The bureaucracy

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The bureaucracy

• Chapter 13

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(No Transcript)
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Bernie Madoff and the SEC

• Bernie Madoffs Ponzi scheme may have cost
  investors up to 65 million
• Many organizations failed after Madoff s crimes
  discovered
• Securities and Exchange Commission had numerous
  complaints that it failed to follow up on
  properly
• Subsequent SEC analysis claimed errors due to
  inexperienced staff
• A painful reminder that we depend on regulatory
  agencies to protect us

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Bernard Madoff
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Organization Matters

• Laws passed by Congress are implemented by the
  governments bureaucracy
• Bureaucracies play central role in todays
  governments and society as a whole
• Organization of a particular bureaucracy depends
  on its political demands and needs of its clients
• Organization also affects a bureaucracys ability
  to accomplish its work

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The Development of the Bureaucratic State

• American public concerned with size of
  bureaucracy
• Government at all levels grow enormously during
  20th century
• Society increasingly more complex
• Attitudes towards regulation of business and
  governments role in social welfare changed
• Ambitious bureaucrats have expanded organizations
  to add responsibilities

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Not So Big by Comparison

• Compared with other Western democracies, U.S.
  government relatively small
• Most of these countries offer more welfare and
  social service benefits to citizens
• Taxes in these countries proportionately higher

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Can We Reduce the Size of Government?

• Even incumbents run against the government
• Many Americans lack confidence in government and
  believe it wastes money
• Serious budget cuts require significant
  reductions in programs
• Proposed reductions of specific programs face
  opposition and are politically risky

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Can We Reduce the Size of Government?

• Debate on reductions in bureaucracy shaped by
  ideology and size of budget deficit
• Reagan saw small government as enhancing personal
  freedom
• Obama sees government as a way to promote
  equality and protect citizens
• Not always good politics to downsize government
• An upside to providing a benefit to citizens

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The Organization of Government

• Bureaucracy in Washington actually a collection
  of smaller bureaucracies
• Departments cover broad areas of government
  responsibility
• Independent Agencies stand alone, some controlled
  by president and some self-governed regulatory
  commissions
• Government Corporations perform services that
  could be provided by private sector but Congress
  believes should be done by government

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Figure 13.1Bureaucrats at Work
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The Civil Service

• National bureaucracy almost 2.8 million civilian
  employees
• Diverse jobs make up 2 of U.S. workforce
• Senior Executive Service top level
• Most hired under civil service
• Pendleton Act (1883) designed to reduce patronage
  with merit hiring
• Pay and benefits of federal jobs compare
  favorably with private sector

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Figure 13.2Diversity Lags
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Figure 13.3Good Jobs, Good Benefits
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Presidential Control over the Bureaucracy

• Civil service and other reforms insulate
  government workers from party politics
• Presidents appoint about 3,000 people to
  high-level positions
• Around 1,000 require Senate confirmation
• Pluralism can pull agencies in directions
  contrary to presidents wishes

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Bureaucratic Policymaking

• Agencies make policy when Congress authorizes
  them to administer a program
• Regulations established to carry out laws create
  policy
• Congress has prerogative to override regulations
  it dislikes
• Congress can punish agencies by cutting budgets,
  altering programs, or holding up Senate
  confirmations

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Administrative Discretion

• Administrative regulations legally binding
• Critics of bureaucracy complain agencies granted
  too much discretion
• When agency directives from Congress vague,
  bureaucrats develop policy details
• Greatest discretion to agencies involved in
  domestic and global security

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Rule Making

• Administrative process that results in issuance
  of regulations
• Allows interested parties to comment on proposed
  rules
• Regulations often require individuals and
  corporations to act against own self-interest
• Freedom versus order

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And Now for a Real ChallengeRegulate the World

• Some scientists fear global warming an emergency
• Debate exists over long-term implications
• International cooperation needed because
  greenhouse gas emissions know no borders
• U.S. concerned about fairness of any enforcement
• China resistant to any regulation or enforcement

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Land and Sea Yearly Mean Temperature, 1880-2000
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Administrative PolicymakingInformal Policies

• Difficult to define precise values and goals
  rationally
• Many related goals incompatible
• Best policy may be one on which most people can
  agree
• Constraints of competing policy objectives,
  opposing political forces, incomplete
  information, and pressures of time sometimes
  result in incrementalism

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The Culture of Bureaucracy

• Interactions with bureaucrats sometimes
  frustrating because they are inflexible or lack
  authority to get things done
• Sometimes flexibility limited by legal
  requirements and need to treat everyone equally
• All bureaucracies have norms that guide behavior
• Sense of mission affects decisions about agency
  objectives

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Problems in Implementing Policy

• Paper policies must be put into practice with
  processes
• May not do what they were designed to do
• Trial-and-error common
• Difficulties emerge when policies unclear or
  involve many different agencies and layers of
  government
• Implementation sometimes by contracts with
  private sector or not-for-profits

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Los Angeles Smog
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Mortgage Relief
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Problems in Implementing Policy

• The many obstacles to effective implementation
  mean patience and analysis essential ingredients
  to policymaking
• So, implementation a gradual process where trial
  and error eventually lead to policies that work

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Reforming the Bureaucracy More Control or Less?

• Administrative reforms have taken many forms over
  the years
• Deregulation
• Competition
• Performance standards
• No magic bullet

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Deregulation

• Reduced government role lets market forces of
  supply and demand take over
• Popular with conservatives
• Considerable deregulation in 1970s and 1980s
• Difficult with health and safety issues
• One way is to allow companies flexibility in how
  to meet standards
• Can also require more transparency and
  accountability

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Competition and Outsourcing

• Conservatives want government to act more like
  businesses
• Some believe if agencies are not as efficient as
  private sector, service should be given to
  private sector
• Competitive bidding for services to administer
  programs common

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Performance Standards

• Holding agencies accountable for reaching
  quantifiable goals
• Government Performance and Results Act sets
  requirements
• Concern that if agencies set own goals, will set
  them to easily achievable levels or that show
  agency in best light
• What an agency thinks it can achieve versus what
  would be most valuable to achieve