1. Institutions of Government #6
Federal Bureaucracy
Institutions of Government #6

2. Definition of Bureaucracy
An administrative system, especially in a government, that divides work into specific categories carried out by special departments of nonelected officials
The literal translation of Bureaucracy is “rule by desks.”

3. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
Administration of government through departments
Consists of unelected often highly trained professionals
Task specialization
Hierarchical authority

4. Mythbusters about the Bureaucracy
Americans
dislike
Bureaucrats
Americans have a favorable impression of their most recent interactions with a bureaucrat.

5. Mythbusters about the Bureaucracy
Americans believe that bureaucracies are “usually inefficient and wasteful”
A Pew Research Study said that 2/3 of all Americans feel that way

6. Mythbusters about the Bureaucracy
Most federal Bureaucrats work in Washington D.C.
Only 12% of Federal Bureaucrats work in Washington D.C.

7. Mythbusters about the Bureaucracy
Government Bureaucracy is more wasteful and inefficient than private industry
It isn’t the nature of the institution that dictates that. It’s the size of the institution and the skills of the individuals

8. How do they function? Administration
Routine administrative work; provide services (ex: SSA sends social security checks to beneficiaries)
Implementation
Carry out laws of Congress, executive orders of the President (example: FBI breaks up criminal operation)
Regulation
Issue rules and regulations that impact the public (ex: EPA sets clean air standards)

9. Bureaucracy as Implementers
It sees the balloon (goal)
The Bureaucracy is the cat…..

10. Bureaucracy as Implementers
How it should work….
Implementation means translating the goals and objectives of a policy into an OPERATING and ONGOING program. (Example: Affordable Care Act’s goals are to provide more people with insurance at less cost)
The process includes
Creating and assigning an agency to oversee the policy
Translate policy into rules, regulations and forms
Coordinating available resources to achieve the goals
This is the unseen step between creation of policy (in Congress) to results of policy (media)

11. So why don’t all programs work?
Faulty Program Design
Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense

12. So why don’t all programs work?
Lack of Clarity
Huck and Jim rafted down ____________ river.
Congressional laws can be ambiguous and imprecise
Laws may also conflict with other laws a

13. So why don’t all programs work?
Lack of Resources Agencies might be big but still might not have enough staff, or enough diversely trained staff, or the authority to achieve the policy goal

14. So why don’t all programs work?
It isn’t Standard Operating Procedure (S.O.P.)
Needed to bring some sense of conformity to large organizations.
But difficult to break out of routine.

15. So why don’t all programs work?
Disposition of Administrators
Administrators in some cases have discretion (choice) over the responses of the agency.
Places where the S.O.P. doesn’t apply.

16. So why don’t all programs work?
Fragmentation Policies spread over many agencies

17. Bureaucracy as Regulators
Regulation
Use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector
Federal agencies check, verify, and inspect many of the products and services we take for granted.
Federal and state agencies provide many services.
All regulation contains these elements….
A grant of power and set of directions from Congress
A set of rules and guidelines by the regulatory agency itself
Some means of enforcing compliance with congressional goals and agency regulations

18. Two Types of Regulation
Command-and-Control Policy: The government tells business how to reach certain goals, checks the progress, and punishes offenders. (Mandates)
Incentive System: market-like strategies used to manage public policy (Tax Credits)

19. Who is the Bureaucracy? 97% are career government employees
Only 10% live in the D.C. area
30% work for the D.O.D.
Less than 15% work for social welfare agencies
Most are white collar workers: secretaries, clerks, lawyers, inspectors & engineers
Civil employees more diverse demographically than Congress

24. “Mommy, I want to be a Bureaucrat!”
Civil Service: From Patronage to Protection
Patronage: job given for political reasons
Civil Service: system of hiring and promotion based on merit and nonpartisanship, created by the Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883)
Merit Principle: entrance exams and promotion ratings to find people with talent and skill
Hatch Act: prohibits government employees from active participation in partisan politics

25. The Independent Regulatory Agencies
The Cabinet Departments
Thirteen Cabinet departments headed by a secretary
Department of Justice headed by Attorney General
Each has its own budget, staff, and policy areas
Status as a cabinet department can be controversial
Cabinet heads not as trusted by Presidents because they represent the agency point
of view
The Independent Regulatory Agencies
Responsible for some sector of the economy making rules and judging disputes to protect the public interest
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Concern of “Capture of Agency” by industry they regulate
Types of Bureaucratic
Agencies
Government Corporations
Business-like–provide services like
private companies and typically charge
for them
Postal Service and Amtrak
Independent Executive Agencies
The agencies that don’t fit in anywhere else
General Services Administration (GSA)
NASA

26. Controlling the Bureaucracy (Executive)
The President Can…..
Appoint the right people
Issue executive orders
Carry force of law and are used to implement policies
Alter an agency’s budget
Reorganize an agency
Creation of Department of Homeland Security

27. Controlling the Bureaucracy (Legislature)
Congress Can…..
Create or abolish agencies and departments
Cut or reduce funding (power of the urse)
Investigate agency activities
Hold committee hearings
Pass legislation that alters agency functions
Influence or fail to confirm Presidential appointments

28. Iron Triangles
A mutually dependent relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees
Some argue they are being replaced by wider issue networks that focus on more than one policy.

29. 3 Points
Bureaucracy is an inevitable consequence of complexity and scale. Modern government could not function without a large bureaucracy. Through authority, specialization, and rules, bureaucracy provides a means of managing thousands of tasks and employees.
Bureaucrats naturally take an “agency point of view,” seeking to promote their agency’s programs and power. They do this through their expert knowledge, support from clientele groups, and backing by Congress or the president.
Although agencies are subject to oversight by the president, Congress, and the judiciary, bureaucrats exercise considerable power in their own right.

30. Life in A Bureaucracy