureaucratic reform and placed Vice President Gore in charge of it. Reinventing government includes four guiding principles. First is the desire to increase customer satisfaction. This approach would treat the recipient of government services as a private business would treat its customers. The second guiding principle calls for less centralized management, which is seen as the key to cutting red tape. However, cutting red tape is difficult because doing so would reduce a source of power and influence for both the Congress and the executive branch. A third key component of reinventing government is empowering front-line employees, those who deal directly with the public. The proposed reforms would give them the authority to solve problems rather than give all such power to managers. This would be an improvement because it would provide greater flexibility to the notoriously rigid bureaucracy. The final principle is to cut government services back to basics, having government do only those things really necessary for it to do. This is a problem unfortunately, because it is very difficult for people to agree on what constitutes a basic government function.

Take a look at the demographic make-up of federal employees.

Now let's look at the selection and characteristics of federal employees. Of the nearly 3 million civilian federal employees, only about 2,500 are appointed by the president. Until 1883, federal jobs were political appointments given by the president to reward supporters and friends. Although this practice (called patronage or the spoils system, which comes from the saying "to the victor belongs the spoils") is associated particularly with Andrew Jackson, it began much earlier. To reform the spoils system and the bureaucracy itself, several laws have been passed. The Pendleton Act, passed in 1883, provided for the hiring of federal employees on the basis of merit, which is called the merit principle. Exceptions included the requirement that there had to be employees from every state in an approximate ratio of state population to overall U.S. population. Preference was given to veterans, particularly those who were disabled, and veterans' widows. In 1939, Congress passed the Hatch Act, which prohibits active participation in political campaigning by civil service employees. Another reform, the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act, made the new Office of Personnel Management the government's central personnel agency. It also created the Senior Executive Service, consisting of top managers who could be more easily hired, fired, or transferred than other government employees. This was done because it is extremely difficult to discharge civil servants; discharged employees may appeal their dismissals and months or even years may pass before the issue is settled. Today, about two-thirds of appointed officials must first pass a written exam. These exams are administered by the Office of Personnel Management. The other one-third of appointed officials are part of the excepted service; that is, they are not appointed on the basis of qualifications designed or approved by the Office of Personnel Management. Most of these are appointed on a nonpartisan basis by agencies such as the post office, which have merit-based appointment systems of their own. Overall, we can say that most government employees are appointed on a merit-based, nonpartisan basis with relatively few upper-level positions available for political appointees. As for the characteristics of federal employees, about 56 percent of federal employees are men and 44 percent women. Ethnically, 71.5 percent are white, 16.7 percent are African American, 5.7 percent Hispanic, and 2 percent Native American. The ethnic makeup of the civilian workforce is about the same as for the United States as a whole. However, women and ethnic minorities tend to be in the lowest ranks of government service. The higher ranks, GS-16 through GS-18, are dominated by middle-aged white males. The GS (general schedule, by the way) is the basic pay system for white-collar employees, which covers about half of the government civilian employees. Studies by political scientists have shown that the top bureaucrats are more liberal than the average voting American, but this varies according to the agency. For example, studies have shown that officials in the Federal Trade Commission are more liberal than those in the Department of Commerce, and those in defense areas are more conservative than the general U.S. population.

Executive Order 12291

Order made by President Ronald Reagan requiring the review, by the Office of Management and Budget, of all proposals for new executive branch regulations.

political appointments

Presidential granting of federal jobs to reward friends and supporters.

Which of the following is not a difference between public bureaucracies and private organizations, such as large corporations?

Private bureaucracies are hierarchically structured, while government bureaucracies aren't.

bureaucratic red tape

Probably the most common complaint about bureaucracies, red tape refers collectively to the complex rules and procedures that cause delays and sometimes make it difficult to get something done.

bureaucratic pathologies

Problems shared by all or most federal bureaus or agencies. They include bureaucratic red tape, mission conflict, mission duplication, agency imperialism, and bureaucratic waste.

inner Cabinet

Refers to the oldest and most important Cabinet departments, which play roles in day-to-day government decision making.

contracting out

Replacing services provided by the government with services provided by private firms, through contractual agreements with the government.

Which of the following has been a main cause of the federal bureaucracy's growth in cost and size during the 20th century?

The United States has become a military and economic superpower.

capture

The act of gaining direct or indirect control over a regulatory agency's personnel and decision makers by the industry that is being regulated.

Civil Service Commission

The central personnel agency of the national government, created in 1883. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 abolished the Civil Service Commission. The Office of Personnel Management assumed most of its functions at that time, except for its quasi-judicial functions, which the Merit System Protection Board assumed.

bureaucratic reform

The effort to make bureaucracies operate more efficiently.

deregulation

The elimination of government controls, especially over private companies.

Office of Personnel Management

The federal agency that administers civil service employment.

Weberian model

The model of bureaucracy developed by sociologist Max Weber that characterizes bureaucracy as a rational and efficient means of organizing a large group of people.

outer Cabinet

The outer Cabinet refers to Cabinet departments that are less important to the day-to-day functioning of the government and were created to look after the needs of various constituencies.

merit principle

The principle that in employment individuals should be selected, retained, and promoted based solely on their ability, knowledge, and skills.

The federal bureaucracy is often accused of spending a lot of money without providing any real benefits. Which of the following is not something that critics believe would make the federal bureaucracy less wasteful?

They need a new level of managers to look over their activities.

bureaucratic waste

Unnecessary bureaucratic spending of money without providing real benefits.

Iron triangles are best described as:

an alliance between legislators, bureaucrats, and interest groups that results in the preservation of policies that benefit these three groups.

A bureaucracy is best described as:

any large organization structured hierarchically to carry out specific functions.

Mission conflict, mission duplication, and agency imperialism can all be said to result from the acquisitive model of bureaucratic behavior because this model says:

bureaucracies are constantly seeking to increase their size and scope.

Incrementalism in the federal bureaucracy is the process by which:

changes to the size and scope of agencies occurs very slowly.

entrepreneurial government

emphasizes productivity management, measurable performance, privatization, and change.

Bureaucratic pathologies are best described as:

fundamental problems shared by most bureaucracies.

The Environmental Protection Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Science Foundation are all examples of:

independent executive agencies.

A number of reforms, such as the Brownlow Commission, the Hoover Commission, and the Ash council have all tried to reform the federal bureaucracy. The intent of these reforms was to:

make it easier for the president and Cabinet to manage the bureaucracy.

The key task of federal bureaucracies is to:

make regulations for implementing policies passed by Congress.

President Reagan wanted to decrease the size and the power of the federal government. One of the ways he tried to do this was by:

passing an executive order that gave the Office of Management and Budget the power to review all proposals for new executive bureaucracy regulations.

Until 1883, federal jobs were political appointments given by the president to supporters and friends. This system was known as:

patronage.

The Pendleton Act of 1883 altered the federal bureaucracy in an important way because it:

provided for hiring on the basis of merit.

When people complain about excessive paperwork and bureaucratic inefficiency, they often use which of the following terms?

red tape

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are all examples of:

regulatory agencies

Over the past three decades, the number of civilian federal employees has:

remained fairly constant

The Cabinet departments are the major service organizations of the federal government. They deal with issues such as:

the national defense, energy, transportation, and the treasury.

One of the biggest complaints about the federal bureaucracy is red tape—complex rules and procedures that often get in the way of providing services to clients. Red tape can be explained mostly by:

the need for accountability to the president and Congress, and the need to satisfy complex legal and accounting regulations.

Bureaucratic agencies often take on the role of unelected policymaker because:

they're required to make rules and regulations that interpret vague laws passed by Congress.

The acquisitive model of bureaucratic activity and organization says that bureaucracies:

try to expand their size and budgets.

Federal employees who go public with a story about serious cases of governmental waste and mismanagement are called:

whistleblowers