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Introduction

Topics to be covered include:

· Definition of Bureaucracy

· Relationship between Bureaucracy and Government

· Federal Bureaucratic Structure

· State and Local Bureaucratic Structure

In the United States, the day-to-day business of governments at all levels—federal, state, and local—is managed by bureaucratic organizations. Bureaucracy is a vital part of the government and without it, the government could not function and provide services to citizens. This lesson will provide an overview of bureaucracy, including a discussion of how bureaucracy obtains its authority.

Definition of Bureaucracy

Regardless of how they are structured, most organizations, whether they are part of the public or private sector, are bureaucracies, which can be described as “an ideal form of organization” (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn 2005, p.399). German sociologist Max Weber originally defined a bureaucratic organization, arguing that bureaucracies usually have the following six characteristics:

· The work is based on a division of labor

· The work is controlled through hierarchy and authority

· Written documentation formalizes the work

· Staff are trained and specialized in their work

· Promotions are meted out based on merit and opportunities

· The work is guided by rules and administration

Bureaucracies tend to be structured as either a mechanistic type or organic type.  Mechanistic type bureaucracies  emphasize “vertical specialization and control with impersonal coordination and a heavy reliance on standardization, formalization, rules, policies and procedures” (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn 2005, p.400). By contrast,  organic type bureaucracies  emphasize “horizontal specialization, extensive use of personal coordination, and loose rules, policies, and procedures” (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn 2005, p.400).

Although the term “bureaucracy” can be applied to almost any type of organization, it is generally used to describe government organizations and agencies. For the purpose of this course, the  bureaucracy  will be defined as the administrative function of government staffed by unelected officials and employees who are specialized and operate under a hierarchy of authority, using formalized policies and procedures to achieve governmental goals and objectives.

Relationship between Bureaucracy and Government

As explained in Lesson 1, bureaucracy is necessary to operate the day-to-day activities of government because politicians and other elected officials do not have the expertise and resources needed to do this. As such, they rely on bureaucracies staffed by public administrators to provide government services to citizens.

Whether bureaucracies and public administrators function well in this capacity is debatable. According to Goodsell (2003), some of the arguments opposing bureaucracy can be summarized as follows:

Bureaucracies perform poorly

Government bureaucracies sometimes have a reputation for being inefficient and ineffective. Some reasons for this include the following perceptions.

Bureaucracies place more emphasis on following policies and procedures than on achieving results. This characteristic also makes bureaucracies incapable of being innovative:

· Because of their rigid hierarchy and strict authority structure, bureaucracies have communication issues, internally as well as among different government organizations and agencies.

· This can occur because of how official communication is handled. Formal communication generally flows through an organization’s official chain of command that has been established by the organization’s hierarchy of authority. Formal channels of communication are regarded as authoritative, and they are used to communicate messages such as the organization’s official policies and procedures.

· Bureaucracies have too much power

· As noted previously in this course, bureaucracies exist to assist politicians and other elected officials. As such, they often derive tremendous power from legislative bodies. In addition, given their authority, once a government agency is established, it can be challenging to discontinue that agency.

· Bureaucracies oppress individuals

· As they abide by the rules outlined in bureaucratic policies and procedures, public administrators may treat individual citizens in an impersonal manner and may fail to address issues specific to individual situations.

One common theme among scholars who oppose bureaucracy is that bureaucratic institutions in democracies are problematic because they do not represent the people. Bureaucracies tend to be staffed with public administrators who are better educated, on average, than the citizens they serve, and they also tend to be overwhelmingly middle class. This can make them insensitive to the problems of citizens who are poor and lower class (Goodsell, 2003).

Critics of bureaucracy also argue that public administrators can be perceived as victims of bureaucracy because as employees in bureaucracies, they often are in dead-end jobs that do not offer promotional opportunities nor allow them to be creative and proactive. Rather they are expected to conduct their work with strict obedience to policies and procedures intended to react to societal problems as they occur. This can cause bureaucrats to have a negative attitude that adversely affects their ability to treat citizens respectfully and provide good customer service (Goodsell, 2003).

These arguments provide an overview of the traditional perspective of bureaucracy. In recent years, with government’s emphasis on customer service and implementation of the New Public Management, some of these perceptions have changed. This will be discussed in more detail later in this course.

Federal Bureaucratic Structure

The government’s bureaucracy is an enormous operation. At the federal level, most of the bureaucracy operates under the executive branch. For a listing of the departments and agencies included in the federal government, students should visit the federal government’s website at  https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/a . Below are definitions of the different types of organizations that are included in the federal bureaucracy (Meier & Bohte 2007, pp.17-28).

Departments are large organizations that handle policy issues and related activities in a broad subject area. The federal government includes 15 executive, Cabinet levels, departments, such as the Departments of Treasury, Defense, Agriculture, Justice, Labor, and Energy. Each department is led by a secretary who reports directly to the president.

Agency

An  agency is an organization within a department that is assigned responsibility for specific policy issues and related activities handled by the department. For example, the Air Force and the Coast Guard are agencies within the Department of Defense.

A  bureau is an office within a department or agency that is assigned responsibility for specific policy issues and related activities handled by the department or agency. For example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is an organization within the Department of Justice assigned to investigate problems such as terrorism, cybercrimes, civil rights violations, and public corruption.

The distinction between an agency and a bureau is negligible, and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

Independent Agency refers to agencies that are not part of the federal government’s Cabinet-level departments, such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Some of these agencies report to the President, while others report to Congress. The reasons for establishing independent agencies include the following (Meier & Bohte 2007, pp.23-24):

· Provide an organization with independence to seek innovative ways to address policy issues.

· Avoid political pressures of being connected to other agencies.

· Avoid presidential control.

· Deal with issues that are not covered by one of the fifteen Cabinet-level departments.

Government Corporations are businesses established by the federal government and set up as corporations to manage specific government work. The Federal Reserve System is an example of a government corporation, which is usually established to enable an organization to perform government work without political pressure. Generally, government corporations are under the oversight of boards or commissions that are staffed with bipartisan members who serve lengthy terms of office.

An  Advisory Committee is a group of individuals with specialized knowledge and expertise who provide advice regarding specific issues handled by the federal government. Some of these committees are convened for a specific period of time, usually two years, to complete specific tasks. When their work is done, they are disbanded. Other committees exist for longer periods, provided their continued existence can be justified in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which was passed in 1972 to regulate how advisory committees behave and their tenure.

Commission refers to a group of individuals with specialized knowledge and expertise who perform specific duties for the federal government. For example, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the federal government established the 9/11 Commission, a bipartisan group tasked with studying the events that led to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and recommending changes to avoid future terrorist attacks. The commission closed in 2004 after issuing a public report with its findings.

Political bureaus are agencies that assist the President and Congress in making policy and achieving their political agendas. For example, the Office of Management and Budget is a political bureau that develops the federal budget and analyzes legislation from Congress to determine if it promotes the President’s agenda. In another example, the Library of Congress is a political bureau that gathers information and provides reports to Congress regarding current policy issues.

The federal bureaucracy is large with dozens of organizations that employ hundreds of thousands of public administrators. The federal bureaucracy is supplemented by government organizations at the state and local levels.

State and Local Bureaucratic Structure

· Branches of state governments

Like the federal government, each of the United States’ 50 state governments has three branches—executive, legislative, and judicial. In every state, the executive branch is led by a Governor elected directly by the state’s citizens. State executive branches include other leadership positions such as the Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General. In most states, these leaders also are elected directly by the state’s citizens. They, along with the Governor, oversee a state’s daily operations.

Government organization

States have the authority to organize their governments in any manner that is regarded as appropriate to meet the particular state’s needs. The structure of the states’ executive branches varies, with no two states’ executive branches organized identically. The governments of all 50 states include a legislature comprised of representatives elected directly by the states’ citizens. Most states have two chambers—a senate, which is the upper chamber, and a second, lower chamber called the house or assembly. Nebraska is an exception, having only one chamber.

Departments

Like the federal bureaucracy, each state has departments that handle state business. For example, most states have a department of transportation that oversees transportation issues within each state. This may include activities such as maintaining the state’s roads and highways, providing assistance to stranded motorists, and assisting travelers with maps and other transportation information needed to travel within a state. Other departments found in most state governments include departments of correction to handle housing, probation, and parole of a state’s criminals; departments of education to handle a state’s education issues, such as teacher certifications; and departments of revenue to handle a state’s tax collections.

Department divisions

Like departments in the federal bureaucracy, departments at the state level often are subdivided into smaller components called agencies, bureaus, commissions, offices, and so forth. At the state level, another common name for an organization within a department is  division . For example, the Missouri Department of Education is subdivided into components including the Division of Learning Services, Division of Financial and Administrative Services, and the Office of Special Education. In another example, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks have five divisions, including the Parks and Tourism Division, and it receives oversight from a seven-member bipartisan commission.

Interactions with federal government

State departments often interact with their counterparts at the federal level. For example, all states receive funds from the federal government to help maintain each state’s transportation system, including interstate highways. These funds are typically provided to states through federal grants, and public administrators in state governments must work with public administrators in the federal government to ensure these funds are administered appropriately. State governments work with the federal government on other issues, such as federal legislation that will impact state operations.

Interactions with local governments

State governments also interact with the local governments within their state. Every state has counties, although in Louisiana, they are called parishes, and in Alaska, they are called boroughs. The United States has over 3,000 county governments, and no two of them are exactly the same. Usually, they are governed by a board of elected officials known as the commission or council, and they derive authority from their state governments.

County governments

The functions of counties vary from state to state. But generally, county governments are responsible for functions such as record keeping (births, deaths, land transfers, etc.), the administration of elections (including voter registration), construction and maintenance of local and rural roads, zoning, building code enforcement, and the administration of justice for crimes committed within the county.

Municipalities

Within each county in the United States are municipalities, which are incorporated cities, towns, or villages that have their own governing and taxing authority. Some municipalities, such as San Francisco, take up an entire county. Some, like Chicago, are the principal cities in their respective counties, and others, like New York City, spanning several counties.

Across the United States, municipalities are guided by a charter and organized in one of five ways (O’Connor, Sabato, & Yanus, 2011):

COUNCIL-MANAGER

A  Council-Manager  has a council, elected by citizens, that makes policy, sets the budget, and oversees the municipality’s general administration. The council appoints a professional city manager to oversee and carry out day-to-day operations. The Mayor may be selected from among the members of the Council.

MAYOR-COUNCIL

Mayor-Council  refers to when the Mayor is elected separately from the council and is the head of the government. The council is also elected and has legislative authority. Some municipalities using this form of government also appoint a professional manager to handle day-to-day operations.

COMMISSION

Commission  refers to the Commissioners, who are elected by the citizens. Each Commissioner is responsible for a particular area of the municipality’s government, such as public safety, finance, or public works. One Commissioner is named the Chairman or Mayor and officiates over meetings.

TOWN MEETING

Town meeting  refers to when all voters meet to determine the municipality’s policies. They elect officials who are charged with implementing those policies. Used in only a small percentage of U.S. municipalities.

REPRESENTATIVE TOWN MEETING

A  Representative Town Meeting  is where voters elect a large group of citizens to act on their behalf at town meetings and vote on policies. Certain individuals are selected to implement those policies. Used in only a small percentage of U.S. municipalities.

Within the American federal system, municipalities and counties are very different from states. States are sovereign and, as such, have a great degree of power and authority. The U.S. Constitution says nothing about local governments. Rather, it assumes municipalities and counties to be the province of their respective states. Most local governments are created by an act of a state legislature or an amendment to a state’s constitution. Thus, local governments may have some independence, but only as much as their states are willing to give them.

Generally, states allow municipalities to have discretionary authority in the following four areas (O’Connor, Sabato, & Yanus, 2011):

STRUCTURAL

Municipalities are allowed to decide their form of government and charter.

FUNCTIONAL

Municipalities can practice self-government in a limited fashion, providing local government services such as public safety.

PERSONNEL

Municipalities can determine employment policies, establish pay scales, and participate in collective bargaining for the public administrators who work in their government organizations.

FISCAL

Municipalities can decide revenue sources, establish tax rates, and borrow monies to fund local government operations. They also can establish their own budgets and pass appropriations to authorize their departments and other municipal government organizations to operate.

Generally, local governments rely on departments, agencies, offices, and other bureaucratic organizations established by local governments to provide functions such as police and fire services, emergency medical services, municipal courts, parks and recreation services, wastewater treatment, zoning and building code enforcement, animal control, public transportation, trash removal, and public works such as street maintenance and snow removal. The larger local governments tend to provide public housing, operate public hospitals, and administer social welfare programs funded by the city, the state, and/or the federal government. Many also own or regulate public utilities such as water, electric power, natural gas, and telecommunications.

Together, the governments operating at the federal, state, and local levels provide the myriad of government services intended to offer support to all citizens in the United States. The way governmental power is distributed and shared among the three levels of government to achieve government’s goals and objectives is known as  federalism .

Bureaucratic Authority

The authority for government operations by organizations in all three levels of government generally comes from budget appropriations. In government, a  budget  is a plan that outlines a government organization’s goals and objectives, the resources needed to achieve those goals and objectives, and the source(s) of funding to provide those resources. An in-depth discussion of public budgeting is beyond the scope of this lesson, but students should understand that budgeting, even for local governments, is a complex process that requires a great deal of effort from both public administrators and politicians. Preparing a government budget is generally a lengthy process that involves a great deal of politics as various entities compete for scarce resources to provide a myriad of government services.

The exact process used to prepare a government budget varies from one government to another. But generally, state and local governments follow a process that has similarities to the process used by the federal government. That process can be summarized as follows:

· The Office of Management and Budget works with the President to prepare a budget request, which is submitted to Congress.

· Both the House of Representatives and the Senate review the President’s budget and pass budget resolutions, which establish the budget amounts for each part of the budget and categorize the amounts into functional categories of spending.

· The Appropriations Committees in both the House and the Senate use the resolutions as the basis for appropriations bills, which authorize the amounts of money that each part of the government has the approval to spend.

· The House and the Senate vote on the appropriations bills and reconcile differences.

· The President signs each appropriations bill, which becomes law and establishes the budgets for each organization within the federal government.

For each level of government, a government organization cannot spend money unless it has been authorized by an appropriation. When politicians, such as the President, wish to limit a particular government organization’s power and curtail its services, they may accomplish this by cutting its budget and the spending authority specified in its appropriations. For any government organization, its budget and appropriations are critical tools in its operations.

Conclusion

In the United States, the system of bureaucracy that provides government services to citizens is complex. Government organizations at all three levels of government—federal, state, and local—work together in a system of federalism to ensure that citizens’ needs are met in a variety of areas, including public safety, transportation, education, agriculture, consumer safety, and so forth. Bureaucracy is a complicated web of government organizations staffed by hundreds of thousands of public administrators. While bureaucracy may be disliked by some, it is a necessary part of the government. Without it, politicians and other government officials cannot provide the services that U.S. citizens expect in return for their tax dollars.

References

Goodsell, C. T. (2003). The Case for Bureaucracy, A Public Administration Polemic, Fourth Edition. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press.

Meier, K. J., & Bohte, J. (2007). Politics and the Bureaucracy: Policymaking in the Fourth Branch of Government. Belmont, California: Thomson Wadsworth.

O’Connor, K. J., Larry J. Sabato, and Alixandra B. Yanus. (2011). Essentials of American Government, Roots, and Reform, Tenth Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Schermerhorn, J.R. Jr., Hunt, J.G., & Osborn, R.N. (2005). Organizational Behavior, Ninth Edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.