The Context of Administrative Leadership скачать в хорошем качестве

The Context of Administrative Leadership

American chief executives stand apart from the executive-branch agencies they are expected to lead. Unlike most modern bureaucrats, these leaders obtain their positions through elections or are answerable directly to elected officials. These officials are responsible for the operations of the bureaucracies that make up their respective executive branches. Though they take most of the blame for programmatic failure, they are not a permanent part of their bureaucratic structures which operate autonomously within our diverse system of federalism. Chief executives are expected to set general policy directions and to provide the leadership necessary to manage government agencies and programs. Chief executives require deliberate strategies and effective influence if they are to succeed in directing administrative behavior toward fulfillment of their policy objectives. In the formulation of broad policy directions, executive leadership has been evident, especially in the past five decades. The ability of individual chief executives to influence their bureaucracies significantly cannot be taken for granted. Chief executives’ control is frequently challenged by external forces like the legislative branch, the judiciary, the media, or others who seek a voice in agency decisions. More important, in many instances, their authority to lead is challenged from within, by members of their own political party. Presidents (and most governors and many mayors) have diverse and frequently disunited coalitions of political support that do not enable them to operate with a free hand or to speak with a consistent voice on all issues. Bureaucracies, on the other hand, have a limited range of policy interests because they are more specialized with narrower bases of support. By concentrating its efforts in one policy area, an agency can develop support and expertise and convert these diverse interests into political resources.