Aim: What are the characteristics of the federal bureaucracy?

• Large, complex organization of appointed, not elected, officials.

• “bureau” – French for small desks, referring to the king’s traveling business men who set up small desks in town squares

• Bureaucracy = “government of small desks”

Max Weber

• Weber lamented the dehumanizing effects of bureaucracy

• He also believed it had rational advantages

Characteristics

• Hierarchical authority structure – chain of command

• Task specialization – individuals have unique jobs, division of labor

• Extensive rules – an efficient bureaucracy should have clear policies for the organization to follow

• Clear goals – an efficient bureaucracy should have a clearly defined mission

• Merit principle – hiring and promotion based on qualities, no jobs for favors

• Impersonality – performance judged on productivity

• http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7356343n

• http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/03/01/01greenwire-gao-audit-hits-agencies-for-uncoordinated-ineff-2671.html

• http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/36131620#36131620

Criticism of Bureaucracy – pathologies

• “Red tape” – maze of gov rules, regulations, and paperwork that makes access to government overwhelming to citizens

• Conflict – agencies that often work toward opposite goals• Duplication – agencies appear to do the same thing• Unchecked growth (Imperialism) – agencies expand

unnecessarily at high costs• Waste – spending more than necessary• Lack of accountability – difficulty in firing an incompetent

bureaucrat

• http://www.cc.com/video-clips/fqqyi0/futurama-bureaucrat-s-song

• How do people perceive bureaucracy based upon the lyrics to this song?