2. CLASSICAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIVE THEORY 2
Abstract
Bureaucracy is a form of government organization that can be traced back to the beginnings of
recorded history; many perspectives (managerial, legal, and political) can enlighten the
development of this method of governance. While it originated as an impersonal machine-like
response to the needs of the general public, current thinking and methods show an evolution
towards a citizen-sensitive perspective. Public administrators play many roles in the society, not
just law making, implementation, and delivery of services. They need to understand the changes
to the environment, the broadening of cultural perspectives, the extraordinary advances in
technology, and the continually changing society, in order to improve the quality of care to their
citizens. Weber’s view of bureaucracy, written in 1947, has been challenged, modified and
supported by various writers in the past 69 years. This essay will discuss and discover the best
definition and methodology of bureaucracy among the assigned articles.
3. CLASSICAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIVE THEORY 3
Classical Public Administrative Theory
Bureaucracy is a word that means different things to different people. Popular American
thinking puts a negative connotation on bureaucracy, seeing it as a giant mass of managers and
civil servants sandwiched between the President and the common citizen, who prevent the citizen
from accomplishing his task. However, bureaucracy is a necessary tool to accomplish all the
services that a business or government needs to supply to its customers/citizens. In various
guises with different terms, it has been a staple of historical organizations throughout the ages
and has been discussed, altered, and recombined to the present form which functions more or
less successfully, despite the constantly changing world to which it must adapt.
Weber’s (1946) view of bureaucracy is a hierarchical system to manage an organization
through a pyramidal scheme. At the top is the decision maker (the king, the President, the
business owner, the entrepreneur), followed by the immediate managers who report to him/her
(the ministers), and the office workers who execute their duties for the managers according to the
specified sets of rules and regulations. There can be extended branches of organization
depending on the purpose of the government and/or the business, however, both public and
private sector bureaucracies require their highly trained ministers to practice obedience to the
rules and regulations, dedication to completing all assigned tasks, and executing all actions in an
impersonal manner.
The rules and regulations for each bureaucracy are exhaustive and specific, covering all
possible problems that can occur and delineating the responses to the citizen’s request according
to what is written and recorded in the files. There is no decision making in these problems,
merely the application of previously approved solutions. The bureaucracy functions like a well-
oiled machine, all cogs and gears moving at a standard pace to keep up with the requests from
4. CLASSICAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIVE THEORY 4
the citizenry. This is a strong executive approach to the bureaucracy with no wavering from its
interlocked layers of personnel and procedures (Weber, 1946).
Weber’s theory was written in 1946 and was based on his experiences of the state of the
bureaucracy at that time. It may also have been influenced by the administration of President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who led the nation out of the Great Depression with an intense and
comprehensive program for the unemployed. Since this article was written, satellite
communications, cable television, mainframe and personal computers, cell phones and the
Internet have changed our lives and the complexion of government and society forever.
The New Public Service: Serving Rather than Steering (Dernhardt & Dernhardt, 2000)
delineates an evolving new approach with a different emphasis on modern office management.
Instead of an unwavering robotic environment and an auto-response to inquiry, the new
personnel management stresses deliverables to client base, switches to a market attitude toward
customers/clients, and allowing middle management some initiative and latitude in assisting
clients. Empathy toward the client is now acceptable and the sincere desire to help the client
should be part of the new approach. NPM (influenced by the public choice perspective) wants
the government to adopt business values and techniques for the future of administration. This
desire to act as a business model, including restructuring, streamlining and decentralizing, can be
seen as progressive even if it is just the natural evolution of changing inner structures as they are
pushed and pulled by the needs of society and the intelligence of administration theorists.
Out of NPM grew New Public Service, a newer branch of this evolution, which pushes
administrators into a guidance position rather than follower position. Putting citizens first and
working on “institutions marked by integrity and responsiveness” (Dernhardt & Dernhardt,
2000) is putting the emphasis where it should be. At the forefront of these ideas are the following
5. CLASSICAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIVE THEORY 5
goals: serving versus steering; public interest is the aim; and thinking strategically acting
democratically (Dernhardt & Dernhardt, 2000). However, two points must be made. The sixth
concern “value people, not just productivity” addresses the need for speed in accomplishing, but
it also counters the previous impersonal structure of Weber (p.556) with its emphasis on people.
The seventh concern “value citizenship and public service above entrepreneurship” is debatable
(p.556). Entrepreneurship is the match that lights the fire of progress. Citizenship and public
service are served through the existing system, but it is entrepreneurship that creates those
advances and leads the way to greater things. Entrepreneurship should not be second to these two
staples or at least be seen as on the same level of respect and duty.
In these concerns are the hallmarks of a democratic and humanitarian society, in which
the government serves the people, not the other way around. These advancements over the
Weber model are calculated for maximum public interest, but there is a danger that these
concerns will go overboard, and citizens will become spoiled children wanting more and more
from the government.
According to Light (2006), the progress of individual reforms from 1945 through 2002
can be examined through 4 different viewpoints. The first scientific management emphasizes the
power of the President nestled with a strong hierarchy of responsible managers. The war on
waste viewpoint strengthens the economy and provides for increased efficiency. The watchful
eye focuses on maintaining the transparency of Congress to prevent fraud and abuse, while the
liberation management tries to free agencies from excessive oversight and restrictive protocols.
Each viewpoint is associated strongly with a chosen individual reform to explain it clearly. The
author draws a series of conclusions based on questionnaires of the government employees and
the general public concerning their reactions to the reforms and their views on the government.
6. CLASSICAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIVE THEORY 6
While certain attitudes are consistent over time, the effectiveness of the most recent reforms
cannot be meaningfully measured, with the author suggesting a freeze on reforms until the
results can be more analyzed. More reform does not mean better reform. And all reform is not
created equal.
This does not align itself with Weber whose orientation is exclusively represented by the
scientific management viewpoint. This pausing of reform is difficult to accept. The lightning fast
changes in our last 69 years means many new things to address in the administration of modern
duties. We believe a short examination period may be in order, but a freeze does not make sense.
Lobbyists who assist with, if not actually write, the text of the nation’s bills, usually insert
crafted loopholes to assist their monetary interests. These loopholes are usually discovered after
the bill is passed and they may be corrected on reform, but not always. Constant reform is better
than ignorance and indifference. Man is an imperfect being and government is an imperfect
science. The reforms can only be as good as the reformers and not all subsequent generations
after 1776 can hope to achieve the genius of the forefathers who wrote the Constitution. The
political history of the United States contains its share of corrupt officials in government, politics
and the military. This is why there is the need for the watchful eye.
In Frederickson (1990), originally written in 1968, the primary direction of social equity
is that delivery of governmental services must be equal for all citizens (beyond, racism, ageism,
sexism, social class and monetary income). There has been strong movement in this direction
depending on the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (some were favorable, others more
narrow). Social Equity is a political movement to help those in need across political party lines
and according to a generosity of spirit and a genuine concern for all citizens. While the thrust of
social equity does not directly change the hierarchical administration according to Weber, it does
7. CLASSICAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIVE THEORY 7
adjust the attitudes of those in administration in trying to help its citizens by treating them with
humanity, something that is not a construct of Weber’s strong impersonal hierarchy.
At the same time that we agree with the justice of this movement, there are some
concerns. Frederickson (1990) suggests that these freedoms protecting social equity were more
likely to be found promoted by states’ rights and not the federal rights. Recent events run against
that suggestion. Last year’s ruling by the Supreme Court allowing marriage between partners of
the same sex was a landmark and came about through judicial means and not federal nor states’
legislation. Recently, the Michigan State Senate passed SB219, a law punishing sodomy with up
to 15 years in prison (Wright, 2016). States with similar laws on their books include Idaho, Utah,
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. This law
ignores Supreme Court ruling in the case of Lawrence v. Texas in 2003 banning all sodomy
laws. This kind of anti-citizen thinking can happen among isolated states run by religious
doctrine and conservative politicians. However, it is not limited to them. In December of 2014,
U.S. Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake (both from Arizona) placed a provision in a necessary
military spending bill that gave away holy Apache land to an Australian/British mining company
that plans to turn the land into a 1,000-foot crater (Millet, 2015). Putting the value of foreign
money ahead of the sacred interests of Native Americans has led to widespread attention on
social media as well as condemnation. It is the discovery of activities like these that lead to
transparency, not any prompting from public administration theory. But social media (youtube,
facebook, Instagram, twitter and others) is the newest ally in the “watchful eye” perspective and
will bring any indiscretion to the forefront of the nation’s attention, even if corporate media does
not.
8. CLASSICAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIVE THEORY 8
In conclusion, Weber’s model may have had a great spokesman in FDR, but recent
changes resulting from a humanitarian concern for citizens have definitely had an effect. While
progressive administrative management has helped the general public, especially those across the
digital divide, sometimes new ideas may need adjustment and development and they should
receive it. Progress must continue and never delay. Prudence is necessary, but freezing any
progress should not be allowed.
9. CLASSICAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIVE THEORY 9
Reference:
Denhardt,R. B& Denhardt, J.V. (2000). The new public service: serving rather than steering.
Public Administration Review, 60(6), 549-559.
Frederickson, H.G. (1990). Public administration and social equity. Public Administration
Review, 50(2), 228-237.
Light, P.C. (2006). The title of reform revisited: patterns in making government work. Public
Administration Review, 66(1), 5-19.
Millet, D. (2015, May 29). Selling off apache holy land. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/29/opinion/selling-off-apache-holy-land.html?_r=1
Weber, M. (1946). Essay in sociology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wright,J. (2016, February 6). Michigan senate passes bill saying sodomy is a felony
punishable by 15 years in prison. Retrieved from http://www.thenewcivilrights
movement.com/johnwright/breaking_michigan_house_to_remove_anti_gay_sodom
y_provision_from_animal_welfare_bill
