solved 1. The Founders of the American regime had serious concerns
1. The Founders of the American regime had serious concerns about the long-term efficacy of democracy. They particularly feared that, at its worst, democracy might occasionally pander to “foolish†inclinations and promises extolled by a populist leaders and demigods. Their response to these concerns included the creation of separate branches of government which could check and balance one another and retard the implementation of foolish ideas until any populist fever had subsided or at least had a chance to cool off. While federalism may have sprung from different motivations, it too could also be cited as contributing to the same result.
Early in the quarter you read Box’s short history of American public administration. In that book and throughout the Shafritz textbook it is clear that another “branch†of government has arisen in the last 244 years, variously called “the Administrative Stateâ€, the “Bureaucracyâ€, etc. While at the federal level most of this branch resides, from an organization chart perspective, in the Executive branch, big pieces of it also exist in the other two branches and the regulatory agencies, as well.
In your assessment, how has the bureaucracy performed during the last four years? Depending on your political perspective, has it contributed to or resisted the implementation of President Trump’s agenda? Give examples. In doing so has it fulfilled the Founders’ scheme or contributed to its downfall? 600 – 1,000 words. 75 points.
2. Organizational structure has been a core premise of the study of public administration since Weber’s foundational treatise on Bureaucracy. Much of the reform movement in the later part of the twentieth century and the early years of this century has focused on moving past hierarchical forms of organizational management and various problems spawned by rigid control systems and over regulation. But this debate is very bimodal. Bureaucracy seems to persist even in many reformed organizations in the United States and western Europe. Moreover, in emerging countries with short histories and often high levels of corruption, there is often a push for stronger bureaucracies (often called NWS or neo-Weberian systems).
Discuss how bureaucracy has shaped our thinking in public administration about modern organizational performance and the quality of government. What will be the role of bureaucracy as we look to the future? Will bureaucracy persist, perhaps in some modified form or will it be somehow replaced in the world of 2050. How so?  600 – 1,000 words. 75 points.