Bureaucracy: Three Paradigms, Essay Example

The various sources of internal bureaucratic power include both the power of internal agencies and the cohesion of these forces. These influences are backed by several variables including clientele support, leadership, and knowledge. Studies have shown that the two strongest sources of power stem from clientele support and agency cohesion, while leadership and knowledge are important but demonstrate less striking power effects. These factors ultimately contribute to a bureaucracy’s influence by combining to exert influence over the clientele and related parties.

Clientele support is an essential component of this power because without client need the bureaucracies would have no individuals to follow them. The intension of the bureaucracy is to provide a necessary level of support that makes the lives of these clients easier. In order to receive services, it is therefore important for the clients to hand over some degree of power to the bureaucracy to ensure that they are able to get the help they need. Cohesion is a necessary component of this relationship because agencies are in a better place to help their clientele when they have more resources. In this manner the client is required to hand over even more power when two agencies are involved in order to receive more thorough support.

Leadership and knowledge is what makes bureaucracies effective and it therefore a necessary component of the power balance between these agencies and the public. These aspects of the agencies are what make them reliable resources. Since they are more knowledgeable and to a degree more organized than the individual, they are able to exert power over the individual. Ultimately, all aspects of a bureaucracy’s power is related to the needs of the individual because he or she must ensure that these needs are being met, even when assistance is needed.

References

Chowdhury FL. (2006). Corrupt Bureaucracy and Privatization of Tax Enforcement. Dhaka: Pathak Samabesh.

Garston N. (1993). Bureaucracy: Three Paradigms. Boston: Kluwer.