POL101 Lecture 8

Ch 20 text

What is Bureaucracy?

- rules by officials
- systems and forms of government/ how they work
- makes policy happen just as much as it implements these policies
- Max Weber was the first to codify them
- result of trends in the 19th and 20th centuries (secularization, industrialization, enlightenment values, efficiency)

Codification of Bureaucracy?

- Hierarchical chain of command
- Specialized positions
- Detailed, impersonal rules system
- Merit system for promotion

Private Sectors

- not involving governments, promotes profit
- company owned (private)
- upper/middle class people (richer ppl)

Public Sectors

- controlled by the government
- services, not always for profit and the funding is publicly sourced
- for everyone

What is the Whitehall Model?

origin of Bureaucracy in UK

What is wrong with the Whitehall Model?

- Insufficient and expensive
- Resistant to change
- too much influence from career public servants
- serves its own interests

American Influence in Public Administration

- used 'science' through Scientific Management (taylorism)
- involved scientific observation
- Progressive Era ended the use of the spoils system in US, then it was introduced to a more neutral, merit-based Bureaucracy

What did Woodrow Wilson argue about Administration-Politics Dichotomy?

- that Public Administration should be separated from politics
- politicians should be able to decide on political matters
- Administration is business of governments

Canada's History with Public Administration

- BEFORE 1908
Run on spoils system (political parties offered jobs to political supporters)
- 1908
Civil Service Amendment Act that introduced merit principle for Ottawa appointments
- 1918
Civil Service Act that extended the merit principle to all federal positions; also Civil (now Public) Service Commission to oversee hiring
- 1967
Public Service Employment Act allows public servants the right to run for office, attend political meetings, and donate to political parties

Characteristics of Bureaucracy

- they are experts in their field (scientific/professional, administrative support, foreign service and diplomacy)
- permanent --> entire career
- impartial --> no strong political beliefs
- anonymous --> Deputy Minister takes blame

Chain of Command?

- ranking system of bureaucracy from highest to lowest authority
- Minister, Deputy, Administer, Directors, Front line workers and managers

Knowledge Broker

Deputy Ministers/individuals who are experts in specific fields and can provide advice and opinions to the Ministers, also guide them

Public Service Bargain

- Politicians have expert "helpers" that provide opinions and ideas, and politicians get all the credit of these
- "helpers" are bureaucrats who receive privacy, respect, perks, responsibility, therefore often well-paying private sector jobs

Types of Bureaucratic Organizations

Ministries and Departments (hierarchical government organizations)
Crown Corporations (government owned but operates as private)
Administrative Agencies (semi-independent rule makers with specialized technical knowledge)

Administrative Agencies Roles

- Regulatory Tribunals
- Royal Commissions
- Funding Agencies
- Agents of Parliament

Administrative Agencies Growth

- Started with the Spoils system, but adapted over time

Representation in the Bureaucracy

- started with Spoils but became largely staffed with upper class men
- 60's-90's : women and pay equity and Official Languages Act (1969)
- 1983: action for women, aboriginal and disabled peoples
- 1985: visible minorities joined
- Employment Equity Act (1995)

Neoliberalism and Bureaucracy

- in 70's/80's western countries moved from Keynesian to Neoliberalism due to stagflation
- Bureaucracy was a scapegoat for larger economic and political issues; was called New Public Management as a changed form of bureaucracy
- NPM was motivated by the belief that bureaucracy was a waste

Traditional Bureaucracy vs. New Public Management

Traditional:
- Emphasis on spending
- Direct service delivery
- Monopoly
- Rule-diven
- Ministerial Responsibility
- Centralization
- Command and Control
NPM:
- Entrepreneurial gov.
- Alternative service delivery
- Competition
- Performance driven
- Customer driven gov.
- Decentralization
- Free market