chapter 13


Chapter 13: The Federal Bureaucracy

• The Bureaucrats• How Bureaucracies Are Organized• Bureaucracies as Implementors• Bureaucracies as Regulators• Understanding Bureaucracies• Summary


Chapter Outline and Learning Objectives

• The Bureaucrats• LO 13.1: Describe the federal bureaucrats

and the ways in which they obtain their jobs.

• How Bureaucracies Are Organized• LO 13.2: Differentiate the four types of

agencies into which the federal bureaucracy is organized.



• Bureaucracies as Implementors• LO 13.3: Identify the factors that influence

the effectiveness of bureaucratic implementation of public policy.

• Bureaucracies as Regulators• LO 13.4: Describe how bureaucracies

regulate, and assess deregulation and alternative approaches to regulation.



• Understanding Bureaucracies• LO 13.5: Assess means of controlling

unelected bureaucrats in American democracy and the impact of the bureaucracy on the scope of government.

The BureaucratsLO 13.1: Describe the federal bureaucrats and the ways in which they obtain their jobs.

• Bureaucracy (Max Weber)• Has a hierarchical authority structure.• Uses task specialization.• Operates on the merit principle.• Develops extensive rules.• Behaves with impersonality.

To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman


The Bureaucrats

• Some Bureaucratic Myths and Realities

• Civil Servants• Political Appointees

LO 13.1

To Learning Objectives


The Bureaucrats

• Some Bureaucratic Myths and Realities• Americans dislike bureaucrats.• Americans are generally satisfied with

bureaucrats and the treatment they get from them.

LO 13.1



The Bureaucrats

• Some Bureaucratic Myths and Realities (cont.)• Bureaucracies are growing bigger each

year.• All growth is state and local.• Employees – 20 million state and local

and 2.8 million federal civilian (2% of workforce) and 1.4 million federal military.

LO 13.1



The Bureaucrats

• Some Bureaucratic Myths and Realities (cont.)• Most federal bureaucrats work in

Washington, D.C.• About 12% of the 2.8 million federal civilian

employees work in Washington.

LO 13.1


LO 13.1



The Bureaucrats

• Some Bureaucratic Myths and Realities (cont.)• Bureaucracies are ineffective, inefficient,

and always mired in red tape.• Government bureaucracies are no more or

less inefficient, ineffective, or mired in red tape than private bureaucracies.

LO 13.1


LO 13.1



The Bureaucrats

• Civil Servants• Patronage – Jobs and promotions

awarded for political reasons.• Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883

created a federal civil service so hiring and promotion would be based on merit.

• Civil Service – Hiring and promotion based on the merit and nonpartisan government service.

LO 13.1


LO 13.1



The Bureaucrats

• Civil Servants (cont.)• Merit Principle – Entrance exams and

promotion ratings to get people with talent and skill.

• Hatch Act (1939) – Government employees can not participate in partisan politics while on duty.

• Office of Personnel Management created in 1978 to hire for most federal agencies using rules.

LO 13.1



The Bureaucrats

• Civil Servants (cont.)• GS (General Schedule) rating – A

schedule for federal employees, ranging from GS 1 to GS 18, by which salaries can be keyed to rating and experience.

• Senior Executive Service – 9,000 federal government managers that provide leadership at the top of the civil service system.

LO 13.1



The Bureaucrats

• Political Appointees• Plum Book – A listing of the top federal

jobs available for direct presidential appointment, often with Senate confirmation.

• 500 top policymaking posts (mostly cabinet secretaries, undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, and bureau chiefs) and 2,500 lesser positions.

LO 13.1



The Bureaucrats

• Political Appointees (cont.)• Incoming presidents seek people who

combine executive talent, political skills, and policy positions similar to the administration.

• Incoming presidents try to ensure diversity and balance in terms of gender, ethnicity, region, and party interests.

LO 13.1


How Bureaucracies Are OrganizedLO 13.2: Differentiate the four types of agencies into which the federal bureaucracy is organized.

• Cabinet Departments• Independent Regulatory

Commissions• Government Corporations• The Independent Executive Agencies


LO 13.2



How Bureaucracies Are Organized

• Cabinet Departments• Each department manages specific policy

areas, and each has its own budget and its own staff.

• Each department has a mission and is organized differently.

• Bureaus (sometimes they are called an administration, service, or office) divide the work into more specialized areas.

LO 13.2




• Independent Regulatory Commissions• Government agency responsible for

making (legislative) and enforcing (executive) rules to protect the public interest in some sector of the economy and for judging (judicial) disputes over these rules.

• Example – Federal Reserve Board.

LO 13.2


LO 13.2




• Government Corporations• Government organization provides a

service that could be provided by private sector and typically charges for its services.

• You can not buy stock and you can not collect dividends like with private corporations.

• Example – U.S. Postal Service.

LO 13.2




• The Independent Executive Agencies• The government agencies not accounted

for by cabinet departments, independent regulatory commissions, and government corporations.

• Example – Social Security Administration.

LO 13.2


Bureaucracies as ImplementorsLO 13.3: Identify the factors that influence the effectiveness of bureaucratic implementation of public policy.

• What Implementation Means• Why the Best-Laid Plans Sometimes

Flunk the Implementation Test• Privatization



Bureaucracies as Implementors

• What Implementation Means• Policy Implementation – The stage of

policymaking between the establishment of a policy and the consequences of the policy for the people affected.

• Implementation involves translating the goals and objectives of a policy into an operating, ongoing program.

LO 13.3




• 3 Elements of Implementation• Create new agency or assign new

responsibility to an old agency.• Translate policy goals into operational rules

and develop guidelines for the program.• Coordination of resources and personnel to

achieve the goals.

LO 13.3




• Why the Best-Laid Plans Sometimes Flunk the Implementation Test• Program Design – It’s impossible to

implement a policy or program well that is defective in its basic theoretical conception.

LO 13.3




• Why the Best-Laid Plans Sometimes Flunk the Implementation Test (cont.)• Lack of Clarity – Bureaucracies are often

asked to implement unclear laws; Congress can thus escape the messy details.

• Example – Title IX of Education Act of 1972 was unclear, making implementation very complex.

LO 13.3


LO 13.3




• Why the Best-Laid Plans Sometimes Flunk the Implementation Test (cont.)• Lack of Resources – Bureaucracy can

lack the staff, necessary training, funding, supplies, equipment, and/or authority to carry out the tasks it has been assigned to do.

LO 13.3




• Why the Best-Laid Plans Sometimes Flunk the Implementation Test (cont.)• Administrative Routine – SOPs bring

efficiency and uniformity to everyday decision making.

• Routines become frustrating “red tape” or potentially dangerous obstacles to action when not appropriate to a situation.

LO 13.3




• Why the Best-Laid Plans Sometimes Flunk the Implementation Test (cont.)• Administrators’ Dispositions – A

bureaucrat uses administrative discretion to select from many responses to a given problem.

• Street-level bureaucrats are in constant contact with the public and have considerable discretion.

LO 13.3


LO 13.3




• Why the Best-Laid Plans Sometimes Flunk the Implementation Test (cont.)• Fragmentation – Responsibility for a

policy is dispersed among many units within bureaucracy.

• Makes coordination of policies time consuming and difficult.

• Produces contradictory signals among the agencies involved.

LO 13.3




• Privatization• Private contractors have become a 4th

branch of government.• Contracting for services – The theory is

that private sector competition will result in better service at lower costs, but no evidence has proved this.

• Contracting leads to less public scrutiny as programs are hidden.

LO 13.3


Bureaucracies as RegulatorsLO 13.4: Describe how bureaucracies regulate, and assess deregulation and alternative approaches to regulation.

• Regulation• Use of governmental authority to control or

change some practice in the private sector.• Congress gives bureaucrats broad

mandates to regulate activities as diverse as interest rates, the location of nuclear power plants, and food additives.


LO 13.4



Bureaucracies as Regulators

• Regulation in the Economy and in Everyday Life

• Deregulation

LO 13.4




• Regulation in the Economy and in Everyday Life• Munn v. Illinois (1877) – Right of

government to regulate the business operations of a firm.

• Interstate Commerce Commission (1887) was the 1st regulatory agency and it regulated the railroads, their prices, and their services to farmers.

LO 13.4




• Regulation in the Economy and in Everyday Life (cont.)• Command-and-control policy – The

government tells business how to reach certain goals, checks that these commands are followed, and punishes offenders.

• Incentive system – Market like strategies such as rewards are used to manage public policy.

LO 13.4




• 3 Elements of Regulation• A grant of power and set of directions from

Congress.• A set of rules and guidelines by the

regulatory agency itself.• Some means of enforcing compliance with

congressional goals and agency regulations.

LO 13.4




• Deregulation• The lifting of government restrictions on

business, industry, and professional activities.

• Regulation critics – Regulation distorts market forces, raises prices, hurts America’s competitive position abroad, and fails to work well.

LO 13.4




• Deregulation (cont.)• Deregulation critics – Point out that

deregulation does not protect the public against severe environmental damage and power shortages, failures in the savings and loan industry, and bursts in real estate market.

LO 13.4


Understanding BureaucraciesLO 13.5: Assess means of controlling unelected bureaucrats in American democracy and the impact of the bureaucracy on the scope of government.

• Bureaucracy and Democracy• Bureaucracy and the Scope of

Government



Understanding Bureaucracies

• Bureaucracy and Democracy• Popular control of government depends on

elections, but we do not elect the 4.2 million federal employees.

• The fact that voters do not elect civil servants does not mean that bureaucracies cannot respond to and represent the public’s interests.

LO 13.5




• Bureaucracy and Democracy (cont.)• Presidents – Methods to control the

bureaucracy are (1) appoint the right people to head the agency; (2) issue executive orders; (3) alter an agency’s budget; and (4) reorganize an agency.

LO 13.5




• Bureaucracy and Democracy (cont.)• Congress – Methods to control the

bureaucracy are (1) influence the appointment of agency heads; (2) alter an agency’s budget; (3) hold hearings; and (4) rewrite the legislation or make it more detailed.

LO 13.5




• Bureaucracy and Democracy (cont.)• Iron Triangles – Subgovernments; a

mutually dependent and advantageous relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees.

• Iron triangles dominate some areas of domestic policymaking.

LO 13.5


LO 13.5




• Bureaucracy and Democracy (cont.)• Issue Networks – Have led to more

widespread participation in bureaucratic policymaking.

• They include many participants who have technical policy expertise and are drawn to issues because of intellectual or emotional commitments rather than material interests.

LO 13.5




• Bureaucracy and the Scope of Government• Size of federal bureaucracy has shrunk

compared to labor force.• Agencies need more resources to do what

they are expected to do.• Bureaucracies carry out policies, but

Congress and the president decide what government does.

LO 13.5



LO 13.1Summary

• The Bureaucrats• Bureaucrats perform vital services the federal

government provides, although their number has not grown, even as the population has increased and the public has made additional demands on government.

• Bureaucrats shape policy as administrators, as implementors, and as regulators.



LO 13.1Summary

• The Bureaucrats (cont.)• Most federal bureaucrats get their jobs through

the civil service system; as a group, these civil servants are broadly representative of the American people.

• The top policymaking posts, however, are filled through presidential appointments, often by Senate confirmation.



The civil service system was designed to

A. hire and promote bureaucrats on the basis of merit.

B. produce an administration with talent and skill.

C. protect workers from politically motivated firings.

D. all of the above.

LO 13.1



LO 13.2Summary

• How Bureaucracies Are Organized• The organization of the federal bureaucracy

categorizes agencies into four types: cabinet departments, independent regulatory commissions, government corporations, and independent executive agencies.

• The 15 cabinet departments each manage a specific policy area.



LO 13.2Summary

• How Bureaucracies Are Organized (cont.)• Independent regulatory commissions make

and enforce rules in a particular sector of the economy.

• Government corporations provide services and charge for services.

• Independent executive agencies account for most of the rest of the federal bureaucracy.



Which of the following is NOT one of the four types of agencies into which the federal bureaucracy is organized?

A. Cabinet Departments

B. Independent Regulatory Commissions

C. Government Corporations

D. Independent Legislative Agencies

LO 13.2



LO 13.3Summary

• Bureaucracies as Implementors• As policy implementors, bureaucrats translate

legislative policy goals into programs.• The policy or program design and the clarity of

the legislation or regulations being implemented influence the effectiveness of policy implementation.



LO 13.3Summary

• Bureaucracies as Implementors (cont.)• The resources available for implementation;

the ability of administrators to depart from SOPs when necessary; and the disposition of administrators toward the policy they implement influence the effectiveness of policy implementation.



LO 13.3Summary

• Bureaucracies as Implementors (cont.)• The extent to which responsibility for policy

implementation is concentrated rather than dispersed across agencies influence the effectiveness of policy implementation.



Which of the following is NOT one of the three main factors that make policy implementation difficult?

A. faulty program design

B. unclear laws

C. lack of resources

D. clear goals

LO 13.3



LO 13.4Summary

• Bureaucracies as Regulators (cont.)• Congress increasingly delegates large

amounts of power to bureaucratic agencies to develop rules regulating practices in the private sector.

• Agencies apply and enforce their rules, in court or through administrative procedures.



LO 13.4Summary

• Bureaucracies as Regulators (cont.)• Regulation affects most areas of American

society, and criticism that regulations are overly complicated and burdensome has led to a movement to deregulate.

• However, many regulations have proved beneficial, and deregulation has itself resulted in policy failures.



Government is the use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector.

A. regulation

B. command-and-control policy

C. incentive system

D. deregulation

LO 13.4



LO 13.5Summary

• Understanding Bureaucracies• Bureaucrats are not elected, but they are

competent and reasonably representative of Americans.

• The president and Congress try to control the bureaucracies, but iron triangles challenge their control.

• The role of government and hence the size of the bureaucracy depends more on voters than on bureaucrats.



The development of subgovernments to include a system of issue networks ensures more

A. presidents are now involved in all policy areas.

B. subgovernments are virtually impossible to dismantle.

C. policymaking is stable and predictable.

D. widespread participation in the policy process.

LO 13.5



Text Credits

• U.S. Department of Commerce, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2010 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2010), Table 486.

• Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2011: Analytical Perspectives (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2010), Tables 23-1 and 23-2.

• United States Office of Personnel Management, Profile of Federal Civilian Non-Postal Employees, September 30, 2008.

• Federal Register. Office of the Federal Register, United States Government Manual 2009-2010 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2010), 21.

• Office of the Federal Register, United States Government Manual 2009–2010 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2010), 240.


Photo Credits

• 447: AP Photos• 441: DOONESBURY c G. B. Trudeau. Reprinted with permission of

Universal Press Syndicate. All Rights Reserved• 445: Chuck Nocke/The Image Works• 447: Brian Pohorylol/Corbis• 451: Jack Kurtz/The Image Works

chapter 13

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