Bureaucracy in Public Administration

Even though bureaucracies sometimes seem inefficient or wasteful, setting up a bureaucracy helps ensure that thousands of people work together in compatible ways by defining everyone’s roles within a hierarchy. Bureaucracy is an organization that is structured with regulations set in place to control activity. The bureaucratic stricture is usually implemented in large organizations and governments. It is represented by an assembly of knowledge, power, and Hierarchy. The Knowledge of the organization consists of the technical expertise and the understandings necessary to carry out specialized tasks, along with the capacity to gain more information as needed. The power is the central political resource, enables the organization to change in spite of what others may think. Hierarchy is the arrangement of people holding authority over others with the ability to command behavior and punish lack of compliance. Bureaucracies are meant to be orderly, fair, and highly efficient. Which means having a clear-cut division of labor is necessary. The principles of Bureaucracy hierarchy and of levels of authority mean a firmly ordered system of super and subordination, in which a super supervises their subordination. Such a system offers those governed the possibility of appealing the decision of super to higher authority, in a regulated manner. Within any bureaucratic authority there are principals of organization orthodox. According to the Weberian model, created by German sociologist Max Weber, a bureaucracy always displays the following characteristics:- Hierarchy: A bureaucracy is set up with clear chains of command so that veryone has a boss. At the top of the organization is a chief who oversees the entire bureaucracy. Power flows downward. Specialization: Bureaucrats specialize in one area of the issue their agency covers. This allows efficiency because the specialist does what he or she knows best, and then passes the matter along to another specialist. Division of labor: Each task is broken down into smaller tasks, a nd different people work on different parts of the task. Standard operating procedure (SOP): Also called formalized rules, SOP informs workers about how to handle tasks and situations. Everybody always follows the same procedures to increase efficiency and predictability so that the organization will produce similar results in similar circumstances. SOP can sometimes make bureaucracy move slowly because new procedures must be developed as circumstances change. In the past, organizations were commonly structured as bureaucracies. A bureaucracy is a form of organization based on logic, order, and the legitimate use of formal authority. Bureaucracies are meant to be orderly, fair, and highly efficient. Their features include a clear-cut division of labor, strict hierarchy of authority, formal rules and procedures, and promotion based on competency. Management or administration marked by hierarchical authority among numerous offices and by fixed procedures, the Administration of a government chiefly through bureaus or departments staffed with nonelected officials. Public administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a â€Å"field of inquiry with a diverse scope† its â€Å"fundamental goal†¦ is to advance management and policies so that government can function. † Some of the various definitions which have been offered for the term are: â€Å"the management of public programs†; the â€Å"translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day† and â€Å"the study of government decision making, the analysis of the policies themselves, the various inputs that have produced them, and the inputs necessary to produce alternative policies. Public administration is â€Å"centrally concerned with the organization of government policies and programmes as well as the behavior of officials (usually non-elected) formally responsible for their conduct† Many unelected public servants can be considered to be public administrators, including heads of city, county, regional, state and federal departments such as municipal budget directors, human resources (H . R. ) administrators, city managers, census managers, state [mental health] directors, and cabinet secretaries. Public administrators are public servants working in public departments and agencies, at all levels of government. In contrast to private enterprises, government-owned corporation or municipality owned enterprises are not always or even usually managed on the basis of the profit motive. A deficit in this latter case does not spell the end of the enterprise or even the beginning of reforms, because it is generally assumed that the reason the enterprise exists is to ‘render useful services to the public’ (i. e. mploy a large part of the local population as its workforce or charge an artificially low price for its products or services), not become a slave of the profit motive. What is notable about the very idea of bureaucracy is its severe rational modernism. Political modernity and bureaucracy are largely symbiotic; the rise of the state paralleled the rise of the bureaucracy. One of the philosophers of the modern economizing state and the modern bureaucratic idea is Adam Smith (1723–1790), whose defense of the division of labor promoted the bureaucratization of the early Westphalia state. Indeed, Smith’s ideas are elemental to Weber’s core tenets of bureaucracy: the rigid division of responsibilities and tasks and the economization of organizational forms. Whereas Smith advocated the division of labor in order to promote efficient economic growth, Weber suggests the division of labor for the efficient production of goods or services. Inevitably, bureaucracy was conceived as, and has become, an economizing tool for the rationalization of complex and ambiguous environments. The rationality of bureaucracy is a central idea within Weber’s ideal type. In fact, Weber himself suggests that bureaucracy be a rational-legal form designed to promote the rationalization of organizational tasks and goals. The rationalizing tendency of bureaucracy, while being one of the elements most open to contemporary criticism, was also its most attractive quality for the architects of Enlightenment-guided governance, who sought alternatives to earlier forms of despotic and aristocratic dominance. The adoption of the bureaucratic form by theorists of liberal government has its roots in the legal protection of natural (rational) rights for all. In fact, embedded in the rationalization structure of bureaucracy is the elimination of particularism the diminishment of universal individual rights for the sake of traditional forms of class or ethnic domination. Those responsible for the French Revolution pined, within their writings, for the rational nonexceptionalism of the bureaucratic form. Indeed, as Maxim lien de Robespierre (1758–1794) and later Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) identified, the ancient regime was epitomized by the irrational occupation of power by a centralized bureaucracy of the ruling class. The bureaucratic organization of rational-legal authority involves the following necessary criteria: the specification of jurisdictional areas, the hierarchical organization of roles, a clear and intentionally established system of decision-making rules, the restriction of bureau property to use by the bureau, the compensation by salary (not spoils) of appointed officials, and the professionalization of the bureaucratic role into a tenured lifelong career. The idea of bureaucracy suggests that rules, norms, merit, regulations, and stability are paramount to the operation of government. The rule-bound nature of bureaucracy has been widely critiqued in modern political and sociological analyses; however, the number of alternative forms of organization that have received as much consideration is limited.

The ten most significant developments for the United States from 1945 Essay

The ten most significant developments for the United States from 1945 to the present - Essay Example On August 14, 1945, President Harry Truman announced that the war had ended. It was V-J day1. Truman, in addressing the crowds said "We face the greatest taskand it's going to take the help of all of you to do it." Celebrations across the country took place and people celebrated the sheer joy of knowing there was no more war. What they did not realize was that there were new tensions to be dealt with in our own country. We as a nation sat and wondered about the impact of atomic bombs in our world. Indeed President Truman, in his diary pondered "I hope for some form of peacebut I fear machines are ahead of mortals".While riding in an automobile procession in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, he was shot to death by an assassin firing from an upper floor of a building. The alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was killed two days later in the Dallas city jail by Jack Ruby, owner of a strip-tease club. At 46 years of age, Kennedy became the fourth president to be assassinated and the eighth to di e in office.On the early morning of June 17, 1972, five men were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate, an office-hotel-apartment complex in Washington, D.C. In their possession were burglary tools, cameras and film, and three pen-size tear gas guns. At the scene of the crime, and in rooms the men rented at the Watergate, sophisticated electronic bugging equipment was found. President Nixon attempted to use his presidential powers to quash the investigation into the incident. He attempted to avoid subpoenas ordering him to turn over tapes of the incident. The Supreme Court ordered that it was illegal for the President to use his presidential powers to thwart an investigation 5. Mid 1980's - America Becomes Aware of AIDS3 "The dominant feature of this first period was silence, for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was unknown and transmission was not accompanied by signs or symptoms salient enough to be noticed. While rare, sporadic case reports of AIDS and sero-archaeological studies have documented human infections with HIV prior to 1970, available data suggest that the current pandemic started in the mid- to late 1970s. By 1980, HIV had spread to at least five continents (North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia). During this period of silence, spread was unchecked by awareness or any preventive action and approximately 100,000-300,000 persons may have been infected." 6. Black Monday- the Stock Market Crash of 1987 The stock market crash of 1987 was the largest one day stock market crash in history. The Dow lost 22.6% of its value or $500 billion dollars on October 19th 1987. 7. 1992 - Riots in Los Angeles due to the Rodney King beating. Rodney King became a reluctant symbol of police brutality a decade ago when amateur photographer George Holliday provided evidence that was hard to ignore. The videotape Holliday shot showed several white Los Angeles police officers using their batons to beat King, who had led them on a car chase after they tried to stop him for speeding, was broadcast around the world. 8. Y2K - 1999 Y2K bug was a clicking time bomb for all major computer applications. The computer and system application companies came out with year 2000 compliant operating systems and system software. IT companies around the world spent billions of dollars to go through their entire application source code to look

Coca Cola Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Coca Cola - Case Study Example The overall market of soft drinks in Australia has experienced a slow but steady growth rate. Key players in the market try as much as possible to amass the market power by acquiring other similar companies in the industry. However, concentration and other market activities in Australia are regulated by The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The competition in non-alcoholic market in Australia is stiff and it is difficult for Coca Cola Amatil to increase its market share beyond 75 percent. The greatest business rivalry of the company is Schweppes, which is followed by P& N. The other major challenge facing the industry include dietary issues, which has made most health conscious consumers switch to other products to avoid consumption of the carbonated soft drinks. According to SWOT analysis proper advertising, effective and efficient distribution lines as well as competent sales force are key to success in the soft drinks market. The company requires an extra AU$42 milli on to finance the marketing plan. The money will be obtained from the retained earnings. Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 2.2 Consumer trends 5 3.0 Marketing objectives 15 4.0 Marketing strategies 16 5.3 Monitoring, evaluation and control 19 7.0 References 21 8.0 Appendix 23 1.0 Introduction Coca-Cola Amatil is one of the dominant market players in the Australian soft drinks market. ... David Gonski.The products that are produced and distributed by Coca-Cola Amatil include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite, Sprite Zero, Fanta, Lift, Deep Spring mineral waters, Mother, Appletiser, Grapetiser, Kirks soft drinks, Mount Franklin bottled water, Pump bottled water, Vitamin Water, Powerade, Nestea, Neverfail water coolers, Goulburn Valley juices, Fruit Box, Grinder's Coffee and SPC Ardmona. The Australian beverage company faces stiff rivalry from Schweppes and other smaller players. Coca-Cola sales are driven by economic factors such as pricing, long-term trends, brand loyalty and awareness and seasonality 2.0 Situation Analysis The Australian Coca-Cola Amatil is a company that has distinguished itself as a market leader over the years in the beverage industry of Australia. 2.1 Industry trends Soft drink refers to a non- alcoholic drink whose main ingredient is water. Most soft drinks are sweetened and carbonated. In addition, some have vitamin or higher energy (ener gy drinks) additives. The retail environment of soft drinks is strengthening and major players are introducing new products. The new products are made for consumers who are health conscious and who need convenient beverages. Fraser (2010) revealed that carbonated drinks take over 56 market share of non-alcoholic drinks, bottled water takes 25 percent, the sports drinks takes about 19 percent and the remainder is taken by juice and energy drinks. The soft drink industry in Australia has experienced relatively steady and moderate growth rate in the last five years of about 1 percent per annual. However, the sale of carbonated soft drinks is declining because majority of health-conscious consumers are moving away from high-calorie and sugary beverages to fruit juices, water and non-carbonated