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• 1. Introduction: They Tax Dogs in West Virginia, Don’t They?
• 2. Federalism: The Power Plan
• 3. Constitutions: Operating Instructions
• 4. Political Attitudes and Participation: Venting and Voting
• 5. Parties and Interest Groups: Elephants, Donkeys, and Cash Cows
• 6. Legislatures: The Art of Herding Cats
• 7. Governors and Executives: There Is No Such Thing As Absolute Power
• 8. Courts: Turning Law into Politics
• 9. Bureaucracy: What Nobody Wants but Everybody Needs
• 10. Local Government: Function Follows Form
• 11. Metropolitics: The Hole Government Problem
• 12. Finances: Filling the Till and Paying the Bills
• 13. Education: Reading, Writing, and Regulation
• 14. Crime and Punishment
• 15. Health and Welfare Policy: State, Heal Thyself!
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Chapter 9: Bureaucracy

Study

Chapter Summary
State- and local-level public bureaucracies are critical in the delivery of essential public goods and services. To operate effectively, these public bureaucracies have a specific set of organizational characteristics. Hierarchy, division of labor, formal rules, professionalism, and the maintenance of files and records exist within public bureaucracies to ensure impartiality in the delivery of public goods.

The merit system was formalized in 1883 in reaction to the problems of the spoils system. It is a way of maintaining “neutral competence” in bureaucratic decision making. Although the merit system has reduced bureaucratic flexibility and increased the amount of red tape within public bureaucracies, it also has prevented bureaucracies from operating at the whims of partisan politics. Yet despite their attempts to be neutrally competent, public bureaucracies are political institutions. Beyond implementing public law, they do engage in policymaking through the power of street-level bureaucrats and the rulemaking process.

Despite calls for reforming bureaucracies to operate more like private businesses, they operate quite efficiently and hold high standards of professionalism and ethical behavior (contrary to popular opinion). Furthermore, although the size and scope of bureaucracies vary across states, no state could operate effectively without one.

 

Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should understand…

• public opinion regarding public bureaucracies
• what the bureaucracy is
• what the organizational characteristics associated with the bureaucracy are
• the bureaucracy as a policy implementer and policymaker
• why bureaucracies vary in size and effectiveness across states
• how the spoils system and the merit system differ
• the advantages and disadvantages of the merit system

Study Questions

1. What is the bureaucracy?


2. What are the organizational characteristics associated with the bureaucracy?

3. What is the public's perception of the bureaucracy?

4. Discuss the bureaucracy as a policy implementer and policymaker; include a discussion of the street-level bureaucrat and the rulemaking function of the bureaucracy.

5. Why do states differ in the size of their respective bureaucracies?

6. Compare and contrast the spoils system with the merit system.

7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the merit system?