Linkage Institutions of
Institutions of Government
The Bureaucracy, PACS, Mass Media
Bureaucracy Vocabulary
 Bureaucracies
-Iron triangle network
 Cabinet-level department
-Pendleton Act
 Civil service reform
-REGO
 Division of labor
-Red tape
 Government corporation
-Regulatory policy
 Hatch Act
-Spoils system
 Independent executive agency
Intro
Modern bureaucracies play an important
linkage role in government.
Primarily responsible for implementing
policy of the branches of government
Some bureaucracies make policy as a
result of regulations they issue.
Intro
 Focus on four types of governmental bureaucratic
agencies: cabinet, regulatory agencies, government
corporations, independent executive agencies.
 Constitutional Review of Bureaucracies:
-Constitutional basis found in Article II of the
Constitution in the reference to the creation of
executive departments.
-Bureaucracies developed as a result of custom,
tradition, and precedent.
Functions of Bureaucracies
Defined as large administrative agencies.
Reflect a hierarchical authority, there is
job specialization, and there are rules and
regulations that drive them.
Six primary functions of a bureaucracy.
Six Functions
Have a recognizable division of labor where
skilled workers each have a specialized function
so that productivity is increased.
There is an allocations of function where each
task is assigned and defined
There is an allocation of responsibility where
each task is understood by the worker and
cannot be changed without approval of the
supervisor.
Six Functions
There is direct and indirect supervision including
line authority and staff authority.
There is control of the full-time employment of
the worker so that workers can be held on task.
Workers make their careers synonymous with
the organization because the bureaucracy
provides for benefits, and workers perceive that
their future success depends on the
organization.
Functions continued
Approx. 2 million government workers make
up today’s federal bureaucracy.
Workers in federal bureaucracies have
different ways of being held accountable.
Must respond to: Constitution, federal laws,
the dictates of the 3 branches of
government, their superiors, the “public
interest,” and interest groups.
Executive Level Departments
 The cabinet: 15 cabinet departments headed by a
secretary.
 Regulatory agencies: examples are ICC, FTC, FDA,
SEC, FCC, EPA, OSHA, FEC
 Government corporations: such as TVA and
Resolution Trust Corporation.
 Independent executive agencies: such as the
General Services Administration, which handles
government purchasing, NASA
Organization
Exist in virtually every part of our lives
From religious organizations, to schools,
they each have a distinctive way they
operate based on theories of
bureaucratic organization.
Father of bureaucratic theory is German
sociologist Max Weber.
Relations with Other
Branches
Bureaucracies linked to the president by
appointment and direction
Linked to Congress through oversight
Agency operations highly publicized
through the media when they have an
impact on the public
Interest groups and public opinion try to
influence
Relations cont.
 President influences bureaucracies through appointment
process
 EPA and Resolution Trust Corporation have come under
executive scrutiny in 1980’s and 90’s.
 Presidents also issue executive orders that agencies must
abide by.
 EX: President Clinton issued executive order to start importing
abortion bill RU486, FDA had to set up guidelines for testing.
 EX: President Reagan attempted to abolish the Departments
of Energy and Education but failed to get Congress
approval.
Congressional oversight
Through process of congressional oversight,
agency heads are called before
congressional committees to testify about
issues related to the workings of the agency.
Congressional oversight refers to “the review,
monitoring, and supervision of federal
agencies, programs, activates, and policy
implementation.”
Oversight
Improves the efficiency, economy, and
effectiveness of governmental operations
Evaluates programs and performance
Detects and prevents poor administration,
waste, abuse, illegal and unconstitutional
conduct
Protects civil liberties and constitutional
rights
Oversight
Oversight is a way for Congress to check on,
and check, the executive branch of
government.
Best example of the interrelationship among
bureaucracies, the government, interest groups,
and the public is the iron triangle concept.
Iron triangle=pattern of relationships between
an agency in the executive branch, Congress,
and one or more outside clients of that agency.
Oversight Example
Example of relationship was the oftencriticized military-industrial complex.
During height of the Vietnam War, this
relationship between defense-related
government agencies and private industry
that profited from the war became the
antiwar rallying cry of governmental misuse
of funds.
Oversight Example
If EPA has too close relationship with
the industry heads of factories that
they are regulating, the potential for
abuse exists.
Public Policy
Major impact of the federal bureaucracy
has been in the area of public policy-its
implementation and regulation.
Supreme Court decision of Munn v. Illinois
in 1877 is landmark regulatory case.
Munn v. Illinois
 Dispute over whether Illinois had the power to regulate the
railroad haulage rates of grain.
 Illinois passed Grange laws forcing railroad to abide by state
rates.
 Court determined that because it was in the public interest,
the state had the right to regulate this private industry.
 This ruling influenced the passage of the Interstate
Commerce Act and establishment of Interstate Commerce
Commission.
 Agency came under fire by Congress in 1994, railroad and
trucking industry were critical of Congress’ budget cutbacks
of the first agency to be created.
Regulatory Agencies
 Regulatory agencies are examples of linkage
institutions.
 They were motivated by presidential direction, acts
of Congress, and court decisions.
 The public, interest groups, and the media have
reacted to the regulatory and policymaking
process.
 Fear of overregulated society is still debated.
Reform
 Efforts to reform the federal government have been
attempted many times in our nation’s history.
 Grace Commission in 1982, reacted to the cry of “less
government.”
 1993 Clinton and Gore unveiled plan to “reinvent
government” name “REGO.” Said it would make the
federal government work better and result in cutting
the deficit.
REGO
Plan called for reducing the federal work force
by 12%, updating information systems,
eliminating wasteful programs and procedures,
and cutting red tape.
Report evaluated the structure of of the federal
bureaucracy calling it “top down fostering of
loyalty only to bloated chains of command and
adherence to procedure.”
REGO
 Called for implementation of performance standards that cleared
Congress and required federal agencies to use them to measure and
account for progress on specific programs.
 Each agency that spent more than $20 million annually had to submit
to the Office of Management and Budget a five-year plan setting out
its goals.
 Other parts of proposal: Reduce number of Agricultural Department
field offices, eliminating agriculture subsidies for certain products,
streamlining Army Corps of Engineers, opening government printing
jobs to commercial bids, improving ability of the Social Security Admin
to investigate the wrongful issuance of checks to those no longer
disabled.
REGO
Program was wide-ranging and affected
virtually every federal department and agency.
Republican critics of plan called potential
savings exaggerated, but agreed to work with
Democratic majority to streamline government.
After first year, Gore gave it a B+
Essay Extra Credit (10 points)
on quiz or test of your choice
 The attempt to downsize the federal bureaucracy
has ben met with both criticism and support from
people inside and outside the government.
(a)Give one argument in favor of maintaining the size
of government
(b)Give one argument in favor of reducing the size of
government
(c)Explain how the attempt to downsize the
government supports your answers in a and b.