Representative Bureaucracy

Throughout the rigmarole of political history of the United States of America, the growth of the “fourth branch of government”, the Bureaucracy, has been a prominent, controversial topic. Peter Woll, in his article “Constitutional Democracy and Bureaucratic Power”, and James Q. Wilson, in his article “The Rise of the Bureaucratic State”, discuss this developing administrative branch. The Constitution has no written mention of an “administrative branch”, and today’s Bureaucracy is often tedious, corrupt, and even undemocratic. But such a branch’s development and expansion is necessary in order to keep par with an evolving and changing society.

When the framers of the Constitution developed our government, they gave Congress the authority to create the departments necessary to carry out the day-to-day responsibilities of governing - the federal bureaucracy. The vast majority of the departments, agencies, and commissions that make up the federal bureaucracy today were created by Congress through legislative acts. Congress is unable to act in a bubble though, due to the nature of the system’s built-in checks and balances, Congress must first get the president’s “buy off” which is represented by his signature. Although Congress has the authority to create these agencies (with the president’s agreement

“The government, which was designed for the people, has got into the hands of the bosses and their employers, the special interests. An invisible empire has been set up above the forms of democracy.” This quote by Woodrow Wilson fits perfectly with the topics that will be discussed. The major theme of this paper is bureaucracy. Bureaucracy refers to an administrative system in which agencies staffed largely by non elected officials perform specific tasks in accordance with standard procedures. The work of the bureaucracy involves implementing laws and procedures. Does this sound familiar? That is because most bureaucrats work for the executive branch of the government. The executive branch is the one that enforces the laws. Some of these law enforcing jobs include mail clerk, police officer, fireman, and first responder. These jobs are essential to our lives as Americans and are greatly appreciated. This paper will expound on the history, usage, and the Cabinet

PA can be seen as a as a dense twist of organizations and branches of government which need to relate to each other in order to serve the public needs of the society. Bureaucracy, as a result, is the internal engine of each public branch of government which coordinate and organize through rules and in a hierarchical way, all the administrators, as to provide an efficient system which is able to satisfy all the public demand of goods and services. However, most of the time it is subject to ridicule and condemnation by the citizens and the whole society for several reasons. Firstly, because of the overcrowded staff which permeate the entire bureaucratic system. This is a crucial problem which many of the governmental organizations are

If group is deemed a reference group, consider how this group affects or hasaffected your lifepersonally and/or professionally? If you select any organizations for youranalysis, consider Weber’s five characteristics of an ideal bureaucracy and suggest which (if any) of the characteristics are directly applicable to your organization. From personal experience, examine the positive and negative ramifications of operating within a bureaucratic structure.

Members of congress are faced with many tough decisions during their time in public office. They have to balance the interest of their constituencies with the interests of outside influences such as political parties, special interest groups, or national interests. These interests are rarely aligned and require tough decisions to be made when voting. When preparing to vote on a major issue congress members are inundated with different opinions sent in by email, mail, phone calls, and social media (How a Member Decides to Vote). Congressional agencies provide reports and studies, special interest groups send in background material, and fellow congress members provide recommendations (How a Member Decides to Vote).

Identify who is in charge of the Department and their function in government then identify their budget. 10 Points

Unlike the first type of bias that is clear and apparent because of the direct actions taken, this form of bias is contingent on a bureaucrat’s unwillingness to act. For most, the bureaucrats are the bridge between people and the government, forwarding petitions, applications, and requests. And though rules are in place to diminish bureaucratic bias within agencies, (thus making the decision process more fair), the ultimate decision to pursue matters and the way in which they address concerns is up to the employees themselves. The effects of implicit bureaucratic bias and its resulting discrimination is most notable in the unequal distribution of fiscal resources in urban communities where social classes are clearly divided by race and socioeconomic status. And though the speed at which the various races are granted access to various governmental assistance is rather equal, the tone and treatment of individuals varies widely, with ethnic minorities suffering worse treatment than their counterparts. This form of bias proves to be especially malicious in its rather deceptive nature. Though a paper trail serves a record and attempts to place accountability on individuals, for most bureaucratic decisions, the written records are not an effective way to deem bias. Instead, they are no more than simple explanations, lacking the

Technocrats are a bureaucratic power that aid Congress and the president, or the government in general, in carrying out their intentions. The reason technocrats are needed is because, or it is at least theorized, that the increase in technological advancement also increased the need of these "technical experts." Since Libya is still forming their government, I believe that, in this case, that technocrats were a good choice because they can focus on their designated task under supervision, while others work on the forming of the best government for the Libyans. Once this government is created though, I believe that the power of this bureaucracies should weaken so that there is balance between powers. Another benefit of having the technical

During my tenure, I have witness the selection and sequential hiring for government positions that were made from individuals that had acquaintance with past/present senior officials, which may influence or favor selection of candidates. This process have created an illusion that selections are based on the organization hierarchy for preselection individuals that simulates a process of nation building of like individuals

In accordance with the growth of the nation, the federal bureaucracy has followed suit. The federal bureaucracy is an organization formed to accomplish implementation, regulation, and administration with efficiency. Scaling such an operation to the needs of a growing nation requires copious amounts of time and effort; two requirements that are difficult to give to the organization, so to compensate, it grows irregularly and with less efficiency. Bred from this irregularity, the government added agencies apart from the executive agencies to help the bureaucracy run smoothly. These agencies served to capture the duties which executive agencies could not, named independent agencies because of the relationship of control by the government. Due to their use in filling bureaucratic voids, independent agencies provide a service which seems necessary to the structure of government.

There are many reasons why over the past few years many citizens have grown dissatisfied with the federal bureaucracy. Many believe that the system has become bogged down the numerous layers of red tape, its personnel systems are out of date, the presidential appointments process is too complex and slow, and pay and promotions are based on favoritism. These thoughts only became more prevalent in 2014 as the Obama administration had yet to do as it promised and overhaul the bureaucracy. Once that became apparent citizens satisfaction officially dropped far below its high point set right after 9/11 (Magleby, Light, Nemacheck, 2015).

What is a federal bureaucracy? According to American Government: Roots and Reform federal bureaucracy is defined as the thousands of federal government agencies and institutions that implement and administer federal laws and programs. When the bureaucracy was first created it contained only three small departments; State, Treasury, and War. Over time the Executive branch and bureaucracy have grown significantly, now employing over three million people. This began with people getting fed up with the dismal living situations of the early 20th century. They began looking to the government to regulate living and working conditions, as well as child labor and food processing. But the bureaucracy really took off with FDR’s New Deal. With all of the

Bureaucracy was one of the most popular theories developed and is used in some modern organisations such as the NHS and the Police. Through the years bureaucracy has developed a bad reputation for de-humanizing jobs (Grey, 30) “In the ideal-type, people are no more than parts in a well-oiled machine –devoid of passion, prejudice and personality”, although some people prefer this structure (Handy, 22) “No one, it seems, approves of bureaucracy except, interestingly, lots of people in organisations who like to know where they stand.”

However, despite Max Weber’s theory that bureaucracies are like iron “iron cages” that are a efficient form of administration. Prior to modern government reform patronage, spoils, and bribery were just part of the political environment for Public Administrators. In today’s, modern government Public Administrators are hired based on the merit and technical qualifications that secure the individual can carry out the duties of the office. However, Public Administrators are forced to work in a hierarchical organization