Chapter 3

The Anatomy of Public

organization Bureaucratic Power
& Politics
Public Administration
Chapter outline
 Introduction
 The concepts of organizational culture &
bureaucracy ideology
 The bureaucratic ideology
 Organizational effects on cognitive processes
and value systems
 The foundations of bureaucratic power
 Organizational structure
 Bureaucrats as politicians
 Internal sources of values
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Introduction: internal sources of value
 Internal sources of value & the roles played by
 higher levels of management
 Elected politicians
 Unions representing public employees
 Values shape the organization approach to
problem solving
 Organizational culture & bureaucratic ideology
are critical to the organization’s value system
 They are used to maintain political support

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Introduction …
 Organizational culture affect the cognitive
processes of the organization members
 Bureaucratic power influence public policy
development & implementation
 Other important source of values
 Budgetary needs & constraints
 The need for efficiency
 Codes of ethics for some organizations
 Level of morale of members
 Powerful units in the organization structure

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The organizational culture
 A complex interlinking of assumptions, norms
attitudes, beliefs & values that collectively
guide the organization.
 The way an org views its role with the society
 Bureaucrats are made not born, i.e. members
acquire the dominating culture in the org.
 It becomes their main source of understanding
& gives routines to deal with certain problems
 Reduces the need to authority, rules, & control
 Has positive & negative effects
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Culture & Groupthink
 Groupthink is a mode of thinking within a group,
its people seek consensus with no appraisal of
alternative course of action. Its symptoms:
 An illusion of invulnerability
 Ignore warnings or other types of negative feedback
 Deep belief in the moral correctness of the in-group
 Negative views about the leaders of out-groups
 Avoidance of any deviation from the group
 Quick application of pressure to conform to the group
 Shared illusions of consensus of opinion
 Establishment of mind guards
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 Functions of organizational culture
 Organizational culture may conflict with
external societal culture, examples as follow:
Pluralist (political system) Administrative efficiency
Power is dispersed & decentralized Power is concentrated & centralized

Executive power is regarded with Great accountability for chief executive

suspicion
Power is given to politicians & interest
groups
Political bargaining & accommodation
at the heart of the democratic process
Individual asses his or her own
interests
Power is given to experts
Efficiency dictates that politics be kept
out of administration
Stress is on scientific or technical
rationality

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Culture: the use of symbols …

 Cultural values are communicated thru

symbols: words phrases, anthems, gestures …
 They are used thru the organizational structure
 Orgs are not solely goal-driven structures, as
myths, rituals, ceremonies, stories, & sagas
help members deal with complexities and
reduce uncertainty in orgs.

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The Bureaucratic ideology
 It is a subset of org culture: a verbal image of
the good society and a chief means of
constructing such a society. It helps
 emphasize the benefits of agency policy &
deemphasizes the costs of these benefits
 justify expanding not contracting the agency
 emphasize the desirability of its efficiency &
centralized coordination
 promote achievements & future capabilities rather
than failures & current inabilities

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Ideology …

 provides shortcuts to policies, programs, …etc.,

most acceptable by external society
 Ideologies are stable & coherent, so they
help bureaucracy cope with uncertainty
 Bureaucratic ideologies are more flexible
than political parties in response to changes
 Top-levels officials develop it & communicate
it downward & to the external society

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Bureaucratic symbols
 Professionals in an agency are a source of
new policy, having the expert knowledge and
a goal to expand the agency influence.
 Political executives are appointed to oversee
& control bureaucratic structures.
 Civil servants stay longer than politicians, so
they better chance to influence policies.

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Consumers of ideology
 Active external: agents whose functions require
the bureau in making their decisions
 Passive external: remotely affected by the
agency, but their actions affect the agency
 Active internal: use the ideology when dealing
with external agents
 Passive external: do not use the ideology
 Bureau constituency: vested interest group
supporters, clientele, direct beneficiaries, &
suppliers …

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Symbolic management
 Ideology involves investing time & effort to
build external support & internal cohesion
 Its information should be provided freely to its
constituency using: TV, press releases …etc.
 Alternatives for outmoded ideologies
 Retain obsolete ideology & keep mangers’
behavior consistent with it
 Retain obsolete ideology but modify their behavior
consistent to the interests of the their beneficiaries
 Advance a new ideology more consistent to the
interests of the beneficiaries

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Organizational effects on cognitive
processes and value systems
 Jargon- the specialized vocabulary & idioms
used in the same type of work or profession
 Important aspect inherent in a bureau ideology
 They carry meaning & values, and influence
cognitive processes of bureaucracy members
 Many of its vocabularies need definitions
 It is an element of bureaucratic power
 the more obscure the more difficult for others to
challenge it
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The foundations of bureaucratic power

 Expertise, as societies became complex.

 Political support from legislature & the
executive branches
 Support from clientele or other vested interest
groups & among general people
 Organizational structure (jurisdiction areas)
 Political capabilities of bureaucrats

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Organizational structure
 PA agencies are structured along such bases:
purpose, process, place, & clientele
 Process: regulatory orgs (ex environment protection)
 Purpose: dispensing grants some public
 Place: regional agencies (ex. Governorates)
 Clientele: ex supporting students or farmers
 These bases influence the org’s values. Ex
 Clientele ones value responsiveness
 Process org might value accountability or efficiency
 Large orgs have pyramid structure (hierarchies)
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Organizational structure …
 values of hierarchical orgs: unity of command,
chain of command, narrow span of control …
 The more centralized the org the more difficult
to change values of org members.
 The structure of an org reflect the political
power of an agency. Ex. establishing a new
unit in the org shows interests in its activities
 There are 6 models of place-based ownership
of economic enterprises as follow:

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 models of place-based ownership
1. Community-owned corporations: owned by
citizens living or linked to a local community
2. Nonprofit corporations: (the 3rd sector)
3. Municipal enterprise: local government
4. Consumer cooperatives: self help structures to
serve its members (ex in housing health-care)
5. Employee ownership: of their enterprises
6. Community development corporations (CDCs):
non-profit, help for generating jobs & services.

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Bureaucrats as politicians
 Bureaucratic leaders must perform as politicians
to protect the status of their agency
 PA behavior is the outcome of bargaining
among individuals & groups within government
 Bargaining power depend on position, beliefs
responsibility & interests of individuals & groups.
 Also depend on: persuasiveness; ability to
affect; perceptions of bargaining advantages
 They affect information & control over issues

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