Street Level Bureaucracy: Critical Role of Street-Level Bureaucrats PDF

**STREET LEVEL BUREAUCRACY: THE CRITICAL ROLE OF STREET LEVEL BUREAUCRATS** **MICHAEL LIPSKY** - Program Officer at the Ford Foundation' **Street-level bureaucracy** - public employees who interact with citizens - **\"frontline\"** of government, making decisions that affect people\'s li...

**STREET LEVEL BUREAUCRACY: THE CRITICAL ROLE OF STREET LEVEL BUREAUCRATS** **MICHAEL LIPSKY** - Program Officer at the Ford Foundation' **Street-level bureaucracy** - public employees who interact with citizens - **\"frontline\"** of government, making decisions that affect people\'s lives daily - **\"human face\" of policy** - essential to functioning of government services. - represent the actual delivery of government policy to the public - offers crucial and insightful analysis of often-overlooked reality of public service delivery **THE POSSIBILITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE ETHICS** **DENNIS F. THOMPSON** **ADMINISTRATIVE ETHICS** - Application of moral principles to the conduct of officials in organizations. - Species of political ethics - Moral principles: rights and duties; condition - Disinterested perspective **RA 6713** - establishing a code of conduct and ethical standards for public officials and employees. **THE ETHIC OF NEUTRALITY (who may judge)** - Carry out the orders of their superiors and the policies of the agency and the government - Do not exercise independent moral judgement - Ideal administrator **THE ETHIC OF STRUCTURE (who is judged)** - Object of moral judgement must be the organization or the government as a whole - Moral judgement presupposes moral agency - Many people contribute in many different ways to the decisions and policies of an organization **Public Administrative Theory and SEPARATION OF POWERS** **David H. Rosenbloom** - law, politics and management. - contends public administration is based on three approaches: **management, politics/policy, and law.** - *to understand public administration, it is not sufficient to use just one approach* Public administration lacks a strong theoretical foundation. (**Robert Parker, Frederick C. Mosher**,.**Herbert Kaufman** & **James Q. Wilson** agreed) - **Robert Parker** - There's really no such subjects as 'public administration'. **Managerial Approach** - emphasizes clear roles and responsibilities - Selection of public administrators based on merit - view individuals impersonally - impersonal view is seen as essential for maximizing efficiency. **Political Approach** **Wallace Sayre** states that public administration is a *political theory problem.* - **Responsibility to popular control** **Legal Approach** - prioritizes individual rights - Judicial decisions focus on rights - considers the individual as a unique person 1. **Procedural Due Process:** Stands for fundamental fairness and protection against government harm. 2. **Individual Substantive Rights:** Maximization of rights is viewed positively 3. **Equity:** Fairness in conflicts Separation - **Managerial Approach:** executive branch focusing on law execution. - **Political Approach:** legislative branch, law-making and policy-making. - **Legal Approach:** judiciary, concerned with individual rights and equity. **INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE** **JOSEPH NYE JR.** **INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)** - **Use of computers, storgae, networking** **DEMOCRACY** - **Greek word "demos" (people) kratos (power)** - **Power of the people** **LAWRENCE LESSIG'S FRAMEWORK** - **"Code is law" means how the design and architecture of digitalsystem can shape human behavior** **FROM AFFIRMATIVE ACTION TO AFFIRMING DIVERSITY** - Moving beyond affirmative action does not mean abandoning it but rather building on its foundation to create an inclusive and equitable environment. **ROOSEVELT THOMAS (Rufus Roosevelt Thomas, Jr.)** - Founder of american institute for managing diversity - Father of diversity AFFIRMATIVE ACTION'S LIMITATIONS 1. **Temporary Intervention -** not well-suited to address long-term; designed as temporary solution to address imbalances  2.  **Perception of Meritocracy -** raising questions about their qualifications and undermining confidence in an equitable merit-based system. Affirmative Action - ** policy or strategy aimed at increasing representation of historically marginalized groups** - **correct historical injustices and systemic inequalities** Affirming Diversity - **practice that seeks to embrace and leverage the differences among employees** - **create inclusive environment where all employees feel valued** - CYCLE OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION  - CYCLE OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION  - CYCLE OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION  Cycle of Affirmative Action - **Problem Recognition -** organizations acknowledge groups, (minorities, women) are underrepresented in their workforce or leadership roles. - **Intervention -** launches programs to address underrepresentation - **Great Expectations -** organizations anticipate newly recruited will naturally progress within system. -  **Frustration -** Minorities and women find themselves plateauing in their careers, unable to break through systemic barriers. -  **Dormancy -** after the frustration, organizations enter a phase of inaction. - **Crisis -** external or internal pressure reignites the cycle TEN GUIDELINES FOR LEARNING TO MANAGE DIVERSITY 1.  **Clarify Your Motivation -** organizations must define their reasons for managing diversity. 2. ** Clarify Your Vision -** leaders should articulate a clear, inclusive vision for diversity. 3. ** Expand Your Focus -** broaden the scope of diversity beyond race and gender. 4. ** Audit Your Corporate Culture -** assess the organization\'s culture to identify barriers to inclusion.** ** 5. **Modify Your Assumptions -** challenge outdated beliefs and biases within the organization. **6. Modify Your System** - redesign organizational policies to eliminate biases. **7. Modify Your Models** - redefine behavioral and leadership models. **8. Help Your People Pioneer** - support employees and managers in navigating diversity challenges. **9. Apply the Special** **Consideration Test** - ensure that diversity programs benefit all employees. 10\. **Continue Affirmative Action** - use affirmative action as a steppingstone to managing diversity. **AGENDAS, ALTERNATIVES, AND PUBLIC POLICIES** **JOHN W. KINGDON** - EXPERT IN PUBLIC POLICY AND AGENDA-SETTING THEORY **Three Streams:** **Problem Stream**: Recognized issues needing attention. **Policy Stream:** Available solutions or alternatives. **Politic Stream:** The political environment and public opinion. **Policy Window**: A limited time when these streams align for action. - moment when everything comes together to make it possible for a new policy **Reasons Policy Windows Open:** -  Changes in political environment. - Emergence of urgent problems or crisis. **Reason Policy Windows Close** - Limited Timeframe - Lack of Agreement on Solutions **Three Streams Coupling:** **Problem Stream:** Defined issues needing government response. **Policy Stream:** Available solutions within the policy community. **Political Stream:** A supportive political environment and interest from decision-makers ***REPRESENTATIVE BUREAUCRACY -SAMUEL KRISLOv*** - -known primarily in the field of public administration "representative bureaucracy **WHAT IS REPRESENTATIVE BUREAUCRACY?** - Reflect demographic composition of population it serves - race, ethnicity, gender, class - **Public servants** - represent citizens with shared values and advocate for their interests. **2 COMPONENTS OF BUREAUCRATIC REPRESENTATION** **Passive representation** - "sociological or symbolic representation" - demographic characteristics of administrators reflect population they serve. **Active representation** \- "substantive representation" \- administrators intentionally pursue interests of those they represent **Equal opportunity**: Treating everyone alike b. **Compensatory opportunity**: Supporting the neediest **PUBLIC BUREAUCRACY AND SOCIETAL REPRESENTATION** - Public bureaucracies must reflect societal diversity for legitimacy. - Effective governance relies on broad representation to enhance public support for policies **REPRESENTATIVE BUREAUCRACY SAMUEL KRISLOV (TOBIAS)** - First introduced by Donald Kingsley - **Class representation** - essential for democratic governance. **1960s -- 1970s Civil Service Reform** - significant changes and improvements - Krislov's theory emphasizes bureaucracies should be representative of population - "**nesting**" concepts - each layer builds and supports others, creating a comprehensive framework SYSTEM OF SELECTION - "**bumping**" allowing unneeded employees in one office to displace employees with less seniority - "**Special treatment** - generates demands from other groups. - **issue of representative bureaucracy** - issue of Black rights in United States **HOUSE BILL NO. 4479** - strengthen the anti-discrimination - "shall be unlawful for any employer to discriminate against any woman employee"