Institutions of American Government
Module 4.3: The Bureaucracy
Section 3: Normative Models of Bureaucratic Behavior, Part 2
“There are two kinds of failures: those who thought and never did, and those who
did and never thought.” (Laurence J. Peter)
The Monopolist Bureaucracy
Basic Feature
High degrees of complexity and inflexibility
Division of Labor
According to minute differences among tasks. Unclear to
anyone outside the organization
Chain of Command
Hierarchic, but not clearly defined. Accountability structure
may rely on multiple hierarchies
Terms of Placement
Ability to navigate “The System” by meeting multiple highly
detailed requirements
Method of Advancement
Mastery of “The System”; the Laurence J. Peter Principle
Agency Culture
Inherently inefficient due in part to complex accountability
structure & absence of competition. Agents often callous,
officious, & defensive. However, agents genuinely believe they
are efficient, that no better procedures exist but those already
in place
Modus Operandi
Rigid, complex Standard Operating Procedures. Failure to
follow SOP results in failure of the agency to act. Regulation,
compliance enforcement, adjudication of disputes all fall within
the same agency
Goals
Resist change; remain indispensable and undisputed
Monopolist Bureaucracy Critique
Advantages
Disadvantages
Systematic Approach: Decisions,
policies & procedures follow a
predefined pattern
Stability: procedures tend not to
change over time.
Predictability: Standard Operating
Procedures allow for consistent
measured responses to policy issues
Complexity: allows for standard
procedures to address a multiplicity of
circumstances
Agency Power & Accountability:
Agency is the sole provider of a
product, service, or set of regulations
Inefficiency: Absence of competition
yields absence of incentive to improve
Standard Operating Procedures
Impersonality: Agents part of an
administrative machine, regarded as
‘agency resources’ to manage
complex procedures
The Peter Principle: Agents rise to
the level of their own incompetence
Inflexibility & Organizational Inertia:
Lack of administrative discretion;
procedures so rigid that system fails to
produce results unless every step in
the process is strictly followed
The Garbage Can Bureaucracy
Basic Feature
Bumbling, rudderless organization
Division of Labor
Unclear to both outsiders and insiders; often according to
perceived ad hoc necessity
Chain of Command
Not clearly defined. Accountability structure characterized by
vacant positions, The Power Vacuum
Terms of Placement
Varied; often according to perceived ad hoc necessity.
Method of Advancement
Varied; often according to perceived ad hoc necessity,
experience, seniority, patronage, loyalty, chance
Agency Culture
Hopelessly inefficient, but often first to respond to policy
agenda. Often dominated by undifferentiated paranoia among
agents, inconsistent policy implementation, defensive
posturing, assignment of blame
Modus Operandi
Standard Operating Procedures often conflict with each other,
leaving Rogue Operators to accomplish tasks as first
responders by violating those procedures
Goals
Avoid blame
Garbage Can Critique
Advantages
Rapid Response: Agents act as
Rogue Operators & address policy
problems as they arise
Flexibility: agents able to exercise
maximum discretion in addressing
policy isssues
Disadvantages
Inconsistency: since all issues addressed
ad hoc, resolutions differ with individual
cases, even if the cases are nearly identical
Mission Clash: agents in the same
organization pursue objectives that directly
conflict with each other
Procedural Gridlock: Standard Operating
Procedures interfere with the organizational
mission; If SOP is followed precisely, no
task can be completed
Paranoia: agents highly defensive,
suspicious of scrutiny, avoid accountability,
work only hard enough to ‘not get fired’
The ‘Blame Game’: agents justify their
inability to act by assigning blame to others
either inside or outside the agency