Bureaucratic Dysfunctions Research Articles

Legal care work: emotion and care work in lawyering with unaccompanied minors

ABSTRACT We know legal representation can improve the likelihood of favorable legal outcomes for immigrants, what some scholars refer to as the ‘representation effect’. But can legal representation affect client's broader integration and resettlement outcomes along the timeline of their legal case? If so, how? Drawing from literature on emotion work, care work, and how attorneys interact with immigrant clients, I propose the concept of legal care work to capture the emotion and care work strategies attorneys undertake to respond to immigrant clients’ broader set of needs. Based on a rich qualitative study of attorneys and Central American unaccompanied minor clients, I show how the legal care work attorneys perform illustrate the need for an expanded conceptualization of the ‘representation effect’ they have on clients, impacting behaviors and outcomes across various dimensions of everyday life. Further, I show how who receives and is denied legal care work—a product of biases and stereotypes, as well as bureaucratic dysfunction—exacerbate disparities along different socio-demographic lines (e.g. race, age, gender). These findings underscore the value of interrogating the role attorneys play in facilitating the transformative effects of the law and advancing social change in complex and hostile legal contexts.

Administrative states as moral hazards: four dimensions

This article explores four fundamental dimensions of how administrative states present moral hazards that reach deeply into the distortion of governmental structures, institutions and processes. These dimensions are (1) the undermining of governmental structural integrity, (2) displacement of political and regime values, (3) the promotion of amoral administrative thought, and (4) bureaucratic dysfunction and ossification. Although these dimensions are neither exhaustive nor mutually exclusive, they are substantial and have been under appreciated and analyzed in public administration’s academic literature. The article concludes with five strategies for reducing such moral hazards. Although I illustrate with the United States, the moral hazards considered are not confined to it and are a feature of administrative states generally.

Hope Amid Crisis: Normative Ambiguity, the Middle Class, and Investment Fraud in 2000s Venezuela

ABSTRACTStudies of futurity typically privilege licit economies and assume that the lines between licit and illicit institutions are largely clear to the actors involved. But what happens to those actors, and their grip on the future, when such lines blur? This article explores the epistemic crossroads of futurity and legality by focusing on ambiguity. From 1986 to 2009, the Stanford Financial Group reaped billions of dollars selling fraudulent investment products to thousands of Venezuelans. During this span, Venezuelans suffered successive governments’ shambolic currency schemes, bureaucratic dysfunction, judicial corruption, political upheaval, and worsening street crime. As crises became routinized, middle-class Venezuelans faced “normative ambiguity,” a loss of familiar legal and moral certainties, undercutting their sense of futurity. Drawing on 54 interviews with defrauded investors and others linked to the case, this article shows how such ambiguity left investors vulnerable to a fraud that promised to restore that threatened futurity.

Teacher bureaucracy in Portugal: Knowing to act

Excessive bureaucracy in schools is a recurring theme in conversations between teachers and recent research confirms that, from the perspective of Portuguese teachers, it is the main constraint for the development of better quality in education and a healthy work environment.
 In view of the diagnosis, a nationwide study was designed, aiming to collect the perceptions and expectations of change regarding the bureaucratic procedures of the profession. Questionnaire surveys were applied, collecting responses from statistically representative samples of 2434 teachers, 107 Principals and 49 presidents of the General Council. After categorization and analysis, a set of results was found with implications for practice.
 Teachers detect bureaucratic dysfunctions, point out the waste of time with useless and redundant processes, failures in the communication channels and understand that their professional time should be refocused in class instead of filling in documents. The Principals and the Presidents of the General Council understand that bureaucratic administration is important, but it must be adapted to the specificities of school organizations.
 This investigation points out ways to change procedures that simplify and streamline processes, overcoming the detected dysfunctionalities, while continuing to comply with legal requirements.

The Inequality Machine

Access to rights depends on the institutional capacity to deliver and citizens’ capacity to benefit from public services and programmes. This is where bureaucracy and inequality meet: many times, even if access procedures are designed for equality, they do not produce equal results. Bureaucratic pathologies, deficits, and administrative burdens imply that different citizens might not share the same experience while interacting with government agencies. Moreover, in some developing countries like Mexico, inequality in access leads to the creation and reinforcement of "low-trust” bureaucracies. This paper offers some general ideas on this problem and stresses the relevance of understanding bureaucratic dysfunction from the citizens' point of view particularly in weak institutional contexts.

Co-production and innovation in public services’ assessment: The case of the Citizen Audit Project

Purpose: This paper analyzes the Citizen Audit Project (PAC), in the light of public sector innovation theory, in order to identify challenges for introducing co-production in the evaluation process of public services by the internal audit of the Executive Power of the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil.Design/methodology/approach: We carried out the study as a qualitative research, and collected data through a documentary search and interviews with 21 key agents of public control or with those who interacted with PAC in the chosen operations. We used content analysis to examine the collected data.Findings: We analyze the main challenges inherent to co-production in the activity of public services’ assessment by internal audit. Results show an alignment between the identified dares and the theoretical basis of public innovation. These were barriers related to bureaucratic dysfunctions, openness of political agents and audit professionals to receive and consider proposals from society, time and resources needed, leadership style, citizens’ lack of motivation, and the evaluation model.Originality/value/implications: The paper contributes to the literature on public audit, public sector innovation, and co-production, by conducting an original study that identified challenges related to the implementation of co-production in audit process and analyzed them from the perspective of public sector innovation. Evidence brought by this research contributes to fill literature gaps regarding empirical studies on the convergence between these three topics. Regarding practical implications, it provides base for PAC consolidation and for its replication by governments interested in implementing innovations through the process of participatory audit.

Wetland Environment Deteritorialization In The Perspective Of Political Ecology In Banjar District

Conflict of land conversion (deterritorialization) is an ecological crisis that continues to reproduce in the domination space of the capitalist economy and goes hand in hand with the use of the pretext of industrialization and massive scale state political policies. Banjar Regency is geographically located in a strategic area between the cities of Banjarmasin and Banjarbaru. So that it functions as a buffer zone and a center for settlement development and economic activity. This study aims to discover the concept of territorialization of wetlands that exist in the community and respond to the dynamics of the expansion of land conversion (deterritorialization of the wetland environment), whether carried out by corporations, the government, or by the community itself through the tendency of policies that are mechanistic pragmatic. This research uses a qualitative approach, which is considered the most capable of accommodating the dialectical analysis of subjectivity-objectivity accompanied by critical analysis to uncover the problem of deterritorialization of the wetland environment of political ecology in Banjar Regency. Data collection using literature studies and field data collection through FGD, interviews, and observations using the live-in model. It is hoped that the analysis of this research will be able to provide novelty to a philosophical perspective on natural resource management, particularly concerning the environmental functions of wetlands, including swamps and peat areas. Stakeholders and actors engaged in related sectors are also expected to unravel the unequal power relations between actors based on the paradigm of justice and sustainability, accompanied by efforts to overcome various systemic obstacles, anthropocentric obstacles, and local government “bureaucratic dysfunction,” which will be elaborated, comprehensively in this research.

Análise dos Sistemas Integrados de Gestão da UFRN sob a perspectiva da Nova Gestão pública

The present article aims to analyze how the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte behaves towards the modern public administration practices, which preach the overcoming of bureaucratic dysfunctions, in pursuit of efficiency and quality in public services. The study is developed from the theoretical review about New Public Management (NGP) and survey of data obtained from the UFRN Portals (ufrn.br), with focus on Integrated Management Systems. The methodology used was bibliographical and documentary research. After a comparative analysis between theory and practice, it was concluded that the development and implementation of the SIG-UFRN incorporates NGP values in institutional management, insofar as the tool promotes transparency, agility, efficiency and economy in the use of resources.

Low‐trust bureaucracy: Understanding the Mexican bureaucratic experience

SummaryLatin American bureaucracies are notorious for their inefficiency and opacity, yet there is very little empirical research done on what exactly constitutes the “bureaucratic experience” for citizens and what the costs of bureaucratic dysfunction are. To improve our understanding of this topic, 5 cases of Mexican citizens' encounters with public bureaucracies are used to develop the notion of “low‐trust bureaucracy”: public organisations in which access to services is unreliable and the levels of control towards both citizens and bureaucrats are excessive. This bottom‐up analysis of administrative practices contributes to our understanding of the ineffectiveness of government programmes and services, but also of how bureaucracies in developing countries amplify social inequality rather than function as a social equaliser. Furthermore, this article adds new insights to the existing understanding of administrative burdens as a result of either political tactics or mere benign neglect. The data presented here suggest that structural and intractable characteristics of the broader administrative context, such as authoritarian legacies, can produce behavioural patterns that shift bureaucratic attention away from a fair and efficient service provision.

How Bureaucratic Dysfunctions Incapable State Universities to Attain Administrative Goal?

How Bureaucratic Dysfunctions Incapable State Universities to Attain Administrative Goal?

TECNOLOGIA DA INFORMAÇÃO VERDE: ESTUDO À LUZ DA TEORIA CRENÇA-AÇÃO-RESULTADO

RESUMO Este estudo pretende compreender como as pressões institucionais e as crenças ambientais de gestores influenciam a adoção da Tecnologia da Informação Verde (TI Verde); para tanto, foi utilizado como aporte teórico o modelo Crença-Ação-Resultado (Belief-Action-Outcome [BAO]). A pesquisa é qualitativa, e os sujeitos da pesquisa são 10 gestores de instituições de ensino superior (IES). A coleta de dados foi realizada por entrevistas e um checklist com práticas de TI Verde. A análise das entrevistas foi realizada por análise de conteúdo, e as respostas do checklist foram avaliadas pela frequência. Os resultados revelam que a pressão institucional mais relacionada com a adoção da TI Verde, pelos entrevistados, é a mimética. Sobre as crenças ambientais, oito gestores demonstraram preocupações com tais questões. Contudo, apenas três gestores tomaram iniciativas próprias; os demais entrevistados reportaram vivenciar barreiras como disfunções da burocracia e falta de apoio da alta gerência ao proporem ações relacionadas a TI Verde.

Revisiting Bureaucratic Dysfunction: The Role of Bureaucracy in Democratization

While many studies have focused on the link between economics and democracy in exploring the strategies adopted by developing countries, they have tended to overlook the role of bureaucracy in democratization. This study seeks the missing link between bureaucracy and democratization. What are the conditions necessary for bureaucracy to facilitate the democratization process of a country? This article begins by briefly reviewing the bureaucracy literature from Max Weber and Karl Marx and then argues that despite its shortcomings, bureaucracy in its Weberian form can facilitate the political democratization of a developmental state. This study concludes that although bureaucracy is often regarded as dysfunctional, it can be instrumental in the democratization process in the context of the developmental state.

Государственный режим и стиль управленческой деятельности: трудности демократической трансформации

The article attempts to analyze the scientific relevance and practical relevance for the modern system
 of public administration mainstreaming mode of governance and management style, their forms and
 manifestations in practice. Thus explores the underlying quality characteristics and stylistic peculiarities of
 functioning of the state apparatus, the difficulty of optimizing performance, problematic and contradictory
 nature of overcoming corruption and bureaucratic pathologies, threats, dysfunctions and other deformations
 in the practice of public administration. It is emphasized that at some point the corrupt and bureaucratic
 mechanisms become latent shadow control system, which resist very difficult. In the result remain on top of
 the bureaucracy, the corruption, the brutality, the callousness and irresponsibility, and the bottom begins to
 dominate legal nihilism, distrust of authorities, double standards.
 Analyzing the distinguished types of styles, the author stops at the optimally-effective style performance
 focuses on the value of the benefits and ways of learning, introduces into scientific circulation the concept
 of “style of meanness and hypocrisy” – style, based on lies, double standards, fraud, provocations and
 corruption.
 This article presents some value judgments made appropriate generalizations and conclusions, analyzes
 the actions taken by a state in respect of establishing proper order in the system of public administration
 and public service. Formulated proposals which, in the opinion of the author, will help accurately implement
 the tasks put by the state in terms of democratic governance and innovation updates of the struggle against
 formalism, bureaucratic abuse, corruption, hardware isolation.

Кадровый потенциал управления: трудности преодоления тягот бюрократической гравитации

In presented to attention of readers article the author attempted to analyze the scientific relevance and practical relevance for the modern system of public administration the problems of bureaucracy and red tape. The article explores the basic qualitative characteristics and peculiarities of functioning of the state apparatus, the difficulties of optimization of style, performance, problematic and contradictory nature of overcoming corruption and bureaucratic pathologies, threats, dysfunctions and other deformations in the practice of human resource management and public administration in General. It is emphasized that at some point the corrupt and bureaucratic mechanisms become latent shadow control system, which resist very difficult. In the result remain on top of the bureaucracy, the corruption, the brutality, the callousness and irresponsibility, and at the bottom of legal nihilism, distrust in the sincerity of the authorities ‘ double standards. In confirmation are the concrete facts relevant statistical and sociological data. In parallel, we analyze the phenomenon of bureaucracy,
 explores the essence of bureaucracy and corruption, their causes and origins, manifestations, shadow side and negative social consequences. This article presents some value judgments made appropriate generalizations and conclusions, analyzes the actions taken by the state for the improvement of personnel management and guidance of proper administrative procedure in the public administration and civil service. Formulated proposals which, in the opinion of the author, will help to more efficiently realize the tasks put by the state in terms of bureaucratic control and innovation updates of the struggle against formalism, assessorship, corruption and corporate reticence.

Bureaucratic Dysfunctions in the Education of Latino Immigrant Youth

Scholarship on Latinos’ lagging US high school graduation and college enrollment rates has focused on systematic biases and inequities in schooling. This article argues for an additional complementary explanation for underachievement and school failure. Namely, it suggests that high school underachievement in Latino children of immigrants can be attributed in part to the bureaucratic nature of schooling and a constant onslaught of bureaucratic errors and omissions. Based upon a 5-year multiple-case study in the southeastern United States, it finds that bureaucratic dysfunctions figured prominently in the education of Latino immigrant youth. The article calls for more research on the impact of bureaucratic errors on educational paths of immigrant students and argues that educators might profitably draw from work on organizational failure to help Latino children of immigrants navigate school bureaucracies more successfully.

The Role of Rewards in Improving the Performance of Customer Service inGovernment Sector

This paper is an exploratory study of rewards and performance, and examines the role of rewards on the performance of customer service; (also called front desk officers) in the context of Saudi Arabia government sector using content analysis on the country’s current traditional pay structures. From the review of literature and practices it is observed that the use of performance related incentives (rewards) is more problematic in the public sector than in the private sector. Nevertheless, there have been some degrees of successes even in some developing countries’ civil service in the class of Saudi Arabia. The traditional pay structures for Saudi Arabia government service based on grades and seniority, rather than performance may not produce the required productivity and efficiency. The World Bank has also recognized the problems caused by the traditional model of civil service pay structures, which it sees as central to what it terms as ‘bureaucratic dysfunction”. In view of the notable successes recorded in countries similar to Saudi Arabia in the use of reward for performance scheme, the Kingdom needs to review its current traditional pay structures for the public sector to enhance productivity and efficiency.

New Organizational Forms of Contemporary Public Management: A Brief Analysis of Recent Experience of Mozambique

This theoretical essay is dedicated to present the constituent elements and characteristics of bureaucracy as a form of organization of public administration. In a second step discusses the criticism of the ideal typical bureaucratic dysfunctions related from the perspective that defends its lack of flexibility and efficiency in the process of functioning of organizations. We discuss also the contemporary current that underlie the new forms of administration, New Public Management and Interactive Governance and exposes some experiments related to the adoption of these new standards of public management in the context of the Mozambican public administration. Their preparation was based on the literature on the concepts of bureaucracy, the new public management approaches and experiences of the management of the Mozambican context. Concludes the existence of changes in the model and patterns of public management in the country, especially with the implementation of the public administration reform (2001-2011).

WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO REFORM SOME ASIAN BUREAUCRACIES? BUILDING THEORY FROM CAMBODIAN EVIDENCE

SUMMARYThis article demonstrates how theory can be built to explain cases of public administration reform failure in Asia. Drawing on the methodologies of middle range theory and grounded theory, qualitative data are gathered from the case of Cambodia and then analyzed. The result is the proposition that a specific constellation of reform‐inhibiting factors explains the slow progress of public administration reform in Cambodia. At the center of the constellation is patronage. The cluster of surrounding and interrelated factors includes weak accountability, hegemonic political regime, high and legitimate power distance, low wages, and bureaucratic dysfunction. The chances of reform success increase with the removal or absence of these inhibiting factors. The analysis emphasizes the importance of political economy factors in determining the success or failure of public administration reform. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

English

This study attempts to explore the involvement in graft and corruption among elective barangay youth officials in a city in Southern Philippines. Using a qualitative research design employing a case study method, 10 informants were included in this study and were selected using snowball sampling technique. The findings indicated that the informants were aware of the forms of graft and corrupt practices stipulated in the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act in the Philippines (RA 3019) and other legal documents. However, despite this, most of them admitted to have been involved in any of the follow-ing irregular acts while in public service: malversation of public funds, evasion of public bidding in the purchase of supplies and equipments, forgery, bribery, making ghost projects and payrolls, abuse of powers, among others. It was known also that corruption was caused mainly by bureaucratic dys-functions especially in the delay of budget releases and political socialization with older and corrupt barangay officials who passed on the techniques of corruption to the young leader informants. The policy implications of the study demands further strength-ening of governmental structures and processes that would ensure observance of good governance among public officials both at the barangay ( local) and national levels.

Responsibility to Protect and Theorising Normative Change in International Organisations: From Weber to the Sociology of Professions

How does normative change occur in international organisations (IOs)? The literature has theorised IO behaviour as being a consequence of the interest of powerful states, or has applied concepts borrowed from organisational sociology related to bureaucratic dysfunction, such as ‘dysfunctional behaviour’, ‘pathologies’, or ‘organised hypocrisy’. This article argues that using the sociology of professions can augment constructivist theorising of IO behaviour and offer a better understanding of normative change in IOs. The evolving norm of ‘Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P) has a significant impact on how the UN supports and intervenes in member states, and on the core principle of sovereignty in the international system. By examining the R2P concept and process, this article shows how key donor states, think tanks, and academic institutions have, together with the UN, pushed for R2P, effectively driving normative change in the international system. Such change is seen not solely as a top–down function of state interests, but as also a bottom–up process driven by advocacy and support from key donor states, think tanks, and academic circles. Further, for grasping how norms develop, a constructivist framework influenced by the sociology of professions appears better suited than existing constructivist frameworks.