Bureaucracy, Rulemaking and Agency Heads

Description of Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy is term defining organization administrations where large numbers of persons are required are required to work jointly (Gajduschek, 2003). It is a fact that organizations available within the private sector, including government require bureaucracy to function effectively. Bureaucracy has impersonal characteristics such as initiating operations based on the rule of the desk. Setting up bureaucracy plays an important role in bringing a large group of people to work together despite the fact that it is regarded as a means of wasting resources (Whitford, 2002).

There are four major aspects that define the impersonality feature of bureaucracy. The first aspect is that bureaucracy foresees the establishment of impersonal rules. With an aim of being egalitarian and rational, bureaucracies strive to establish varied impersonal rules that addressed any possible events. The second aspect is the centralization nature of the decision making process. If an individual opt to maintain the impersonal aspects of the process of decision making, it is a necessity to ensure the decisions are generated at a level where the decision makers are guarded from the from being influenced by the persons meant to affect them. The end-result of the move in question is based on the fact that the persons resolving the problems have no direct knowledge of the problems that they are to resolve. As a result priority is offered to resolving political problems that are originating from the inside of the organization (Kolber, 2009).

The third aspect involves separating strata and the pressure existing within it. The eradication of the possibility of practicing discretion among the superior members in the organization and doing away with any chance of negotiating with the subordinates gives rise to isolated strata. As a result, pressure is generated for the subordinates to conform with the presented norms regardless of their opinions and goals. The fourth aspect involves the establishment of parallel relationships when it comes to power. It is not possible to outline an account for every eventuality even in cases where central decision making takes place. Based on this, persons controlling the remaining zones within the organization are provided with a great amount of power such that they can result to the establishment of egalitarian organizations after the establishment of parallel power structures (Kolber, 2009).

Ways In Which Bureaucracy Impacts The Rulemaking Process And The Roles Of Agency Heads

Bureaucracy impacts the rulemaking process by slowing it down. As is, bureaucracy encourages the management to take part in negotiated rule-making that is a process in itself altogether. Incidentally, a negotiated rule making process requires any proposed regulations or ideas to be transpired among a group of persons before an agreement is determined (MacDonald & Franko, Jr. 2007).  When it comes to the roles of agency heads, it is evident that bureaucracy impacts the roles of the agency heads as the persons available in the presented positions are required to be more accountable and responsible for the decisions made.  One of the examples includes the case of Federal bureaucracy, for policies to be passed, the president and the congress are impacted with increased accountability and responsibility of the policies to be passed. The regulatory rules from the congress are passed to the agency that implements the passed law. Interested parties are later required to comment on their rules in public hearing before passing them back to the agency. After 60 days the rules are enforced based on the decision of the congress. Similarly within an organization with a hierarchical structure, the top management proposes rule that is transferred to other levels of the organization before the management enforces the rules within the firm.

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