Blog for December the First

Blog for 10/1/08

Today in class was very fun and interesting.
The class watched a movie on bureaucracy in America
Then Came the notes:
Agency faces constraints that make their job difficult.
Policy making occurs bit by bit
Government workers work by “the book” which is the laws that they must carry out.
Factors that make it difficult for people
Vague Laws
Complex Laws
More than one agency is involved
Bureaucratic pathology- common characteristics that criticized in many ways
Red-tape- rules and regulations that government makes
Conflict-agencies- work against each other.
More than one agency works for the same thing.
Unchecked growth
Waste-spending more on products and/or services than necessary
Lack of accountability difficulty firing or demoting an incompetent bureaucrat.
Iron Triangle- alliances among bureaucrats, interest groups, and congressional subcommittee members.
Working together to promote the same interest.
Interest Networks- both sides of the issue are involved.
Workout good policy
Total quality management- technique applied to the bureaucracy focused on treating citizens like customers.
Deregulation- approach to reform that was championed by conservatives who prefer less government involvement in the economy.
Difficult to decide an appropriate level of regulation.
The End of Class.

Homework is to finish the free response sheet that is due on Wednesday.