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Diverse Perspectives on Bureaucracy: A Comparative Book Review
Intellectual History of Public Administration
PADM 6610, Fall 2014
Instructor: Matthew S. Mingus, Ph.D.
The Assignment of Comparative Book Review
Li Cheng, Ph.D. Student in Public Administration
Western Michigan University
October 28, 2014 Diverse Perspectives on Bureaucracy: A Comparative Book Review
Ackoff, L. R., & Rovin, S. (2005). Beating the System: Using creativity to outsmart bureaucracies. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 144 pages, $14.95 softcover, ISBN: 978-1-57675-330-9.
Goodsell, T. C. (2004). The Case for Bureaucracy: A public administration polemic (4th ed.). Washington, DC: CQ Press, SAGE, 2004, 208 pages, $33.81 softcover, ISBN: 978-1-56802-907-8.
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The Case for Bureaucracy, published in 2004, is more academic than the other book. It demonstrates that the quality of the public services in America has been underestimated with positive literature. The author believes that bureaucracy is not the cause of the crisis of public services. Beating the System, published in 2005, focuses on the perspectives of citizens who were beaten by the system (bureaucracy) and their strategies of fighting …show more content…
They both provide representative perspectives to the study of bureaucracy. The Case for Bureaucracy, pays more attention to the good parts of bureaucracy. The data and statistics are included in this book to support bureaucracy. Beating the System, focuses on teaching audiences the methods of fighting back the abusive bureaucratic system. True stories and experiences of citizens make this book readable for majority audiences, not only those with academic backgrounds. Understanding different perspectives will be of benefit for the comprehension of the whole picture of bureaucracy. Regardless their flaws in their methodologies and approaches, they provide diverse perspectives on bureaucracy which are worth
Often, when the discussion of American bureaucracy is broached in conversation, those holding these conversations often think of the many men and women who operate behind the scenes within the government. This same cross section of Americans is looked upon as the real power within the federal government and unlike the other branches of government, has little to no oversight. A search of EBSCO resulted in the following definition, an organization “structure with a rigid hierarchy of personnel, regulated by set rules and procedures” (Bureaucracy, 2007). Max Weber believed that a bureaucracy was technically the most efficient form of organization, one structured around official functions that are bound by rules, each function having its own specified competence (2007). This wide ranging group of Americans has operated within the gaps, behind the scenes, all under the three core branches of government: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The division of government into three branches and separate powers gives each branch both exclusive powers and some additional power...
Hall, Daniel E. Administrative Law: Bureaucracy in a Democracy. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2012. Print.
The prime directive and raison d’être of the bureaucracy is to act as a bulwark against the forces of chaos, irrationality, and disorganization that constantly jeopardize an organization (Casey, 2004). In this sense, bureaucracy can be seen as necessary to the survival of groups. It is, however, a term that is vilified in popular culture, used pejoratively even by some researchers, and reviled as nearly blasphemous and certainly anti-democratic by many reform-minded persons. To the Weberian observer, in contrast, bureaucracy is not only as equal to all other organizational forms, but is ...
Bureaucracy is a dominant organization that has emerged in life (Henslin, 2012). It can be a school or university, the government, grocery store, etc. There are five different characteristics in a bureaucracy: clear levels, with assignments flowing downward and accountability flowing upward, a division of labor, written rules, written communications and records, and impersonality and replaceability (Henslin, 2012). A farmer’s market has each of these characteristics. A farmer’s market is a place where farmers or people come and sell healthy, organic foods, or sell different artistic pieces. This essay explains the different characteristics outlined in a farmer’s market.
Modern Bureaucracy in the United States serves to administer, gather information, conduct investigations, regulate, and license. Once set up, a bureaucracy is inherently conservative. The reason the bureaucracy was initiated may not continue to exist as a need in the future. The need or reason may change with a change in the times and the culture needs. A bureaucracy tends to make decisions that protect it and further it’s own existence, possibly apart from the wishes of the populace. It may not consistently reflect what might be optimal in terms of the needs and wants of the people. Local governments employ most of the United States civil servants. The 14 cabinet departments in the U.S. are run day-to-day by career civil servants, which have a great deal of discretionary authority.
This essay will discuss the mainstream and critical perspectives of bureaucracy and post-bureaucracy. It will begin by examining the characteristics of bureaucracy and then compare the mainstream and the critical views. Post-bureaucracy will then be discussed using the same structure.
This paper will attempt to accomplish three tasks, 1) engaging in a brief overview on Representative Bureaucracy and discussion of the theory both in the passive representation and the active representation; 2) examines principal-agent theory that contributes to the understanding in representative bureaucracy in different views, and 3) explore diverse public values in representative bureaucracy such as democracy, responsiveness and equity, to establish an understanding of how representative bureaucracy approached the significant theoretical as well as practical matters in public administration. Representative Bureaucracy can be applied to strengthen the representativeness and responsiveness in practical decision-making environment by representing minorities’ interests.
Weber’s uses his theory of Bureaucracy to point out that it is what society is becoming and how it creates social older in society. This theory is
The purpose of this paper is to critique an essay written by Max Weber entitled “Bureaucracy”. Authors Walter E. Natemeyer and J. Timothy McMahon determined that Weber’s aforementioned essay on bureaucracy would be considered a classic piece of writing that should be included in the 2001 release of their book, Classics of Organizational Behavior. Max Weber articulated his concept of bureaucracy by proposing six principles that characterized bureaucracy (Natemeyer & McMahon, 2001). According to researchers, Weber’s essay is often read as “part of his social science, listing observable functions that turn a civil service into a reliable institution of state control: a bureaucracy” (Gale & Hummel, 2003). Weber’s original work, Essays in Sociology, was translated into Englis...
The study of public administration only continued to grow over the course of the next two decades. As the study of public administration expanded, so did the development of s...
Traditional public administration is traced back to the works of scholars like Max Weber, Woodrow Wilson and Fredrick Taylor. This form of administration was mostly influenced by Max Weber with his bureaucratic model and theory. Max Weber was a well-known sociologist born in Germany in the year 1864. He came up with his bureaucratic model as a way to try to improve management in organizations. ‘Weber emphasized on top-down control in the form of monocratic hierarchy that is a system of control in which policy is set at the top and carried out through a series of offices, whereby every manager and employee are to report to one person in top management and held accountable by that manager’ (Pfiffner, 2004, p. 1).
According to Sapru R.K. (2008) p370-371 the traditional ideal of public administration which inclined to be firm and bureaucratic was based on processes instead of outcomes and on setting procedures to follow instead of focusing on results. This paradigm can be regarded as an administration under formal control of the political control, constructed on a firmly ranked model of bureaucracy, run by permanent and neutral public servants, driven only by public concern. In emerging nations the administration was true bureaucracy meaning government by officers. In this perspective Smith (1996) p235-6 perceived that“the bureaucracy controls and manages the means of production through the government. It increases chances for bureaucratic careers by the creation of public figures,demanding public managers, marketing boards.
Politics-Administration Dichotomy essentially has a two part meaning; there are two functions of government for this idea, as the name implies politics, and administration. The argument about the dichotomy between politics and public administration has been around for several years with no overall consensus on why they should be distinct from one another. Looking critically at both sides of the idea, there are ways to demonstrate an accurate presentation of the administrative agencies working and there are also ways they have proved to be inaccurate. There are just as many downfalls to a politicized bureaucracy. There will be more benefits to the politics-administration dichotomy view with the concept put in place by Woodrow Wilson. He simply promotes a clear distinction between politics and administration and supports the idea that they are interdependent of one another, and they require one another for the appropriate balance between democracy and efficiency. The idea of Wilson’s concept will allow agencies to gain the most efficiency through interdependence of politics-administration.
Woodrow Wilson’s purpose in writing “The Study of Administration” is to bring awareness that the government systems in place need to be re-evaluated and improved. Wilson encourages we need to examine the history of administration set forth by others in determining certain needs to be accomplished in effective ways and methods. Wilson’s desirable outcomes for research within the public administration field are for government systems to become more productive and organized.
Bureaucracy is an organizational design based on the concept of standardization. “It is characterized by highly routine operating tasks achieved through specialization, very formalized rules and regulations, tasks that are grouped into functional departments, centralized authority, narrow spans of control, and decision making that follows the chain of command” (Judge & Robbins, 2007, p.