The Case for Bureaucracy: A Public Administration Polemic

by Charles T. Goodsell

Book Overview

In this revised third edition the author sharpens his defence of the American public service. Attacking both the popular stereotypes and some more caustic criticism by academics in the field of public... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568029071
• ISBN13: 9781568029078
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: CQ Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

?I Hate Bureaucracy, I Love Bureaucrats? Syndrome

So far, much has been written about the evils of bureaucracy, but less has been written about the accomplishments of bureaucracy. Generally, the message given by popular literature regarding government bureaucracy was one-sided and too far from completeness. In this book, the author tries to draw a complete picture of government bureaucracy. In contrast to popular bureaucracy-bashing writing, Goodsell reaches surprisingly interesting conclusions that contradict long-held beliefs toward public bureaucracy. The overall characterization of government bureaucracy within popular culture reflects that government bureaucracy is overstaffed, inflexible, unresponsive and power hungry. In forming such an image, media and academia have played a crucial role, according to the author. The economists are hostile to government bureaucracy on the basis that competitive markets and profit incentives are feasible means to obtain efficiency; sociologists are concerned with pathologies of bureaucracy; and so on. However, generally, criticism of bureaucracy is not well supported by empirical data. As being different from those who attack bureaucracy based on unfounded assumptions most of the time, Goodsell supports his arguments with empirical data that have been obtained from citizen surveys. In my opinion, the reason for the case is very well presented and worthy of careful reading.One of the arguments of the author is that critiques of government bureaucracy fall prey to the mistake of seeing bureaucracy as a whole (a form of abstraction), and ignoring the differences between different public agencies. Goodsell aptly illustrates how public agencies greatly differ from each other in terms of performance, conduct and so on. Also, citizen surveys support the fact that ordinary citizens are glad from their relationships with government bureaucracy in their local neighborhoods. However, as a general concept, bureaucracy is an oxymoron (this paradox, in literature, is called "the paradox of distance", that is, ordinary citizens are happy with their business with bureaucracy and bureaucrats, but they have negative attitudes toward `bureaucracy'-the more distant the bureaucracy the more the negative attitude is). Not only Goodsell examines accomplishments of government bureaucracy, but also he convincingly demonstrates the facts that impede the expected success of the government bureaucracy, including vague goals given to bureaucracy, the problems of coordination created by excessive outsourcing (administration by proxy), the complexity of social problems that government bureaucracy deals with, efficiency and equity conflict, and the like. In handling the subject, this book is very comprehensive, and the author files an excellent and convincing case. Not easy to summarize all the points, however all popular myths regarding government bureaucracy I (probably you) have heard are answered in the book with tremendous clearness. Overall, I highly recommend this classic to anyb

Critique of The Case for Bureaucracy

I never thought that I would find myself reading a book that was in favor of bureaucracy. Being a skeptic, I thought that every second spent reading this book would be a waste of time. However, I was surprised at how Charles T. Goodsell makes you want to jump on the bureaucracy bandwagon. Charles Goodsell has done a fair job on his book "A Case for Bureaucracy: A Public Administration Polemic." Goodsell looks at several of the preconceived notions that are held by the general population about the size, structure, hierarchy, and organization of the bureaucracy regardless whether it is in federal, state, or local governments. Goodsell begins each chapter with a great deal of enthusiasm but runs out of steam when it comes to making a solid argument for bureaucracy in some of the areas discussed. The author obviously has an affinity for statistics, which he uses throughout ninety percent of his book. Goodsell tries to rely on data that was collected some twenty to thirty years ago. The public sector has undergone numerous changes since some of these surveys were conducted. Some of the studies that he uses such as comparisons between Detroit and Delhi, I found somewhat irrelevant. Charles T. Goodsell makes a strong case for the bureaucracy in the United States. His unique approach will convince many that the bureaucracy is open, flexible, and even willing to change. However, I feel that because of his outdated and irrelevant surveys and studies, which he uses throughout his book, which these detract from rather than make the case in favor of bureaucracy. The book is a noble attempt to win citizens over to the idea that the bureaucracy is a polite, customer service oriented, friendly, and helpful group of 20 million individuals that are there to serve them. I am not sure that even the most well written defense of the bureaucracy will alleviate the notions that are held by most citizens.