Krislov claims that the concept of representative bureaucracy was. Bureaucracy is an administrative system designed to accomplish largescale. While our politically representative democracy can create the policy protocols that make this progress possible, a demographically representative bureaucracy at the street level provides the impetus to execute these protocols to their full, inclusive potential. Representative bureaucracy the term representative bureaucracy was given currency in 1949 through donald kingsleys book with the same title and since then it has gained popularity through the discussions of a few american political scientists and british sociologists. Passive and active representation in the federal service.
Donald kingsleys book titled representative bureaucracy that was published in 1944. Representative bureaucracy, organizational strategy, and. This article examines some of the rich scholarly work that has been generated on representative bureaucracy and its implications for practice. Representative bureaucracy and public service performance. A lever to enhance social equity, coproduction, and. Bureaucracy is the organizational expression of modern legalrational authority. 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. This new orientation transformed the way in which society is organized. Some reflections of the colonial civil service administration in sri lanka ravindra gunasekara department of political science, university of sri jayewardenepura abstract bureaucracy plays a vital role, which is similar to that of the other major stakeholder in the fieldpoliticians, in the policy making process.
Then we will briefly explain what it implies to contextualize research on representative bureaucracy. Niskanen, jr aldine, atherton chicago wikipedia citation please see wikipedias template documentation for further citation fields that may be required. Moreover, in recent years the creation of a representative bureaucracy has become a major objective of federal personnel policy. Public service transformation in south africa is a firstrate blend of quantitative and qualitative analysis of one of the major transitions in modern governance. The theory of representative bureaucracy suggests that a public workforce representative of the people in terms of race, ethnicity, and sex. This article extends the representative bureaucracy rb literature. The public service in 1994 was not only unrepresentative of all. Exploring the potential for active representation in local government article pdf available in journal of public administration research and theory 184 october. Politics, identity, structure and discretion find, read and cite all the research.
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. Read representative bureaucracy by samuel krislov available from rakuten kobo. To date, representative bureaucracy scholars have focused on racial, ethnic, and gender representation, leaving socioeconomic representation underinvestigated. Employment equity in the public service of canada carol agocs department of political science, western university a representative bureaucracy is essential to democratic governance in a diverse society, and it is the responsibility of government to be a model employer that exemplifies progressive human resource. Grissom university of missouri sean nicholsoncrotty university of missouri work on bureaucratic representation suggests that minority citizens bene. Representative bureaucracy in the south african public service. This article starts by discussing the central concepts, contingencies, and consequences identified in prior research on the study of representative bureaucracy. What difference does it make if an administration is. Representative bureaucracy ebook by samuel krislov. In this situation, the majority ethnic group is overrepresented and minority ethnic groups underrepresented in the bureaucracy because of the majority groups superior. These survey data were merged with performance and control data obtained from. 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. 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. Representative bureaucracy and the american political system.
This article examines whether french ethnic protests are linked to bureaucratic access issues and how a policy seeking a more representative bureaucracy might benefit. A contingency approach to representative bureaucracy 3 introduction representative bureaucracy is concerned with the demographic composition of public organizations in order to mediate tensions between democracy and bureaucracy. 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. Bureaucracy and representative government by william a. Representative bureaucracy, role congruence, and kenyas. Driving the study is the question of whether the concept of representative government applies also to the permanent governmentthe bureaucracy.
The book also develops a simple theory of the market for public services financed through a representative government. This prizewinning study examines the impact of the employment of women and ethnic and racial minorities in public organizations on the implementation of government programs by those agencies. It remains the single most influential model in the field. White house to propose merging labor and education into one. Pdf a critical assessment of representative bureaucracy. Bureaucracy and social change seymour martin lipset. According to kingsley 1944, descriptive representation in. Bureaucratic system approach to comparative public. The white house on thursday will propose merging the education and labor departments into one federal agency, the centerpiece of a plan to remake a bureaucracy.
Pdf representative bureaucracy in a crossnational context. Representative bureaucracy in a crossnational context. In 1910, the two british colonies and two boer republics were merged into a unified. It concentrates on the results of prior research in gauging the interaction of passive and active representation on the behaviour of american bureaucracies, as well as what is known about symbolic representation. The links between passive and active representation, and a better understanding of what the latter entails, are, of course, crucial to expanding the utility of the concept of representative bureaucracy. Representative bureaucracy samuel krislov, david h. The paper then proceeds with an overview of internal and external. A representative bureaucracy within a democratic system of government is specifically relevant in south africa. Representative bureaucracy theory representative bureaucracy, both in practice and in theory, has been a core subject in public. In section four, i compare the policy attitudes and policy preferences of bureaucrats. Introduction ideas of management can be found in ancient samaria and egypt as early as 3000 b. Karen johnston and john houston abstract representative bureaucracy theory postulates that passive representation leads to active representation of minority groups. Given the ongoing discussions regarding the legitimacy of the public service in relation to both the rise of a multicultural society and of multilevel governance, representative bureaucracy remains of the utmost importance to public administration.
Meier and others published representative bureaucracy in a crossnational context. It matters to women in colleges and universities who want to be in government working in public policy. Professor samuel krislov s representative bureaucracy remains among the most important and enduring books in the field of public administration and its intersection with political science. Such precision results in a useful and enduring conceptualization of the term. The ability of bureaucracy to inspire both revulsion and admiration is one of several features that make it a fascinating object of study.
Pdf administrative discretion in the light of theory of. Exploring the potential for active representation in local government. Naff it matters to women observing this presidency from all over the country. Formal organizations and bureaucracy regardless of whether marx or weber was right about its cause, rationality was a totally different way of thinking that came to permeate society. Pdf representative bureaucracy and the willingness to. Because france as a nation rejects the concepts of race and ethnicity, it has also failed to consider any possible benefits that might accrue from a representative bureaucracy. This text on representive bureaucracy covers topics such as. A representative democracy requires a representative bureaucracy. Measuring bureaucratic representation and integration. Bureaucratic representation, distributional equity, and democratic values in the administration of public programs jill nicholsoncrotty university of missouri jason a. As a result, formal organizations,secondary groups designed to achieve explicit. Representative bureaucracy theory possesses the notion that public workforce representative of all the people in terms of race, ethnicity, gender helps ensure the interests of all groups in the decision making processes.
In section three, i describe the survey data i examine in the paper. Representative bureaucracy in action country profiles from the americas, europe, africa and asia edited by b. Few will dispute the assertion that governments, especially at the state and local level, are in the business of providing services. Bureaucratic system approach to comparative public administration the bureaucratic system approach to comparative public administration is based on the ideal type model of bureaucracy propounded by max weber. Representative bureaucracy and the american political system 208 pages sonblock how christians unknowingly shield themselves from grace, carol razza, denis eirikis, aug 3, 2001, religion, 158 pages another release in our popular how to do everything series, this friendly, solutionsoriented. Bureaucratic representation, distributional equity, and. Representative bureaucracy and the role of expertise in politics jarle trondal 1,2, zuzana murdoch 1,3 and benny geys 4,5 1 department of political science, university of agder, 4604 kristiansand, norway. It was max webber who propounded the bureaucratic theory of organisation and management. Diversity and responsiveness in a government agency. Representative bureaucracy is concerned with demographic characteristics of bureaucrats, and how these characteristics affect the distribution of outputs to clients who share these characteristics wilkins 2006. Passive representation in the south african b a lot.
Using a national sample of 1,478 police jurisdictions, this study further explores the correlates of diversity of women and racial minorities using a framework informed by representative. Download pdf representative bureaucracy free online. What is representative bureaucracy, its pros and cons. The theory of representative bureaucracy with a particular reference to the nigerian public service 1950 to 1986 show all authors bola dauda. First, we should expect to observe bureaucrats and the public sharing similar. White house to propose merging labor and education into. Representative bureaucracy in the arab gulf states. 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. More than that, the many arms of the federal bureaucracy, often considered the fourth branch of government, are valuable components of the federal system. 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.
Administrative discretion in the light of theory of representative bureaucracy. Malaysia differs significantly from the typical situation envisaged in that literature. In 1994 south africa had its first democratic elections and one of the priorities of the new african national congress anc government was to create a more representative bureaucracy. Its efficiency is a function of the environment in which it operates. A critical assessment of representative bureaucracy. This paper investigates the passive representation of. The term representative bureaucracy is generally attributed to j. Unlike countries such as the united states of america, which focused on minority representation, the discourse around representative bureaucracy in south africa. W eber s ideal t ype the term bureaucracy has never been so precisely defined than in the writings of max.
Public administration and public policy selden, sally coleman on. Representative bureaucracy representative bureaucracy is a term given to arguments that public organizations should look like the population that they serve. Representative bureaucracy and the role of expertise in politics. Representative bureaucracy in the passive sense is the degree to which the social characteristics of the bureaucracy reflect the social characteristics of the populations the bureaucracy serves. Professor samuel krislovs representative bureaucracy remains among the most important and enduring books in the. Does female police leadership affect gender based violence arrests. An interpretation of the british civil service yellow springs. The idea of representative bureaucracy is a relatively simple one. 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. Ethnic representation in the malaysian bureaucracy. But ben kafkas 2009 observation regarding historians is equally true of anthropologists. Representative bureaucracy theory and research provide a growing body of empirical evidence that it does. German socialist max weber 18641920 made a theory of ideal bureaucracy that bureaucratic organizations or bureaucrats have occurred due to webers theory note. This course aims to address the concept of public administration from a number of perspectives.
A bureaucracy that is responsive to the needs and desires of the population should be held in higher regard. 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. Some may argue that managing diversity is a luxury for the civil service leaders of a few countries who have already addressed more urgent tasks in public service. Studies of passive representation examine whether the composition of bureaucracies mirror the demographic composition of the general population. The system was put into place incrementally through executive orders and statutes, following political negotiations among the president, members of congress, and interest. Public service transformation in south africa by sergio fernandez english epub 2020 299 pages isbn. Writing and documents have long been of interest within sociology studies of formal organization harper 1998, pp. 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. 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. The term representative bureaucracy was first given currency in 1949 through donald kingsleys book with the same title and since then it has gained popularity through the discussions of a few american political scientists and british sociologists. Finally, we link representative bureaucracy research with literature on women and men in leadership to illustrate the theoretical framework and hypotheses on which this study is based. Relying on the theory of representative bureaucracyspecifically, the notion of. A study in the attitudes of federal executives kenneth john meier and lloyd g.
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