Introduction
A bureaucracy is a group of specifically non-elected officials within a government or other institution that implements the rules, laws, ideas, and functions of their institution. In other words, a government administrative unit that carries out the decisions of the legislature or democratically-elected representation of a state. Bureaucracy may also be defined as a form of government: "government by many bureaus, administrators, and petty officials. A government is defined as: "the political direction and control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, or inhabitants of communities, societies, and states; direction of the affairs of a state, community, etc." On the other hand democracy is defined as: "government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system", thus not by non-elected bureaucrats.
A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can comprise the administration of any organization of any size, though the term usually connotes someone within an institution of government. Bureaucrat jobs were often "desk jobs" (the French for "desk" being bureau, though bureau can also be translated as "office"), though the modern bureaucrat may be found "in the field" as well as in an office.
Civil Service Reform
A civil servant is a person in the public sector employed for a government department or agency. The term explicitly excludes the armed services, although civilian officials can work at "Defence Ministry" headquarters. Civil service reform is a deliberate action to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, professionalism, representation and democratic character of a bureaucracy, with a view to promoting better delivery of public goods and services, with increased accountability. Such actions can include data gathering and analysis, organizational restructuring, improving human resource management and training, enhancing pay and benefits while assuring sustainability under overall fiscal constraints, and strengthening measures for public participation, transparency, and combating corruption. Important differences between developing countries and developed countries require that civil service and other reforms first rolled out in developed countries be carefully adapted to local conditions in developing countries.
The Problem of Bureaucratic Red Tape
Red tape is excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or decision-making . It is usually applied to governments, corporations and other large organizations.Red tape generally includes filling out paperwork, obtaining licenses, having multiple people or committees approve a decision and various low-level rules that make conducting one's affairs slower, more difficult, or both. Red tape can also include "filing and certification requirements, reporting, investigation, inspection and enforcement practices, and procedures. " The "cutting of red tape" is a popular electoral and policy promise. In the United States, a number of committees have discussed and debated Red Tape Reduction Acts.
Bureaucratic Red Tape
Bundle of U.S. pension documents from 1906 bound in red tape.
Examples of Bureaucratic Reform in the United States
The Pendleton Civil Service Reform of United States is a federal law established in 1883 that stipulated that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit. The act provided selection of government employees competitive exams, rather than ties to politicians or political affiliation. It also made it illegal to fire or demote government employees for political reasons and prohibits soliciting campaign donations on Federal government property. To enforce the merit system and the judicial system, the law also created the United States Civil Service Commission. A crucial result was the shift of the parties to reliance on funding from business, since they could no longer depend on patronage hopefuls.
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 is a United States federal law enacted in 1980 that gave authority over the collection of certain information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Within the OMB, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) was established with specific authority to regulate matters regarding federal information and to establish information policies. These information policies were intended to reduce the total amount of paperwork handled by the United States government and the general public. A byproduct is that it has become harder to track internal transfers to tax havens in Consolidated Corporate Income Tax returns.