Notes on max webers bureaucracy theory concept and. Representative bureaucracy, organizational strategy, and. The theory of representative bureaucracy posits that a public workforce will be more effective and legitimized if it is demographically reflective of the clients it serves. In this article, we assess the application of representative bureaucracy. That is, the eeoc context satisfies the three general requisites of an appropriate research design meier and stewart 1991.
Niskanen develops an original and comprehensive theory of the behavior of bureaus with the institutions of representative government. Introduction racial and ethnic minorities are joining the employee ranks of human service agencies in growing numbers. The theory of representative bureaucracy the theory of representative bureaucracy initially fo cused on the benefits of passive representationthe pres ence of a public workforce that reflects the demographic characteristics of the society it serves. The concept of the representative bureaucracy that reflects and meets the needs of a diverse population, even when elected officials do not, is an old idea among bureaucracy scholars.
The normative underpinnings of representative bureaucracy can be traced to kingsley 1944 who theorized that the social composition of bureaucracies should reflect the people they serve as a function of democratic rule. Sep 29, 2017 this is the first book to develop a formal theory of supply by bureaus. Representative bureaucracy and public service performance perg. Theory of representative bureaucracy from a public administration perspective, a representative bureaucracy has the theoretical potential to improve the quality, responsiveness and inclusiveness of policymaking as well as service delivery. Donald kingsleys 1944 book by the same title, that public bureaucracies can be. Grounded in the theory of representative bureaucracy and using a mixed methods approach, this book explores how major changes in the demographics of the south african public service have affected the performance of the institution. What is the relationship between the composition of the public sector workforce and the nature of the society it serves. Taking a comparative and analytical perspective, the authoritative and accessible. This article explores how representative bureaucracy literature studies the effects of gender identity and matching. More specifically, the theory of representative bureaucracy includes two types of representa tion. Under certain circumstances, identity congruence between government officials and citizens will result in positive outcomes. Yet, the rising sophistication of modern democracies and the technocratization of political life are gradually inducing an increased reliance on external. The theory of representative bureaucracy suggests that a public workforce representative of the people in terms of race, ethnicity, and sex will help ensure that the interests of all groups are considered in bureaucratic decisionmaking processes.
Representative bureaucracy theory asserts that because bureaucrats share social demographic identities with citizens, they also share values that can play a role in bureaucratic decisions and affect the distribution of outputs across a nations social groups. The purpose of this paper is to apply the lens of representative bureaucracy rb to womens representation at management level in governments and governmentowned companies in arab gulf states ags, and to consider the implications for government stability, legitimacy and performance. It takes the kernel of the idea, inchoately introduced in j. Seven principles of bureaucracy theory are formal hierarchy structure, formal rules and norms, specialization, equality, recruitment based on abilities and qualification, an upfocused or infocused mission and systematic filling. Representative bureaucracy in the arab gulf states emerald. Representative bureaucracy examines how identity impacts bureaucratic decisionmaking. Theoretical perspectives on representative bureaucracy two theoretical perspectives are useful for addressing the questions of interest in this paper. The idea of representative bureaucracy is a relatively simple one. In section three, i describe the survey data i examine in the paper.
The theory posits that the active rep resentation of group interests occurs because individual bureaucrats reflect the views of those who share their demographic. Of the inner check proposals, one, representative bureaucracy, is of particular interest because it developed and tested a systematic body of midrange empirical theory of public bureaucracy. Representative bureaucracy, organizational strategy, and public. Drawing on the theory of representative bureaucracy such role percep tions are. The theory originates in an analysis of the social class composition of the british civil service by kingsley in 1944. Exploring the potential for active representation in local government article pdf available in journal of public administration research and theory 184 october. A good deal of research has been generated over the past several decades on representative bureaucracy theory, which examines the implications of how bureaucratic institutions socially or demographically reflect the communities they serve meier 1993a, 1993b. Representative bureaucracy in a nutshell contends that a bureaucracy representative of the the scientific study of bureaucracy 5.
A bureaucracy that is responsive to the needs and desires of the population should be held in higher regard. In his book, kingsley calls for a liberalization of social class selection for the english bureaucracy, due to the dominance of social, political, and economic elites within the british bureaucracy which he claimed resulted in. Oct 03, 2012 professor samuel krislovs representative bureaucracy remains among the most important and enduring books in the field of public administration and its intersection with political science. According to the theory of representative bureaucracy, passive representation among public employees will lead to active representation in bureaucratic outputs. Representative bureaucracy is defined as a theory that posits that if administrators and the public share value orientations, then administrators will advocate and pursue the same courses of action the public would if it were able to congregate and had the administrators expertise and. Donald kingsleys 1944 book by the same title, that public bureaucracies can be representative political institutions and it develops an. Representative bureaucracy and performance public service. Today, bureaucracy is the administrative system governing any large institution, whether publicly owned or privately owned.
Existing research demonstrates that the link between passive and active representation exists for race but not for sex. The empirical analysis offers compelling evidence that representative bureaucracies perform better. The concept most relevant to representative bureaucracy theory is gender. Although passive and active representation have been studied extensively by public management and administration. Representative bureaucracy theory and research provide a growing body of empirical evidence that it does. This article examines some of the rich scholarly work that has been generated on representative bureaucracy and its implications for practice. Professor samuel krislovs representative bureaucracy remains among the most important and enduring books in the field of public administration and its intersection with political science.
Representative bureaucracy in the south african public service. Bureaucracy and representative government william a. The theory first ap peared in the academic literature with the work of j. Representative bureaucracy theorists assume that public servants approach their work with values and. The theory of representative bureaucracy suggests that a demographically diverse public sector workforce passive representation will lead to policy outcomes that reflect the interests of all. Administrative discretion and active representation.
The theory of representative bureaucracy assumes that several positive effects of representation in public organizations, such as perceptions of accessibility to. Bureaucratic theory cont, orders come from top down in a manner mimicking the military creating consistency and precision. Further evidence of representation in the eeoc district offices, found that when services were being delivered by a representative workforce to a long neglected or underserved portion of the population positive. In section four, i compare the policy attitudes and policy preferences of bureaucrats. In the second section of this article, we present the theory that the relationship between passive representation and active repre. An expansion of the theory of representative bureaucracy. Hindera in a 1993 journal of public administration research and theory article titled representative bureaucracy.
This is the first book to develop a formal theory of supply by bureaus. Implicit in the passiveactive link is the expectation that. Using the lens of max webers theory of bureaucracy to. Representative bureaucracy and the role of expertise in politics the vast majority of existing studies on bureaucratic representation focus on bureaucracies permanent and internal staff. The theory of representative bureaucracy suggests that a public workforce representative of the people in terms of race, ethnicity, and sex. The article summarizes what some of the most promising avenues and methodologies are for future research on representative bureaucracy in the united states. In a democratic system of government it is necessary to reconcile the idea of a permanent. Gouldner, a scholar who tested webers ideal type of bureaucracy over many decades found internal contradictions that reflected tensions between claims of expertise and obedience based on discipline and called webers theory as a machine theory. Bureaucracy is a widely disseminated concept in sociology and in organisational theory studies, and it currently has an image where negative aspects are often highlighted. The theory of representative bureaucracy suggests that a demographically diverse public sector workforce passive representation will lead to policy outcomes that reflect the interests of all groups represented, including historically disadvantaged communities active representation. According to kingsley 1944, descriptive representation in public agencies is essential. Relying on the theory of representative bureaucracyspecifically, the notion of symbolic representationthis article examines whether varying the number of female public officials overseeing a local recycling program influences citizens especially womens willingness to cooperate with the government by recycling, thus coproducing important policy outcomes. Rules rather than people form the basis of an organization it is dependent on rules, means end calculation and matter of factiness.
Pdf administrative discretion and active representation. Representative bureaucracy can make the bureaucracy ineffective and decrease the loyalty of workers to the common mission established by legislation in a democratic republic. Pulling from social contract theory, gender is a series of social relations walby, 1990, p. Pdf the theory of representative bureaucracy suggests that a demographically diverse public sector workforce passive representation will lead.
As stated by political scientist samuel krislov, representative bureaucracy is a notion that. Pdf administrative discretion in the light of theory of. The term representative bureaucracy is generally attributed to j. Sep 20, 2016 representative bureaucracy theory and research provide a growing body of empirical evidence that it does. We utilize data from the united states equal employment opportunity commission eeoc to posit and test a theory of situational thresholds. Representative bureaucracy and the willingness to coproduce. Niskanen develops an original and comprehensive theory of the behavior of. Representative bureaucracy and the role of expertise in.
The theory of representative bureaucracy suggests that a public workforce representative of the people in terms of race, ethnicity, and sex will help ensure that the interests of all groups are considered in bureaucratic decisionmaking. Representative bureaucracy and public service performance. Transaction publishers, 1971 bureaucracy 241 pages. Representative bureaucracy in the arab gulf states. The merit principle in a representative bureaucracy. The theory of representative bureaucracy suggests that organizations perform better if their workforces reflect the characteristics of their constituent populations. Institutions that are attentive to public deliberation and susceptible to interaction with social processes are open to creative tension that allows institutions to evolve, carrying with them the longterm shared interests of society morgan 1996.
Max weber is a german sociologist, who was a pioneer in the field of bureaucracy theory of management. In the representative bureaucracy literature, scholars seek to determine whether passive. Donald kingsleys book titled representative bureaucracy that was published in 1944. Administrative discretion in the light of theory of representative bureaucracy. John stuart mills theory of bureaucracy within representative government 405 of social change. Representative bureaucracy and performance springerlink. Our theory is premised on the argument that meiers 1993b construct, criti. Representative bureaucracy theory postulates that passive.
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