Bureaucracy
What is a Bureaucracy?
Homework
Read Chapter 15 section 1, pp.
414-418
Questions to Think About
• What is a bureaucracy?
• What are the major elements of the
federal bureaucracy?
• How are groups within the federal
bureaucracy named?
• What is the difference between a staff
agency and a line agency?
Elements
Major Elements of the Federal Bureaucracy:
a. The federal bureaucracy is all of the agencies, people, and
procedures through which the Federal government operates. It is
the means by which the government makes and administers
public policy.
b. The Framer’s intended for administrative agencies to be created.
Without an administration – the government’s many
administrators and agencies – even the best policies would
amount to just so many words.
Three features of
Bureaucracies
• Hierarchical authority. Bureaucracies are based on a
pyramid structure with a chain of command running
from top to bottom.
• Job specialization. Each bureaucrat, or person who works
for the organization, has certain defined duties and
responsibilities.
• Formalized rules. The bureaucracy does its work
according to a set of established regulations and
procedures.
Red Tape
• The term “red tape” comes from red ribbon used by British
bureaucrats to hold their paperwork together.
Bureaucracy
What is a Bureaucracy?
Structure of a Bureaucracy
• Hierarchical authority
• Job Specialization
• Formalized Rules
Three features of
Bureaucracies
• Hierarchical authority. Bureaucracies are based on a
pyramid structure with a chain of command running
from top to bottom.
• Job specialization. Each bureaucrat, or person who
works for the organization, has certain defined duties
and responsibilities.
• Formalized rules. The bureaucracy does its work
according to a set of established regulations and
procedures.
Hierarchy example
• A hierarchy simply lets you know who works for whom: who is the
boss, and where you fit on the chain of command. This hierarchy
is a simplified diagram of how a business chain of command works.
Job Specialization
• Simply means that every job is classified with specific knowledge
skills and abilities and filled by someone who knows how to do
that job.
Formalized Rules
Informal Rule example: holding the door for other people. In
addition to men holding the door for women, it is expected that all
people hold the door when the time is appropriate, including for an
elderly person or someone who is carrying groceries or shopping bags.
Formal Rule Examples: Major League
Baseball Rules; Major League Football Rules.
• Rules have to be made clearly and concisely in order to make sense.
Structures exist to ensure that rules are respected, enforced and
understood.
What might be some benefits
of a bureaucracy?
Benefits
• 1. Faster because people know their
one specific job
• 2. Power lines are clear (easy for
decision making)
• 3. Rules make it easier to replace a
worker when one leaves
The Federal Bureaucracy
• The President is the chief administrator of the
Federal Government.
• In order to enact and enforce policy, Congress
and the President have created an
administration—the government’s many
administrators and agencies.
• The chief organizational feature of the
federal bureaucracy is its division into
areas of specialization
Yesterday, I asked “Where does
the Power to set up agencies and
departments come from?”
Presidential (Executive) Power
comes from:
• Article 2 of the Constitution:
• Clause 1:
• The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of
the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when
called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require
the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of
the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to
the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have
Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the
United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
What is clear about this
statement?
What is unclear?
The Executive Office of the
President
The Executive Office of the President
a. Every officer, employee, and agency in the executive
branch of the Federal Government is legally
subordinate to the President. They all exist to help
the President in the exercise of the executive power.
The Executive Office of the President (several
agencies staffed by the President’s Advisors) is the
President’s right arm.
Ideally:
Free of political accountability (non-partisan)
– Still affected by Congressional budget and
oversight
• Ideal scenario: members apply specific rules of
action to each case in a rational, nondiscretionary,
predictable, and impersonal way
Growth
Growth of the Federal Bureaucracy
• 1789 – 50 federal government employees
• 2000 – 2.8 million (excluding military,
subcontractors, and consultants who also work for
federal government)
• Growth mainly at state and local level since 1970
– Federal government began devolving powers and
services to state and local government
• Total federal, state, local employees – roughly 21
million people
Three features of
Bureaucracies
• Hierarchical authority. Bureaucracies are based on a
pyramid structure with a chain of command running
from top to bottom.
• Job specialization. Each bureaucrat, or person who works
for the organization, has certain defined duties and
responsibilities.
• Formalized rules. The bureaucracy does its work
according to a set of established regulations and
procedures.
Let’s use the handout!
US Embassy Paris
The Legislative Branch has
fewest
• The Executive Branch has the most.
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
http://www.usa.gov/directory
/federal/index.shtml
The Federal Bureaucracy
The Name Game
• Department
• Administration or Agency
• Commission
• Corporation or Authority
The Federal Bureaucracy
The Name Game
• Department
• The term "department" is reserved for
agencies of cabinet rank
• Examples: Department of State, Department
of the Interior
The Federal Bureaucracy
The Name Game
• Administration or Agency
• The terms "administration" or "agency" are
used to refer to any governmental body or,
more particularly, to a major unit headed by a
single administrator of near-cabinet rank
• The terms agency and administration are used
interchangeably
• Examples: NASA; NARA
The Federal Bureaucracy
The Name Game
• Commission
• The term "commission" is reserved for agencies
charged with the regulation of business activities
• Commissions are headed by varying numbers of
top-ranking officers, or commissioners
• Example: Interstate Commerce Commission
The Federal Bureaucracy
The Name Game
• Corporation or Authority
• The terms "corporation" and
"authority" are used for agencies that
have a board and a manager and that
is designed to conduct business-like
activities
• Example: National Railroad Passenger
Corporation (AMTRAK)
The Federal Bureaucracy
The Name Game
• While the above terms have precise
definitions, they are not used
consistently!
• There is little uniformity in the use of
terms describing units within the
executive branch and the lines are now
blurred
Types of Agencies
STAFF
• Staff Agencies
• Staff agencies serve in a
support capacity.
• They aid the chief
executive and other
administrators by
offering advice and other
assistance in the
management of the
organization.
LINE
• Line agencies perform
tasks for which the
organization exists.
• Congress and the
President give the line
agencies goals to
accomplish, and staff
agencies help the line
agencies accomplish
them.
The Federal Bureaucracy
Major Elements of the Federal Bureaucracy
• The administration consists of the officials and
agencies of the executive branch that carry out
public policies
• These administrators impact public policy in the
following ways:
 Through delaying the implementation of policy dictated
either by the legislative or executive branches
 By writing rules and regulations;
 By enforcing such rules, regulations and laws
 Adjudicating conflicting interests
Questions to Think About
• What is a bureaucracy?
• What are the major elements of the
federal bureaucracy?
• How are groups within the federal
bureaucracy named?
• What is the difference between a staff
agency and a line agency?
Vocabulary
• 1. Bureaucracy: a large complex structure that handles
the everyday business of an administration
• 2. Administration: the government’s many offices and
administrators
• 3. Bureaucrat: a person who works in a bureaucracy
• 4. Staff Agency: they aid the President by giving advice
and help
• 5. Line Agency: actually perform the task for the
organization
• http://www.usa.gov/directory/federal/index.shtml
Review
• 1. All of the following are characteristics of bureaucracies
EXCEPT
• (a) hierarchical authority.
• (b) formalized rules.
• (c) lack of formal organization.
• (d) job specialization.
•
•
•
•
•
2. Staff agencies are created to
(a) act as congressional watchdogs on executive agencies.
(b) aid other agencies in completing their goals.
(c) serve as a check on the Supreme Court.
(d) fulfill a specific task or function.