Chapter 9: Administration and Bureaucracy PDF

Chapter 9 Administration and Bureaucracy 1. Max Weber’s Characteristics of Bureaucracy. 2. Its Functions. 3. How to control Bureaucrats. Background It is an large organization of appointed official who implement laws and policies. Bureaucra...

Chapter 9 Administration and Bureaucracy 1. Max Weber’s Characteristics of Bureaucracy. 2. Its Functions. 3. How to control Bureaucrats. Background It is an large organization of appointed official who implement laws and policies. Bureaucracy = civil service : it is the permanent government. Government of the day is temporary government of elected officials. Any large organization will have a bureaucracy : such as the arm force, schools, hospitals, large corporations. In general, it is defined as the career civil service that staffs government executive agencies. Max Weber’s Characteristics of Bureaucracies Max Weber (1864-1920), first scholar to analyze bureaucracy. It was based on German bureaucratic model. Characteristics of Bureaucracy 1. Hierarchy organization of people 2. Specialization of job (area of competence)  3.Appointment based on technical qualification 4. Fixed salary given 5. A career and sole employment 6. Does not own the office, subject to control & discipline  7. Promotion based on superiors’ judgment. Administrative Officials VS Elected Political Officials The Claims: Administrative Officials – administrators never initiate policy, but merely follow the laws and policies laid down by political leaders. Elected Political Officials – making policies, always control the administrative officials. In actual, bureaucrats make a lot of policy due to the availability of expertise and source of information. Functions of Bureaucracy GATHERING ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION SERVICING POLICY FORMULATION LICENSING REGULATING 1. Administration : Execute and enforce laws enacted by the legislature, implement public policy initiated by executive. Educate public on the benefits and purposes of a specific program. Draft legislation and prepare their ministers to answer in Parliament. Making business-type decision in government run industries 2. Policy Formulation Policies are made by the legislature but formulated by the bureaucrats. All details of the policy and all routine business connected therewith are left to various departments of the government. Devise proposals within the framework of the policy of the government. The end results is that administrators provide the details input to the minister. 3. Regulation The government generates plethora of regulations and updates them each year. All the regulations of the government are updated by the civil servants. It helps to safeguard public welfare. E.g. The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM), handling public welfare: education and promotions, law reform, treaties and international instruments, economic, social and cultural rights, and complaints and inquiries 4. Licensing It is part of regulation, enabling government to impose minimum standard It enables government to control the illegal activities of the individuals and organizations. Eg: car license, teaching permit, hawker permit and etc. 5. Services Many government agencies deliver public services. Many government agencies are created for this purpose. E.g. Immigration Department, one of the government agency under Ministry of Home Affairs, provide services related to immigration and passport issuing. 6. Information Gathering Information collection is done to catch laws violations and make policy decisions. Such as the function of Department of Statistics in Malaysia, federal government agency which provide relevant statistics to government, private or from outside the country. How to Control Bureaucrats 1. Executive Controls 2. Administrative Controls 3. Legislative Controls 4. Judicial Controls 5. Constitutional Controls 6. Ombudsman 7. Cutting 8. Decentralization 9. Informal Controls 1) Executive Control Politically elected top executives such as Prime Minister, President and Ministers formally control the bureaucrats through their powers of appointment and removal. Funded by the government budget – depends on the approval of the cabinet and legislature. Sometimes political executives appoint someone from outside the bureaucrats to bring new/ fresh approaches. (threat) 2) Administrative Control Internal machinery of the administration itself controls the bureaucrats. The internal coordination, self discipline and the hierarchical structure are self-regulatory means for controlling bureaucrats. In Britain, Malaysia and Canada and in many other countries, higher promotions rest heavily on the advice of the immediate superiors and the permanent secretary. 3) Legislative Control. There is mechanism used to have a check on bureaucracy. Can form a parliamentary commission to conduct inquiry into specific matter. This commission is empowered to investigate abuses of administrative authority. In US, Government Accountability Office (GAO) ensure the proper handling of federal funds and spending by bureaucracy. PAC (Malaysia) Parliament Public’s Account Committee 4) Judicial Controls The courts are watchdogs on the performance of the bureaucrats. They have the final authority to interpret a law. If any citizens feel that the bureaucrats have deliberately violated a particular administrative rule in his/her case, he/she can file a complaint in the courts. Eg. In Canada, the courts may issue writs instructing bureaucrats to conduct themselves in appropriate ways.  These may include a Writ of Mandamus or Writ of Habeas Corpus. A Writ of Mandamus means a court order requiring an administrator to do his/her job as the law dictates. A Writ of Habeas Corpus means a court order requiring that a person who has been detained be brought before a court to determine whether the detention is legal. The courts can also issue a Writ of Injunction or a Writ of Certiorari. A Writ of Injunction is a court prohibiting an official or a private citizen from performing a particular action. A Writ of Certiorari is a superior court order indicating the violation of the doctrine of fairness by the bureaucracy. 5) Constitutional Controls In Many countries the constitution enlists the fundamental rights and directive principle of state policy. The civil servants ought to respect these rights and freedom of the people. Eg: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom and The Indian Constitution. 6) The Office of Ombudsman Established by 1861 Swedish Constitution Justitieombudsman (agent of justice) Appointed and paid by legislature. The primary responsibility of the Ombudsman is to hear complaints from the citizens with regard to unfairness, arbitrariness, negligence and discrimination by the bureaucrats. Is a legislative-branch lawyer who intervenes on behalf of citizens treated wrongly by the bureaucracy. Malaysia – YBGK = Ombudsmen 7) Cutting It is an effort by politician to have the number of bureaucrats cut but rarely success. It is because cutting bureaucrats means cutting programs and would be objected by public. 8) Decentralization Decentralization help to bring bureaucratic decision-making closer to the local level. It helps to reduce the burden of federal administration. However, this can increase the practice of corruption, inefficiency, and a need for effective coordination. 9) Informal Control The bureaucrats can also be controlled by informal methods through mass media and pressure groups. In democratic system, the citizens can directly report/complain the unfairness regarding the bureaucrats by using medium such as newspaper, radio, television, blogs, facebook and etc. Pressure group are also vigilant in protecting the rights of its member. If any member of a group been treated unfairly, they can start investigate and sometimes compel the government to change its policy. Bureaucracies in Comparison The United States Fewer 15 percents of American civil servants are federal 21.5 Million civil servants, some 15 million are employed by local governments, 4 million by state government and fewer 3 million (not counting military personnel) by the federal government. (most government services- schools, police and fire protection – are provided by local governments.