Title: The Bureaucracy: What is its function? | United States Government
Headings: The Bureaucracy: What is its function?
The Bureaucracy: What is its function?
Learning Objectives
What Does a Bureaucracy Do?
The Origins of the U.S. Bureaucracy
The Fall of Political Patronage
The Bureaucracy Comes of Age
“The Nine Most Terrifying Words in the English Language”
Questions to Consider
Terms to Remember

Content: Over time, however, it grew to be a major force in political affairs. Indeed, it grew so large that politicians in modern times have ridiculed it to great political advantage. However, the country’s many bureaucrats or civil servants, the individuals who work in the bureaucracy, fill necessary and even instrumental roles in every area of government: from high-level positions in foreign affairs and intelligence collection agencies to clerks and staff in the smallest regulatory agencies. They are hired, or sometimes appointed, for their expertise in carrying out the functions and programs of the government. What Does a Bureaucracy Do? Modern society relies on the effective functioning of government to provide public goods, enhance quality of life, and stimulate economic growth. The activities by which government achieves these functions include—but are not limited to—taxation, homeland security, immigration, foreign affairs, and education. The more society grows and the need for government services expands, the more challenging bureaucratic management and public administration becomes. Public administration is both the implementation of public policy in government bureaucracies and the academic study that prepares civil servants for work in those organizations.