The Bureaucracy American Government

Bureaucracy A bureaucracy has a hierarchical authority structure Power flows from the top down and responsibility flows from bottom up The success of a Bureaucracy is predicated on: Task specialization Extensive rules The merit principle Impersonality

Civil Service Prior to the use of the civil service, governmental hiring was done through the process of patronage Patronage (spoils system) is a hiring and promotion system based on political reasons rather than on merit or competence Patronage may be based on working on a campaign, making large political donations, and having the right connections Patronage was ushered out with the Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883) This act created the civil service as we know it today In order to keep the integrity of the Pendleton Civil Service Act, the Hatch Act forbids one from engaging in patrician politics while on duty

Civil Service Our bureaucracies are populated with employees who are part of the civil service program The civil service is designed to hire and promote members of the bureaucracy on the basis of merit and to create a nonpartisan government service The merit principle is determined based upon the use of entrance exams and promotion ratings to reward qualified individuals

Organization Independent regulatory agencies These agencies have the responsibility of making and enforcing rules designed to protect the public interest in regards to a particular sector of the economy I.E. Federal Reserve Board (FRB), National labor Relations Board (NLRB), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) These are powerful groups who have significant power over private industry The president has very little control over these groups which provides them insulation from presidential administrations

Organization Government Corporations Independent executive agencies Government corporations provide a service that could be handled by the private sector but at cheaper rates than the consumer would pay in the private sector I.E. The Post Office, Amtrak, Satellite communications Independent executive agencies These are all agencies in the government that do not include cabinet departments, regulatory commissions and government corporations These include agencies like the General Service Administration (GSA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Why Policy Fails Here are some reasons why implementation fails: Poor program design Lack of clarity Lack of resources Administrative Routine If there is a lack of standard operating procedures (SOPs) then the implementation of the policy will fail Administrative discretion This is the authority of administrative actors to select among various responses to a given problem Those who use more discretion are sometimes known as street-level bureaucrats They are termed as such because of their ability to listen to the public Fragmentation

Regulation Regulation Deregulation is the use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector I.E. The SEC regulating the merging of companies, Affirmative Action, the EPA, NHTSA, and the DOT requiring pollution-control, energy-saving, and safety devises Regulation can be accomplished through command-and control policy, as well as incentive systems Deregulation This is the lifting of government restrictions on business, industry and professional activities