1. Institutions of American Government
Module 4.3: The Bureaucracy
Section 1: Introduction

2. What is Bureaucracy?
Bureau: (from French burel: “desk”, “deskcloth”, “chest of drawers”
Cracy: (from Greek kratos: “authority”)
Authority by a chest of drawers?!

3. Nature & Purpose of Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy: any large organization structured hierarchically to carry out specific functions.
Purpose of Bureaucracy: efficient administration of rules, regulations, and policies.
Public and Private Bureaucracies: Governments, businesses and other institutions such as colleges and universities perforce have bureaucracies.

4. Terms Often Applied to Bureaucracy
Bloated
Inefficient
Red Tape
Government Waste
Standard Operating Procedures
Complicated
Labyrinth
Rude
Impersonal
Unresponsive
Big Government
Inept
Unproductive

5. Presidential Efforts to Curb Bureaucratic Growth

6. So, How Much of the Federal Government are we talking about?
The Other Units of this Course

7. 30 Years of Bureaucratic Growth
Local
State
Federal
What Americans believe
Actual employment growth