1. CH. 15: THE BUREAUCRACY

2. Bureaucracy - A model of organization, simply a way of organizing a large group of people. The federal bureaucracy is composed of all of the agencies, departments, offices, and bureaus in the executive branch. There are about 2.7 million civilians and 1.4 million military **Their main function is to develop & enforce procedures for implementing policy. People who do the day-to-day job of governing. MOST agencies are responsible to the president, whose constitutional responsibility is to “take care that the laws shall be faithfully executed”.

4. How to manage & control the bureaucracy is a central problem of democratic government. However, oddly enough, the Federal Bureaucracy has not had a significant change in size throughout the 2 nd half of the 20 th Century. The population has grown so the social responsibilities increased without changing the size of the bureaucracy much. On the other hand, State & Local bureaucracies have grown significantly.

6. Some Bureaucratic Myths and Realities  Americans dislike bureaucrats – Americans generally like individual bureaucrats.  Bureaucracies grow bigger each year – Once again more employees, but not more Federal employees.  Most federal bureaucrats work in Washington, D.C. – only about 12% work in D.C.  Bureaucracies are ineffective, inefficient and always mired in red tape – Bureaucracy is a way of organizing people to perform work. They are like referees, when they work well no one gives them much credit, but when they work poorly, everyone calls them unfair, incompetent, or inefficient.

8. Who They Are and How They Got There Originally they were chosen through the “spoils” system  from the elite of upper-class white males  “to the victor the spoils,” declared Andrew Jackson as he awarded federal jobs to party loyalists

9. Who They Are and How They Got There **Most demographically representative part of government. **Diversity of jobs mirrors the private sector.

10. Hired in one of two ways: 1.Through the civil service system a.**Entrance exam b.**Promoted by merit rather than patronage (Pendleton Civil Service Act 1883) c.Must be politically impartial and treated as such (Hatch Act) d.The Civil Service Reform Act (1978) created the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which recruits & recommends individuals & oversees promotions & other employee issues.

11. 2.Presidential recruitment a.Each new administration fills about 3,000 of the top posts. b.*The president chooses people who will support the administration’s policies c.Many presidential nominees must be approved by Congress d.The Dept. of Defense has the largest number of civil employees, followed by the U.S. Postal Service. Overall, federal civilian employment has not increased in decades, indicating that the federal bureaucracy is not actually growing. **Bureaucrats are not easily removed from office.

12. How Bureaucracies are organized: 1.Cabinet departments a.15 cabinet departments oversee & administer various policy areas. b.Each is supervised by a secretary c.Each has its own staff & budget 2.Regulatory agencies a.About 19 independent executive agencies b. Oversee a particular aspect of the economy c.Create regulations that protect people d.Can enforce regulations by judging disputes e.Headed by a commission (confirmed by Congress) rather than a secretary f.Closely involved with interest groups that want to influence regulations

15. 3.Government corporations a.Perform services for a fee, like a private business b.The U.S. Postal Service is the largest 4.Independent executive agencies a.All other executive bodies – most created for specific purposes, such as NASA b.Heads appointed by the president, so these can have some partisan motivation, but not too much.

17. One independent executive regulatory agency that has been mentioned numerous times on the AP Test is The Federal Reserve System (The Fed) *Be sure you know the difference between monetary and fiscal policy. Monetary policy = controlling the money supply/inflation and interest rates Fiscal Policy = taxing and spending policies

18. Bureaucracies as Implementers Implementation includes 3 elements: 1.Creation of a new agency or assignment of a new responsibility to an old agency 2.Translation of policy goals into operational rules & development of guidelines for the program. Congress can be vague. (It doesn’t mean committees are not a little more specialized, they are specialized like the agencies; they just maybe haven’t created the new rules exactly.) 3.Coordination of resources & personnel to achieve the intended goals

19. Policy implementation is NOT always successful for various reasons: 1.Program design – could be flawed 2.Lack of clarity – Congress was not clear enough about policy goals 3.Lack of Resources – lacks staff/resources to carry out implementation. Ex. INS tracking people that overstayed visas, FDA slowly tested new drugs etc… 4.Administrative Routines – An agency is so over-involved in its standard operating procedures (SOPs) that it fails to see what else needs to be done. 5.Administrators Disposition – Admins use discretion differently when the SOPs don’t sufficiently address a particular situation and **while using their discretion, their judgment might be poor. 6.Fragmentation – can be confusion when several depts. are involved in the implementation of a particular policy leading to miscommunication **Reorganization of the bureaucracy for the sake of efficiency is unlikely, b/c this would disrupt well-established iron triangles of congressional committees, the agencies they oversee, & the affiliated interest groups.

21. Bureaucracies as Regulators Oversee policies once they are in place through regulations. Regulation is the most controversial role of the Bureaucracies, yet Congress gives Bureaucrats broad mandates to regulate many activities. 1.Establish guidelines for a program or project 2.Enforce guidelines a.**Through complaints registered by the public b.**Through inspections c.By issuing permits & licenses to people who meet the guidelines

22. 3.Bureaucratic institutions have the authority to change rules of a policy & apprehend violators. **This gives the bureaucracy authority over official public policy. (because Congress may have made vague policy goals) All products & even many daily activities are shaped by regulation. Toward deregulation – some argue for lifting of restrictions on business, industry, & professional activities because they feel regulation: i.Raises prices ii.Hurts America’s competitive position abroad iii.Does not always work well

23. Understanding Bureaucracies Bureaucracy & Democracy The governmental bureaucracy hires the most civilians but is not elected by the public. The governmental bureaucracy answers ultimately to the President, who: i.Appoints agency heads who will support his policies ii.Issues executive orders to change or implement statutes iii.Manages budget of each agency (at least in his budget proposal) iv.Can reorganize agency

24. The governmental bureaucracy is also partially controlled by Congress i.Congress ultimately determines each agency’s budget ii.Can refuse to confirm POTUS appointment iii.Performs legislative oversight through hearings iv.Can change the legislation behind a program

25. Iron Triangles (they are so pervasive they are sometimes called subgovernments) – mutually dependent relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, & Congressional committees (or subcommittees)

26. Issue networks – individuals in Washington (located within interest groups, congressional staff, think tanks, universities, & the media) who regularly discuss & advocate public policies. Unlike iron triangles, issue networks form & disband according to policy issues.

27. Iron Triangles v. Issue Networks Iron Triangle = three interlocking players that seek to control policy. Issue Network = wide range of people who debate major policies. Test Tip!