Bureaucratic PathologyObj: To evaluate different

examples of bureaucratic waste and classify them by pathology

types.

Bureaucratic Pathology The bureaucratic reputation:

• ineffective and inefficient Where does it come from? The nature of our government, not from power-

hungry government workers

Types of Bureaucratic Pathology Red Tape

• excessive formality and routine required before official action  can be taken.

Waste• useless consumption or expenditure of money than is necessary to

buy some product or service

Conflict between Agencies• disagreements between different governmental organizations

Duplication• similar actions that occur repeatedly

Unnecessary Complexity and Growth• pathology in which a system is difficult to understand, or out grows

the population

Bureaucratic Pathology

Read the excerpts provided and, with your group, determine which bureaucratic pathology each excerpt belongs to.

Type of Pathology Excerpt Number Reading Excerpt

Red Tape

Waste

Conflict between Agencies

Duplication

Unnecessary Complexity and

Growth

Bureaucratic Pathology Exit Ticket

• Write a paragraph about a time that you, or someone you know, encountered any one of the five types of bureaucratic pathology. If you have not encountered one, create a situation in

which you might encounter any one of the bureaucratic pathologies.

Examples can include applying for scholarships, financial aid, school, residence halls, etc.

Bureaucratic Pathology James Q. Wilson, a political scientist, and Harvard and

UCLA professor, stated of bureaucratic pathologies, “Most exist because of the very nature of government itself.” He went on to discuss the need of the bureaucracy to satisfy legal and political requirements, a government with inconsistent goals that cannot decide what it wants the most, bureaucratic problems caused by vague goals that lead agencies to expand to meet these vague goals, and the general lack of incentive to control waste.

Select one of the excerpts that you read earlier and write an essay (¾ of a page – 1 page) that explains how the bureaucratic pathology of the excerpt you chose relates to the James Q. Wilson’s thesis above.