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The United States Bureaucracy
- Stereotypically slow and tedious/inefficient
- Compare to industrialized (like not Latin America) democracies
Government is a service industry
- US Gov has roughly 3 million employees
Bureaucracy: a large organization structured hierarchically to carry out
specific functions
- The ideal -- Efficient administration
Differences between public and private bureaucracies
- Public = government (GA, US, GT), private = company
- Leadership in private companies is "earned"
- Leadership in gov't is appointed, so
- Incentive for performance
- Private sector ties compensation directly to performance
(e.g. commission)
- No incentives tied to easy measures of performance
At least, this is true in the US.
Three Models of Bureaucracy
Weberian Model (private sector)
- Hierarchical with formal rules and regulations, top-down,
technical and rational/neutral
Acquisitive Model (Gov)
- Protect one's own "turf" rather than org-wide motives
- Individual self-serving motivations
Monopolistic Model (Gov)
- Model of inefficiency
- Only place you can get the service, so why compete
- Ex: DDS, Defense Dept
Gov's bureaucracy is generally inefficient because of its structure
15 major executive service organizations
- 60% of all civilian workers
Independent Executive Agencies
- CIA, NASA don't report to cabinet member
Government Corporations
- Organized like private firm (USPS)
- Still not Weberian because they deliver things others won't
Independent Regulatory Agencies
- Implement and make rules to protect the public
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Federal Communications Commission
- Develop an acquisitory model to gain budget, responsibility, etc
- Acquisition can create overregulation
- What one item has 41K regulations? (most serve a purpose)
Not pharmaceuticals (few regulations because of the lobby)
Not cars (lots of power in the economy -> not too many regs)
- Cheeseburger
- Adds 8 to 11 cents on the price
- Some might be a little extreme
- The pickle slice *must* be between 1/4" and 3/8" thick
Chocolate can have up to one rodent hair or 60 insect pieces per 100g
Frozen brocolli can have up to 60 pests per 100g
Fewer than 5 fly eggs or 1 maggot per 250ml of canned orange juice
Staffing the bureaucracy
Two categories
- Political appointees
- Presidential nominations
- Senate approves them
- Party politics is important to getting appointed
- "Political plums": unimportant ambassadors
- Civil Servants
- Position established by Pendleton Act
- Requires meritocratic selection
- President used to be able to fire all old civil servants to
reward their political party ("to the victor goes the spoils")
- Hatch Act prevents federal bureaucrats from campaigning
Modern Attempts at Bureaucratic Reform
- Sunshine Laws
- "Shed light" on gov't
- Full disclosure of gov't agencies
- Sunset Laws
- Requires congressional reviews of effectiveness of agency programs
- If ineffective, may move or get shut down
- Privatization
- Theory: competitive contracts mean you get the cheapest provider
of good/service
- If company fails, it just gets more money to finish it
- Performance and Results Act
- Sort of establishes the bare minimums an agency/program must meet
- Internet
- Has consolidated a LOT of information, bulletins, interviews
- Free, always-available, easier
- Ex: IRS relations have gotten much better/easier
- Whistleblower Protection Act
- Report waste and fraud anonymously
- In recent impeachment proceedings, violated by outing them
How does the US compare (to its industrialized democratic peers)?
- France -- *Grand Corps*, National School of Administration (ENA)
- Common training, common language, same goals
- WAY more effective
- Very elitist...mostly upper class, 40% have a family background
- Mostly from Greater Paris Area suburbs
- "These princes who govern us," semi-sovereign
- Inflexible, poorly represents France as a whole
- Germany
- Combines moral sense and legalism
- Derived from a regimental military state
- Mostly lawyers
- Generally consistent and useful bureaucracy
- But homogenous mindset, and prefers legalism to moralism
- Like France, loyal to the state
- Japan
- Very attractive, very competitive (esp for youth)
- Graduation with honsors is a must, and Tokyo U helps.
- Regimented schedule and criteria for promotion
- Abnormally high level of political influence
- 90% of all legislation passed comes from them
- Only actually a few hundred jobs each year
- Good "professional" bureaucracy, but it might not reflect
political culture
But these bureaucracies still have similar problems to the US. Why?
- None can perfectly fit the Weberian model
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