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