What is Bureaucratic? To understand the bureaucracy and its role, we need to decompose its features and functions. You’ll learn the structure and purpose of bureaucracy, explore its four main characteristics, and discover its three main functions through examples.
Buzz, buzz, buzz. Check out all the busy little bees working hard to keep everything in the hive running smoothly and efficiently. They have a lot in common with the US government bureaucracy. The word “bureaucracy” literally means “government with a small desk” and originated in France and refers to the small desks used by royal officials when conducting royal affairs. Or a large administrative organization that runs the day-to-day operations of a company. In America, government bureaucracy operates at the national, state, and local levels.
In a bureaucracy, he has four main characteristics, and the similarity to the honeycomb is even more pronounced.
Clear hierarchy – The bureaucracy has a fixed chain of command. Each worker has their place in the chain, and someone at the next higher level oversees each worker’s work. Power flows down from the top of the hierarchy and decreases toward the bottom. Think about the hive. The queen bee is at the top, and each worker bee or drone has its place in the hive’s chain of command.
Specialization – Everyone in the bureaucracy has a particular job and often becomes an expert. Bees also have specific tasks such as collecting pollen, making honey, and building beehives.
Division of Labor – In a bureaucracy, almost every task is broken down into constituent parts, with different people working on different parts of the task. Together they get the job done, much like the bees in the hive divide the work for maximum efficiency.
A set of formal rules – these so-called His SOPs are written instructions for each professional activity at each level of the hierarchy. Employees who follow them can be confident that they are on the same page as their colleagues and are doing their job right. According to beekeepers, bees also have sophisticated communication systems that keep their hives running smoothly.
The term bureaucracy (/bjʊəˈrɒkrəsi/) refers to a body of non-elected governing officials as well as to an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected officials. Today, bureaucracy is the administrative system governing any large institution, whether publicly owned or privately owned. The public administration in many jurisdictions and sub-jurisdictions exemplifies bureaucracy, but so does any centralized hierarchical structure of an institution, e.g. hospitals, academic entities, business firms, professional societies, social clubs, etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureaucracy
Function of Bureaucratic System
The American bureaucracy serves three primary functions in maintaining the government’s nest.
The bureaucracy implements the laws and policies of elected officials.
These laws and policies must be practiced in specific situations and applied to all occurrences of daily life. For example, the city council has decided that all dog owners must have their pets registered and microchipped. Still, city council members don’t have time to ensure the decision is implemented.
City officials, who are members of the City Council, answer legal questions and complaints, help dog owners fill out the correct forms, determine when licensing fees are waived, and veterinarians who can microchip your dog. Introduces the owner to We issue discount coupons for microchipping and work together to enforce laws that allow all dog owners to have their pets licensed and microchipped promptly.
The bureaucracy performs necessary administrative tasks such as conducting examinations, issuing permits, and collecting fees.
Essentially, it handles the paperwork of day-to-day government affairs. Anyone with a driver’s license must go through the bureaucratic administrative body through the required written and driving test, the study permit, and fees at all stages. Finally, the application and receipt of the driver’s license must be dealt with face to face.
Bureaucracy regulates various government activities.
That is, create rules and regulations that clarify how various laws operate daily. For example, the bureaucracy is responsible for creating public school rules and regulations, including curriculum standards, testing procedures, disciplinary methods, teacher training and admission requirements, and administrative policies.
Bureaucratic Accountability: Definitions and Institutions
Bureaucratic accountability refers to a government’s ability to hold bureaucrats accountable for its actions and actions. Explore definitions and institutions of bureaucratic accountability and learn about presidential scrutiny, the role of Congress, and court proceedings.
Let’s be honest. The federal bureaucracy in America, the administrative body that manages the day-to-day operations of the government, is vast. Some estimates employ about 4 million people. Like the Clydesdale horse team pulling a big wagon, the bureaucracy has excellent power, energy, and momentum. Once it starts spinning, it cannot be easy to stop.
The bureaucracy is also exposed to many dangers in everyday life. It can easily fall into the pits of bureaucracy (overly complicated rules and procedures), waste, duplication, conflict, and imperialism (going it alone). To minimize such risks, the government should somehow control the bureaucracy, like a driver holding a team of horses. This is done through a process called bureaucratic accountability. It is the ability of governments, especially presidents, Congress, and courts, to hold bureaucracies accountable for their performance and actions.
Bureaucratic Accountability: Bureaucratic Accountability
The president has the power to curb bureaucracy in many ways. First, he can appoint about 4,000 senior officials, including ministers, top officials in bureaucratic posts, and some assistants. These bureaucrats owe their work to the president and are often committed to the president’s vision and goals.
The president can also reorganize his bureaucracy and departments at his discretion. This way, he eliminates duplication (agencies do pretty much the same thing), reduces conflict and waste, and keeps bureaucracy from getting too big for their pants. One political scientist calls restructuring “the government’s cod liver oil.”
Finally, the Office of the President’s Office of the Executive and Budget helps the president track the bureaucracy. We frequently monitor and evaluate the performance of various agencies and departments, examining efficiency, growth, budgets, and organization. Based on the Secretariat’s recommendations, the President makes budget allocations, appointments, and restructuring decisions.
By these three methods of his (appointment, reorganization, and oversight of the Office of Management and Budget), the President will keep these great bureaucratic Clydesdales in check and hold bureaucrats accountable for their actions.
Bureaucratic Accountability: Congress is Monitoring the Situation
Congress has another pair of hands on the reins, helping the president keep the bureaucracy out of trouble. This is done in several ways.
- Parliament may establish bureaucratic offices and departments and thus limit their number and functions.
- Congress can create a bureaucratic budget and limit the amount of money bureaucrats receive.
- Congress also provides resources to the bureaucracy. Just distribute a lot of money at once.
- Congress has the power to confirm bureaucratic appointments of the President and to reconfirm the eligibility of appointees for the office. 5. Congress expresses its approval or disapproval of new bureaucratic programs or changes in emphasis.
- Congress conducts investigations when bureaucracy is accused or suspected of wrongdoing.
- Congress can reprimand officials if necessary.
Bureaucratic System and Congress: Sources of Power and Influence
Congress maintains a working relationship with the Washington Bureaucracy, a group of federal employees who run the government’s day-to-day operations. Explore how Congress creates, activates, and overhauls its bureaucracy, and examine the power and influence of the so-called Iron Triangle coalition in policy making.
Parliament and Bureaucratic System
On a hot day in Washington, D.C., a senator and a bureaucrat sat at the same table in a famous local ice cream shop and struck up an exciting conversation over sweet treats. “You know, bureaucrats say to senators, ‘I’ve always wondered what kind of relationship there is between your part of the government and mine. We are connected in many ways, and sometimes I wonder how it all works. “
“That’s a good point,” the senator replies. “I have a few questions about that too. Could you give me a minute?” The bureaucrat nods and licks his spoon.
Create, Activate, Validate. “I think we can start with how Congress is involved in creating, enabling, and overhauling our bureaucracy,” the senator said.
The bureaucracy jumps in: “To make this clear, let’s first really define a bureaucracy. An administrative body deals with the day-to-day running of a government or society. And currently employs about 4 million workers.
“Yes,” replies the Senator. “Most of these agencies and departments were created by Congress. We cannot control all the laws we enact. We cannot put them to work in our daily lives, so we set up bureaucratic agencies and departments to do it for us. The first Ministry of Foreign Affairs was founded in 1789. was done.
“And the bureaucracy grew from there,” the bureaucrat nods. “Today, hundreds of agencies and departments are responsible for enforcing the law daily in all circumstances and circumstances of human life.”
“Certainly,” says the Senator. We have purse strings. Your agency cannot operate without money, so we approve your budget and provide approved cash as needed.
“Yes,” the bureaucrat agrees. Then the agency may disappear. “
“Yes!” the Senator grinned, licking her ice cream cone. The whole process is called oversight. Congressional subcommittees collect information about the bureaucracy and its performance from the bureaucracy, interest groups, and voters. We then review budget and staffing issues, follow up on complaints, and may hold public hearings if necessary.
Bureaucratic System Cooperation: Iron Triangle
“Legislators can make us bureaucrats uncomfortable,” replies the bureaucrat, scraping the last sip of hot fudge from the plate. Political scientists have developed several models to describe our working relationships. The first is called the Iron Triangle. Did you hear about that?
‘safety! ‘A senator is often defined as a political coalition or relationship between bureaucracies, parliamentary committees, and interest groups (politically active people coming together around a common goal or issue). He draws a triangle on a napkin, and it’s three dots: Congress, Bureaucracy, and Interest Groups. “It’s a symbiotic relationship,” he explains. “If you scratch my back, I’ll scratch your back.” He drew an arrow pointing from parliament to bureaucracy and vice versa.
“We will give you support and funding, and you will enforce our laws.” He then draws an arrow pointing from the bureaucracy to the interest groups and vice versa. “They give special favors to interest groups and minimize regulation of their favorite projects. In return, they will advocate for us on your behalf.” Draw an arrow pointing from the body to the parliament and vice versa. “Interest groups endorse us in elections, and we pass legislation in Congress to support their favorite projects.”
“What about a real-world example?” demands the bureaucrat.
“Okay,” says the senator. The Congressional Subcommittee on Agriculture works closely with interest groups such as the US Department of Agriculture (a bureaucratic agency) and the US Federation of Farm Services. Congress funds and supports her USDA. The USDA diligently enforces the laws of Congress.
If you like this kind of articles, we suggest you to read the article “What Are the Power of Attorney?“.
