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Chapter 6: Organizations and Implementation

Study

Summary

American government is a massive, complex, and often confusing set of institutions. It contains numerous organizations but lacks any central organizing principle. Much of the structure of American government was developed on an ad hoc basis to address particular problems at particular times. Even with a more coherent structure, many of the same problems might still arise in the attempt to implement programs. Many problems are inherent in any government but are exacerbated by the complex and diffuse structure of American government.

For public policy, implementation is a vital step in the process of governing because it involves putting programs into action and producing effects for citizens. The difficulty of producing desired effects, or indeed any effects, means that policy is a much more difficult commodity to deliver to citizens than is commonly believed. The barriers to effective implementation often discourage individuals and organizations from engaging in the activities devised for their benefit. Public management then becomes a matter of threatening or cajoling organizations into complying with stated objectives or of convincing those organizations that their goals can best be accomplished through the programs that have been authorized.

Review Questions:

1. Identify and define the eight forms of organization that make up the institutions and agencies of the federal government. Provide at least one example of each form of organization.
   



2. What are Hood’s five characteristics of “perfect” administration? How does the failure to achieve and/or maintain these characteristics influence the policy implementation process?
   



3. Describe the various impacts of vertically and horizontally oriented policy implementation structures on the policy implementation process.