Characteristics of the modern bureaucracy
In my view, the bureaucracy is still too large and lacks productivity and accountability. Governments all over the world are spending a lot of money on salaries and maintenance of their employees (Seif, 2009). Bureaucracy plays a key role in daily public life; this ensures the proper running of the public sector and delivery of service. The two major roles of the bureaucracy include; they are policy implementations since they administer the implemented policy; furthermore, they are regulators of the existing policies (Seif, 2009).
In most countries, civil servants are hired on the basis of patronage, since one gets a job basing on his connections. This has, however, changed in most of the developed states as the hiring of civil servants is based on merit and professionalism. This new system of hiring has created a nonpartisan government service (Seif, 2009). At the highest ranks in government are executive thus civil servants who are moved from one agency to the other. Civil servants are normally protected after serving a probationary period, thus; it becomes hard to dismiss him. An employee can decide to appeal the dismissal, and this takes a long time (Robinson, 1991).
I believe one way to boost the morale of civil servants is by appreciating their contribution to the building of the nation. In this context, the high-performing civil servants should receive merit-based compensation as those in the private sector. It is noteworthy that the public and private sectors differ in some aspects of bureaucracy. The private sector has employed a manageable expenditure on employees while the public sector suffers from the escalating cost of personnel.
In the private sector, there is reliable productivity while the public sector has sluggish productivity. So as to improve the productivity of the public sector some aspects from the private sector have to be imported into the public sector. One aspect is that the public sector should restructure its expenditure on personnel cost to make it manageable. Another aspect is that the Individual efficiency rating should be introduced in the public sector (Seif, 2009).
An ideal bureaucracy
The current American democracy does need some slight reforms as it does not need the ultimate needs of the society. The productivity level of employees should be increased to facilitate improved service delivery. The salaries of employees should be reviewed so as to reduce the personnel cost. Since, the government is struggling with these costs every financial year (Robinson, 1991).
I believe deep, systemic, and fundamental changes are required to create an ideal bureaucracy. This incorporates diverse sectors of the bureaucracy, which are hiring, contracting, training, efficiency, and dismissal. An ideal bureaucracy will be created when only professionals are hired according to merit. The hired professionals should be given a contract whose renewal is based on efficiency. Training of new employees must be considered to facilitate excellent service delivery.
Ideal bureaucracy is possible in the US despite its vast size and many constituencies in the country. This will incorporate sacrifice, tolerance, and patience during the implementation process. The employees earning huge salaries should be willing to accept salary cuts and vetting. While the public, should be tolerant and patient for the period it will take to initiate implementation (Robinson, 1991). There are no major changes to occur in the near term or short term since no one is ready to lose his job or accept a pay cut.
References
Robinson, G. (1991). American bureaucracy: public choice and public law. Michigan. University of Michigan Press.
Seif, P. (2009). Political theories of modern government: its role and reform. Taylor & Francis publishers.