POSC150 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Freedom Of Information In The United States, Federal Register, Rulemaking
31 May 2018
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Ch 9: The Bureaucracy
Bureaucrats are the people who make national, state, and local government work for us, “civil
servants”
What is Bureaucracy?
●Bureaucracy: an organization characterized by hierarchical structure, worker
specialization, explicit rules, and advancement by merit
●Neutral competence: the principle that bureaucracy should be depoliticized by making it
more professional
● Bureautic decision making does leave open the problem of accountability
○Accountability: the principle that bureaucratic employees should be answerable
for their performance to supervisors, all the way up the chain of command
○ Resort to rules-become inconvenient
●Red tape: the complex procedures and regulations surrounding bureaucratic activity
The American Federal Bureaucracy
The Spoils System: the nineteenth century practice of firing government workers of a defeated
party and replacing them with loyalist of the victorious party
●Patronage: a system in which a successful candidate rewards friends, contributors, and
party loyalists for their support with jobs, contracts, and favors
○ Paying off political debt and to gain cooperation from officials
○ Strengthening base of power
○ Issue with favoritism
●Civil service: nonmilitary employees of the government who are appointed through the
merit system
○ Result of america’s disgust with the corruption of the spoils system
○Pendleton Act: the 1883 civil service reform that required the hiring and
promoting of civil servants to be based on merit, not patronage
○Hatch Act: the 1939 law that limited the political involvement of civil servants to
protect them from political pressure and keep politics out of the bureaucracy
Evolution of the Federal Democracy
● Three categories of Federal agencies:
○ Those designed to serve essential government functions
■ Departments of State, War, and the Treasury
■ Perform core operations of government
○ Those crafted to meet the challenging needs and problems of the country
■ The Department of Interior
■ Industrialization
■ Independent regulatory commissions: Interstate Commerce Commission,
Federal Trade Commission, Federal Reserve System
■ Agencies created under the New Deal
Document Summary
Bureaucrats are the people who make national, state, and local government work for us, civil servants . What is bureaucracy? specialization, explicit rules, and advancement by merit. Bureaucracy: an organization characterized by hierarchical structure, worker. Neutral competence: the principle that bureaucracy should be depoliticized by making it. Bureautic decision making does leave open the problem of accountability more professional. Accountability: the principle that bureaucratic employees should be answerable. Resort to rules-become inconvenient for their performance to supervisors, all the way up the chain of command. Red tape: the complex procedures and regulations surrounding bureaucratic activity. The spoils system: the nineteenth century practice of firing government workers of a defeated party and replacing them with loyalist of the victorious party. Patronage: a system in which a successful candidate rewards friends, contributors, and party loyalists for their support with jobs, contracts, and favors. Paying off political debt and to gain cooperation from officials.
