Bureaucracy Flash Cards

Political Science 1100 with Nicholson-crotty at University of Missouri- Columbia

About this deck

By: Alex Muckerman
Textbook:

Promise and Performance of American Democracy
Created: 2010-12-05
Size: 52 flashcards
Views: 68

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Essential Function Bureaus

-State,

-Treasury,

-and War

(1798)

Growth Departments

-Department of Justice (1870)

-Department of Interior (1849)

Clientele Departments

-Were founded in response to interest group pressures,

as people kept making demands on their government.

-Agriculture (1862)

research, subsidies, marketing

-Commerce (1903)

Business promotion, Census bureau,

Patent office, NOAA

-Labor (1913)

Humanistic Department characteristics

-Reflect changing values regarding the roles of government

-First time government grew without meeting

demands, citizens weren't asking for it.

Humanistic Departments

-Health and Human Services (1965)

-Housing and Urban Development (1965)

-making sure cities didn't rot from

the inside out

-Transportation (1967)

-Energy (1977)

New Clientele

-Education (1979)

-Veteran Affairs (1989)

Other types of Bureaucracy

Independent Agencies (NASA, Smithsonian)

answers to neither Senate

nor House specifically

Government Corporations (Post Office)

responsible to the government,

but actually makes its own $

Taxpayers do not fund

Regulatory Commissions

Civil Service System

(1883) because of corruption

Spoils system

based on merit, not patronage
catalyst event, when Garfield

got shot by a rejected applicant

Gov. by OPM and MSPV can get fired.

just takes 6 mo. longer

Bur. not in protect. for quick hiring

Ex-ante Controls

Agent selection

-Exempt from the

merit system, appointed

Agency structure

Control of decision-rules, access for preferred stakeholders, reporting requirements

Ex-post controls

(Wait for the problem to pop

up before you try to fix it.)

Monitoring (police patrol & fire alarm)
Congressional hearings,

audits, case-work

Mortgage crisis is an example of a really bad

thing that can happen by ex-post controls

Principle Agent Problem

Principle delegates to an agent:

It is unclear how much

one can oversee the agent

different incentives

Agencies have a lot of power but elected

officials can force agencies to change

if they want:

money, structure, employees

Bureaucracy

Public agencies that translate the intent of democratic institutions into action.

These institutions largely exist within the executive branches, i.e. Dept. of Def.— fights wars, or highway dept.—fixes potholes

Public does not like bureaucracy.

Bureaucracy as a 4th branch of Government

Takes the promise of a law and translates it into reality.

A lot of what is built into bur. is designed to ensure that the Constitution amendments—"supreme law of the land"— are followed.

Bureaucracy Autonomous

(independent not controlled)

First Broad way Bur. makes Policy

Bur are forced to make formal and informal choices on how to translate the broad desires of legislatures, executives, or courts into action and to apply those desires in specific instances.

Second Broad way Bur. makes Policy

Bur. makes policy through active participation in the political process. How?

Conducts evaluations of and analyzes problems, provides expertise on potential responses to those problems, and outright lobbying. In this way, bur. is a 4th branch of gov

2 Common Characteristics of Public Agencies

(1) A broad mission to implement the decisions of government

(2) A common form of organizational structure

Weberian Model of Bur.

Division of Labor
Hierarchy
Formal Rules
Maintenance of Files and Records
Professionalization

Private Bur. tries to make a profit. Public ones put laws and regulations in place and purpose Bur. as outlined above, holding with the definition.

Pendleton Act 1883

Sparked by the assassination of James Garfield (1881).

Introduced the merit system, following the spoils system.

Under spoils system, when administration

changes, the result is immediate turnover in bur.

Neutral Competence

Public agencies make decisions based on expertise, not political or personal considerations
Political functions are done by elected officials.
Administrative functions are handled by the bur. side of gov.
Principle of Neutral Competence

Principle of Neutral Competence

Bur. does not decide policy or take sides in the political arena,

but rather uses its expertise to policy decisions

are implemented in the fashion intended by

institutions of representative democracy

Five Basic Categories of Bureaucratic Hierarchy

The Executive Office of the President (EOP)
Cabinet Departments
Independent Agencies
Regulatory Agencies and Committees
Government Corporations
Other Bureaus

The Executive Office of the President (EOP)

At the top of the executive branch hierarchy.
Manages bureaucracies for the president.
Agencies with specific tasks:

White House
Council of Economic Advisors
National Security Council

Cabinet Departments

15 appointed by the Pres., headed by the cabinet secretary

Includes organized Federal Bur. (Independent Agencies, Essential Function Bureaus)

Rule

A federal agency's statement that interprets law and prescribes action an agency will take to implement that law.

once approved by agency, rule applies to everyone, in agency's jurisdiction and has the force of law

Rulemaking

The process of deciding what the laws passed by Congress mean. (described as the single most important function performed by agencies of government)

rulemaking helps to clear up and organize vague law

Federal Administratie Procedures Act

governs rulemaking.
few federal agencies have the authority to unilaterally issue rules.

Adjudication

process designed to establish whether a rule has been violated.

Bureaucratic Lobbying

Active participation in the initiation of new policies and broader political processes.

Expertise/close alliances with certain clientele groups and the Congressional committees with jurisdiction over clientele groups allows bur. influence policy

Iron Triangles

Many important policy decisions are made in iron triangles:

stable relationships among a clientele group, the bur. managing the programs that affect that group's interests, and the congressional commit. with jurisdiction over those programs.

Policy Subsystems

bur. operate in networks of all groups that share a particular policy interest.

Herbert Simon's Theory of Bounded Rationality

Humans bear little resemblance to utility maximizers of classical rational choice models. Instead, we satisfice

consider possible alternatives until we find one that in our view is good enough to solve the problem, even though its not the best choice.

Overhead Democracy

Citizens can exercise indirect control over bur..
Voters hold elected officials accountable for their actions thru their votes and elected officials hold bur. accountable for their actions

challenges: politicians monitor bur. (police patrol oversight)

Fire Alarm Oversight

kicks into action once something has happened, doesn't constantly monitor before-hand.

whistleblowers
direct contact from constituents
investigations from General Accounting Office (Congress's information-gathering agencies)

Agency Capture

Describes a bur. that has become a little too cozy with an interest group.

Occurs when the regulators appointed to an agency share the same professional and economic values as those they regulate.

More myth than reality

Sunshine Laws

Require bur. decisions be made in public meetings

Legislative Veto

provision in a law that allows Congress to reject a public agency's proposed action.

Constitutional authority to create & destroy federal agencies and to determine policies and programs they administer.
uses legislation to influence bur. behavior

Chief Bureaucrat

the President.

appt. power: He can pick subordinates and appt. the nation's top bureaucrats.
has budget pwr.: can't approve like Congress, but can propose

impoundment: delay approved expenditures

executive orders

Courts as Bureaucrats

Can declare agency regulations, rules, or actions illegal

legislative intent— is action authorized by relevant law passed by Congress?
Standards of due process— is the agency depriving anyone of due process guaranteed by the constitution and law?

legislative intent

Is action authorized by relevant law passed by Congress?

Standards of due process

Is the agency depriving anyone of due process guaranteed by the constitution and law?

Reforming Bur.

The search for efficiency & accountability

Hoover Commission

Founded under Hoover and charged with identifying how to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the Bureaucracy.

Hoover believed the Bur. grew too big because too many small agencies carried out the same task. Suggested consolidation.

The Grace Commission

founded under Reagan administration and charged with rooting our government inefficiency and wasteful programs

The National Performance Review

Clinton administration's sustain effort to "reinvent government"

Contracting Out

hiring a private organization rather than a government bur. to deliver a public service.

Principal-Agent Model

Relationship between a boss who wants some work done (the principal) and an employee who actually does the work (the agent).

The relationship between Congress, the president and bureaucracy and courts, media attention and public opinion.

Adverse Selection

When the principals (Congress & president) dole out a program or responsibility to a public agency, they do not know the true abilities of the set of bureaucrats complete it.

Moral Hazard

Once Congress or the president gives a public agency a job, they do not know how much effort the bur. expends trying to do that job.

Administrative Procedures Act (1946)

requires bureaucrats to inform the public when they institute a new rule.

Gore and Government Performance

Ran what has become the most successful attempt to reduce the size of federal government. We privatized government to make it more efficient and effective.

Qualified success of Privatization

Private sectors run

trash pickup,
mental health care,
and prisons.

Has failed for education.

About this deck

By: Alex Muckerman
Textbook:

Promise and Performance of American Democracy
Created: 2010-12-05
Size: 52 flashcards
Views: 68

About StudyBlue

“I have used this website for three exams, and I see a huge difference in my test results.”
Naj