The Bureaucracy

Charles Goodsell’s study of government employees

They are very hard workers motivated by recognition

characterize public servants

more satisfied with job security

more educated

more professional occupations

methods by which the government contracts private businesses

outsourcing and contracting out and privatizing

‘Shadow bureaucrats’

people hired and paid by private for-profit and non-profit organizations that implement public policy through a government contract

Max Weber’s characteristics of bureaucracies

division of labor and specialization of job tasks, hiring systems based on worker competency, hierarchy with a vertical chain of command, and standard operating procedures

Factors used by political scientists to distinguish between bureaucrats

process by which they were hired, procedures by which they can be fired, and grounds for which they can be fired

Patronage system

system where CEO can appoint whomever he wants to top bureaucratic positions, without the need for open competition for applicants; how president hired bureaucrats before Pendleton Act

The plum book

publication that lists the top jobs in the bureaucracy to which the president will appoint people through the patronage system

Downside to patronage system

no job security

Senior executive service positions

policy positions offering less job security but higher pay, move between agencies, hybrid of political appointees and civil service positions

Garfield

assassinated by a man who did not get the patronage position he sought

Pendleton Civil service act

merit and open competition with jobs

Criterion determining a federal job salary

rank

salary range for federal civil service employees

18,343-133,444

Title VII

prohibits employers from making personnel decisions based on factors irrelevant to job competence

Title VI

prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, and ethnicity in educational opportunities offered by institutions receiving federal funding

Representative Bureaucracy

where the people serving resemble the larger population whom they serve in demographic characteristics such as race, age, ethnicity, sex, religion, and economic status

Misfeasance

Nonfeasance

Malfeasance

can be fired for poor quality

can be fired for nonperformance of their work

can be fired for violating the law or the rules and regulations that guide their work

Jimmy Carter

proposed reforms that led to the civil service reform act

civil service reform act of 1978

established 3 independent agencies - the office of personnel management, merit system protection board, and the federal labor relations authority

National civil servant unions

do not have legal right to strike

devolution

shifting from federal bureaucracy to local bureaucracy

Period of greatest growth of the federal bureaucracy

1940-1945

number of categories of Executive Branch organizations

1-departments

2-independent administrative agencies

3-independent regulatory commissions

4-government corporations

5-agencies in the EOP

First two cabinet departments

Department of State and Treasury

Newest cabinet department

DHS

Examples of independent administrative agencies

Smithsonian institute, office of personnel management, general services administration, national science foundation, NASA

Independent regulatory commissions and their boards

develop standards of behavior for specific industries; boards are supposed to be bipartisan

Interstate Commerce Commission

first independent regulatory commission

Characterize government corporations

sell a service or a product and compete for customers, government owned expected just to cover their cost

stages in the public policy cycle

1-agenda setting

2-policy formulation

3-policy approval

4-resource allocation

5-policy implementation

6-policy evaluation

government accountability office

under the legislative branch

characterize the politics-administration dichotomy

concept that elected government officials, who are accountable to the voters, create and approve public policy, and then competent, politically neutral bureaucrats implement it

Authorization laws

provide the plan of action to address a given societal concern and identify the executive branch unit that will put the plan into effect

Administration discretion

the authority delegated to bureaucrats to use heir expertise and judgement when determining how to implement public policy

administrative adjudication

process where agencies resolve disputes over the implementation of their administrative rules

legal means to monitor bureaucrats’ work

congress, president, and judges can monitor their work and hold them accountable

Sunshine laws

legislation that opens up government functions and documents to the public

Administrative Procedure Act

standardized rule-making procedures

government in the sunshine act

requires all multi-headed national agencies, except EOP, to conduct open, public meetings where citizens can testify and present their concerns about these agencies procedures and past, current, and potential actions

ways in which congress encourages bureaucratic accountability

monitoring of bureaucracies policy implementation, a form of legislative oversight

Sunset Clause

sets an expiration date for an authorized program/policy unless congress reauthorizes it

Ethics in Government Act

established the Office of Government Ethics which is charged with preventing conflicts of interest by bureaucrats

Civil Service Reform Act

provided some protection to whistleblowers

Characteristics of best-performing bureaucracies

easily measured goals

high levels of support from people outside of bureau

effective agency leaders