POLI 2051 Lecture : Some Ch1-4notes
The American Bureaucracy
The bureaucracy is the large collection of executive branch departments, agencies,
boards, and commissions, and other government organizations that carry out the
responsibilities of the federal government.
• Today, the total number of federal employees, including the armed services,
is almost 5 million people.
• The word bureaucracy is not mentioned in the Constitution
The Structure of the Bureaucracy
Today there are fifteen executive, or cabinet-level, departments in the federal
bureaucracy.
• A cabinet department is an executive branch organization led by a cabinet secretary
appointed by the president
• Cabinet departments are responsible for implementing laws and policies in specific
areas, and the job of the secretary is to oversee implementation, provide advice to
the president, and develop an annual budget for the department.
• Congress has the authority to create a cabinet department, but once it is created, it is
under the control and supervision of the president as head of the executive branch.
Cabinet Departments of the
Federal Government
Federal Commissions
A federal commission is an agency typically run by a small number of officials, known as
commissioners, who are appointed by the president and have responsibility for
overseeing a sector of the economic or political arena.
• Securities and Exchange Commission
Selected independent agencies
Core components of bureaucracy
All these bureaucratic organizations share four core components that determine how
government implements policy and, more immediately, how government responds to the
individual needs of its citizens.
-Mission -A hierarchical decision-making process
-Expertise -A bureaucratic culture
Mission
Each federal agency has a stated mission that defines its role and responsibilities within
the federal bureaucracy.
• A mission statement is important as the public face of the department, and it is the
measure by which members of Congress and the general public can hold the
department accountable for the success or failure of its efforts.
Hierarchal decision-making process
The hierarchy of authority in bureaucracies means that an employee’s decision on the
implementation of policy is reviewed at each higher level in the organization.
• Advantages
o It ensures consistency and predictably.
o It ensures careful consideration of policies.
• Disadvantages
o The process is often slow.
