1. The Bureaucracy
Dr. Christopher S. Rice

3. Bureaucracy
A large organization in which
people with specialized knowledge
are organized into a clearly
defined hierarchy of bureaus and
offices, each of which has a
specified mission.

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

5. Advantages?

6. 2

7. Ability to organize
large tasks

8. Concentration of
specialized talent

9. Disadvantages?

10. Efficiency
vs.
Responsiveness

11. The Merit System
• Spoils System dominated the 19th
and (most of the) 20th century
bureaucracy.
– “It’s not what you know, but who you
know…”
• Merit System: people hired &
promoted on basis of qualifications
& job performance, not political
connections.

12. So what do bureaucrats do,
exactly?
• Execution of laws
• Rule-Making (Regulation)
– Rulemaking – the process of deciding
exactly what the laws passed by Congress
mean.
– Rule – statement by a federal agency that
interprets a law and prescribes the specific
action an agency will take to implement
that law.

13. So what do bureaucrats do,
exactly?
• Execution of laws
• Rule-Making (Regulation)
– Rulemaking – the process of deciding
exactly what the laws passed by Congress
mean.
– Rule – statement by a federal agency that
interprets a law and prescribes the specific
action an agency will take to implement
that law.

14. So what do bureaucrats do,
exactly?
• Execution of laws
• Rule-Making (Regulation)
– Rulemaking – the process of deciding
exactly what the laws passed by Congress
mean.
– Rule – statement by a federal agency that
interprets a law and prescribes the specific
action an agency will take to implement
that law.

15. So what do bureaucrats do,
exactly?
• Rule-Making (cont’d.)
– Federal Administrative Procedures Act
– Certain minimum standards must be met
when making rules.
– Interest group participation

16. So what do bureaucrats do,
exactly?
• Rule-Making (cont’d.)
– Federal Administrative Procedures Act
– Certain minimum standards must be met
when making rules.
– Interest group participation

17. So what do bureaucrats do,
exactly?
• Rule-Making (cont’d.)
– Federal Administrative Procedures Act
– Certain minimum standards must be met
when making rules.
– Interest group participation

18. So what do bureaucrats do,
exactly?
• Adjudication – process designed to
establish whether a rule has been
violated.
– In making rules, bureaucracies act like
legislatures; in judging them they act like
courts.
– National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA)
– Potential problems with bureaucrats as
policymakers…

19. So what do bureaucrats do,
exactly?
• Adjudication – process designed to
establish whether a rule has been
violated.
– In making rules, bureaucracies act like
legislatures; in judging them they act like
courts.
– National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA)
– Potential problems with bureaucrats as
policymakers…

20. So what do bureaucrats do,
exactly?
• Adjudication – process designed to
establish whether a rule has been
violated.
– In making rules, bureaucracies act like
legislatures; in judging them they act like
courts.
– National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA)
– Potential problems with bureaucrats as
policymakers…

21. So what do bureaucrats do,
exactly?
• Adjudication – process designed to
establish whether a rule has been
violated.
– In making rules, bureaucracies act like
legislatures; in judging them they act like
courts.
– National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA)
– Potential problems with bureaucrats as
policymakers…

22. Privatization:
The Good, the Bad and
the Ugly