Chapter 13 - The Bureaucracy

Section 1 - What Is Bureaucracy?

Bureaucracy Defined
A -ureaucracy is an administrative organization structured as a hierarchy.
According to sociologist Max
Weber, bureaucracies have
Iour characteristics:
A clear chain oI command
Specialized experts who handle speciIic tasks
Rules describing how jobs should be done
Hiring and promotions based on merit
The Spoils System
n the 1800s, politicians gave jobs to their supporters and Iriends under the spoils system.
&nder the patronage system, elected oIIicials used jobs to:
!ay oII political debts
ncrease their own power
Many people who were awarded jobs did not have the right skills Ior those jobs.
xperts in the government became discouraged because promotions were based on
Iavoritism rather than expertise.
The Pendleton and Hatch Acts
n 1883, the Pendleton Act reIormed the civil service by setting up a system Ior hiring
and promoting based on merit.
n 1939, the Hatch Act prohibited civil servants Irom being pressured into working on
election campaigns or making contributions to political campaigns.
n 1993, Congress amended the Hatch Act to Iurther describe the limits on Iederal
workers` political activities.
imits on !olitical Activities oI Federal Workers Today
ureaucracy and Democracy
Democracy is not the best way to make decisions requiring expertise and speed:
t takes a long time Ior decisions to be made.
t results in decisions that are popular but not necessarily the best ones.
IIective bureaucracies can be successIul:
They are Iilled with experts.
They make decisions at higher levels and carry them out at lower levels.
Bureaucracy and the American People
Sunshine laws allow private citizens to attend bureaucratic meetings.
The reedom of Information Act (IA) allows citizens to read records oI government
actions and decisions.
Bureaucratic Accounta-ility
!ublic bureaucracies must answer to members oI Congress and the president, whose
goals sometimes conIlict.
Rules try to establish accounta-ility to ensure that bureaucrats do their jobs and to
promote Iairness and predictability.
Rules, however, also limit bureaucrats` individuality and creativity and create
lots oI paperwork and red tape (bureaucratic hurdles) Ior citizens.
Section 2 - The U.S. ederal Bureaucracy
Three Purposes of ederal Agencies
To perIorm essential government Iunctions. Example. The Department oI DeIense
supervises the military.
To meet the changing needs oI the country. Example. The Department oI the nterior was
created to move Native Americans to reservations and control the West.
To serve particular groups oI people. Example. The Department oI Agriculture
addresses agricultural interests.
our Types of ederal Agencies
Cabinet-level departments: 15 major subdivisions represented in the president`s cabinet.
Example. The Department oI Homeland Security
ndependent agencies: Government organizations with narrower areas oI control that vary
in size and in independence Irom the president and Congress. Example. Small usiness
Administration
ndependent regulatory boards and commissions: Government organizations that make
regulations Ior industries, businesses, and parts oI the economy. Example. Food and Drug
Administration
Government corporations: ndependent agencies that are largely Iree oI congressional and
presidential inIluence; provide goods and services in ways that would not be proIitable
Ior private businesses. Example. &.S. !ostal Service
Ca-inet-Level Departments of the U.S. Government
Agriculture
Commerce
DeIense
ducation
nergy
Health and Human Services
Homeland Security
Housing and &rban Development
nterior
Justice
abor
State
Transportation
Treasury
Veterans AIIairs

Administrator, Rule Maker, and 1udge

ureaucracies have no separation among their legislative, executive, and judicial powers.
As administrators, bureaucrats carry out the law.
As rule makers, bureaucrats use their own judgment, or bureaucratic discretion, to
interpret and carry out laws.
As fudges, bureaucrats interpret laws and decide penalties Ior violations.
Who Are the ederal Bureaucrats?
More than halI oI government employees are white.
The vast majority oI the highest paid government employees are white men.
Women and many minority groups, however, do hold positions throughout the Iederal
government bureaucracy.
Section 3 - Politics and the Bureaucracy
our Main Elements of Bureaucratic Culture
Policy commitment: ureaucrats share a commitment to their policy area.
Bureaucratic -ehavior: ureaucrats adopt the rules, language, expectations, and
structure oI their agencies.
Specialization and expertise: ureaucrats become experts in their particular Iield.
Identification with the agency: ureaucrats identiIy with and believe in their agencies.
Which oI the Iollowing characteristics is NOT one oI the Iour main elements oI bureaucratic
culture?
Consequences of Bureaucratic Culture
Positive consequences: Most Iederal employees believe in their work and value
commitment and loyalty.
egative consequences:
DiIIerences in interagency cultures can lead to miscommunication. Example. The F and
the CA Iailed to share inIormation about potential terrorism beIore September 2001.
mployees are not supposed to go over their superior`s heads even when they know that their
superior`s decisions are wrong.
Whistle-lowers
Whistle-lowers are employees who expose errors, corruption, or waste in their agencies.
Whistleblowers are not popular with their bosses and risk being the victims oI retaliation.
The Whistleblower Act oI 1989 established an independent agency to protect
whistleblowers.
Example of a whistleblower. Coleen Rowley said F oIIicials kept local agents Irom
Iully investigating Zacarias Moussaoui`s possible connections to the 9/11 hijackings.
Interagency Politics
ureaucratic agencies are under constant review by the public, Congress, and the
president.
Agencies can be eliminated iI their services seem unnecessary or are too expensive.
Agencies use two tactics to survive:
Constituency -uilding: uild support among Congress, the public, and special interest
groupswhile staying independent Irom the regulated groups
Guarding the turf: Divide up the policy areas so that each agency can oIIer a diIIerent set oI
services
The President`s Tools for Dealing with the Bureaucracy
Appointment power: The president appoints the heads oI major departments and
agencies. Example. !resident George W. ush appointed Condoleezza
Rice to be secretary oI state.
The Senate must approve these appointments.
To increase the chances oI Senate approval, presidents choose experienced policy makers,
who may be only partially loyal to the president because oI their sympathies with the agencies
they will supervise.
The President`s Tools for Dealing with the Bureaucracy
The -udget proposal: The president can propose to raise or lower an agency`s budget.
Congress can modiIy the president`s requests.
Agencies seek budget protection by gaining support Irom members oI Congress and interest
groups.
The presidential veto: The president can veto, or stop, spending bills.
The president can veto only an entire bill.
Congress bundles spending bills together, making it harder Ior the president to veto particular
items.
Government reorganization: The president can try to reorganize government agencies.
Congress must approve such eIIorts.
!residents sometimes Iind it easier to start a new agency. Example. !resident George W.
ush created the Department oI Homeland Security aIter September 11, 2001.
Powers of persuasion: !residents can use their prestige and power to exert pressure Ior
bureaucratic change.
Which oI the Iollowing presidential tools requires approval by one or both houses oI Congress?
The Bureaucracy, Congress, and the Iron Triangle
An iron triangle is the strong relationship among three groups:
Congressional committees and subcommittees
nterest groups
ureaucratic agencies
These three groups tend to Iorm policy that beneIits their shared interests rather than
those oI the public.
As a result, committees and subcommittees
inIluence the bureaucracy more than does Congress as a whole.
The ureaucracy and the Courts
The courts cannot overturn most bureaucratic decisions.
Congress usually agrees with and thereIore protects bureaucratic decisions.
However, some agencies can be sued Ior not Iollowing the law.
&nless agencies are clearly violating laws, courts generally support them.