Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Dusk for the pyramid-shaped bureaucracy: examining the shape of the U.S. federal bureaucracy in the twenty first century

  • Published:
Quality & Quantity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The pyramid-shaped hierarchy was the most popular structure for the federal bureaucracy for most of the twentieth century. However, major management reform movements in the late twentieth century, such as new public management, reinventing government, and the national performance review, embrace the common theme of criticizing the traditional bureaucracy. If these efforts to fix the bureaucracy had achieved their anticipated results, the contemporary federal bureaucracy would have become a flattened-pyramid hierarchy with an increased span of control. The current article investigates the structure of the federal bureaucracy from the early 2000s to the present. The findings indicate that the federal bureaucracy is not pyramid shaped but instead is an inverse-calabash shape. In addition, little evidence was found of an increased span of control in the federal bureaucracy. In sum, the goal of the management reforms for changing the structure of the bureaucracy was not fulfilled.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Blau, P.M.: The hierarchy of authority in organizations. Am. J. Soc. 73, 453–467 (1968)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blau, P.M., Heydebrand, W.V., Stauffer, R.E.: The structure of small bureaucracies. Am. Soc. Rev. 31, 179–191 (1966)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blau, P.M., Schoenherr, R.A.: The Structure of Organizations. Basic Books, New York (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bozeman, B., Scott, P.: Bureaucratic red tape and formalization: untangling conceptual knots. Am. Rev. Public Adm. 26, 1–17 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breul, J.D., Kamensky, J.M.: Federal government reform: lessons from clinton’s “reinventing government” and Bush’s “management agenda” initiatives. Public Adm. Q. 68, 1009–1026 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carzo, R., Yanouzas, J.N.: Effects of flat and tall organization structure. Adm. Sci. Q. 14, 178–191 (1969)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, M.P.: Practitioner’s perspective—have we missed the boat on planning? Public Adm. Q. 70, S227–S228 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cummings, L.L., Berger, C.J.: Organization structure: how does it influence attitudes and performance? Organ. Dyn. 5, 34–49 (1976)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalton, D.R., Todor, W.D., Spendolini, M.J., Fielding, G.J., Porter, L.W.: Organization structure and performance: a critical review. Acad. Manag. Rev. 5, 49–64 (1980)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donaldson, L.: The contingency theory of organizational design: challenges and opportunities. In: Burton, R.M., Håkonsson, D.D., Eriksen, B., Snow, C.C. (eds.) Organization Design: The Evolving State-of-the-Art, pp. 19–40. Springer, Boston (2006)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H., Bastow, S., Tinkler, J.: New public management is dead—long live digital-era governance. J. Public Adm. Res. Theory 16, 467–494 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, W.N., Miller, D.Y.: A critique of the new public management and the neo-Weberian state: advancing a critical theory of administrative reform. Public Organ. Rev. 7, 345–358 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golembiewski, R.T.: Od perspectives on high performance: some good news and some bad news about merit pay. Rev. Public Pers. Adm. 7, 9–26 (1986)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruening, G.: Origin and theoretical basis of new public management. Int. Public Manag. J. 4, 1–25 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, R.H.: The concept of bureaucracy: an empirical assessment. Am. J. Soc. 69, 32–40 (1963)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hood, C., Peters, G.: The middle aging of new public management: into the age of paradox? J. Public Adm. Res. Theory 14, 267–282 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ivancevich, J.M., Donnelly, J.H.: Relation of organizational structure to job satisfaction, anxiety-stress, and performance. Adm. Sci. Q. 20, 272–280 (1975)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman, H.: Major players: bureaucracies in american government. Public Adm. Q. 61, 18–42 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keren, M., Levhari, D.: The optimum span of control in a pure hierarchy. Manag. Sci. 25, 1162–1172 (1979)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kernaghan, K.: The post-bureaucratic organization and public service values1. Int. Rev. Adm. Sci. 66, 91–104 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Light, P.C.: Thickening Government: Federal Hierarchy and the Diffusion of Accountability. Brookings Institution Press, Washington, DC (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  • Light, P.C.: The True Size of Government. Brookings Institution Press, Washington, DC (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  • Light, P.C.: A Workforce at Risk: the State of the Federal Public Service Revisited. Brookings Institution Center for Public Service, Washington, D.C. (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  • Light, P.C.: A Government Ill Executed: the Decline of the Federal Service and How to Reverse It. Harvard University Press, Cambridge (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  • Maier, M.: Confronting the (f)laws of the pyramid: challenger’s legacy for leadership and organizational development. Public Adm. Q. 21, 258–293 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  • Meier, K.J., Bohte, J.: Span of control and public organizations: implementing luther gulick’s research design. Public Adm. Rev. 63, 61–70 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merton, R.K.: Bureaucratic structure and personality. Soc. Forces 18, 560–568 (1940)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mintzberg, H.: The Structuring of Organization: A Synthesis of the Research. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  • NPR: From Red Tape to Results: Creating a Government that Works Better and Costs Less: Report of the National Performance Review. Times Books, New York, N.Y. (1993)

  • Olsen, J.P.: Maybe it is time to rediscover bureaucracy. J. Public Adm. Res. Theory 16, 1–24 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OPM: General schedule supervisory guide. (1998). https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/classifying-general-schedule-positions/functional-guides/gssg.pdf. Accessed 6 March 2017

  • OPM: Introduction to the position classification standards. (2009). https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/classifying-general-schedule-positions/positionclassificationintro.pdf. Accessed 6 March 2017

  • OPM: Federal employment reports: historical federal workforce tables. (2017a). https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/federal-employment-reports/historical-tables/executive-branch-civilian-employment-since-1940/. Accessed 30 January 2017

  • OPM: Pay and leave: general schedule overview. (2017b). https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-systems/general-schedule/. Accessed 3 February 2017

  • Osborne, D., Gaebler, T.: Reinventing Government. Addison-Wesley, Reading (1992)

    Google Scholar 

  • Osborne, D., Peter, P.: Banishing Bureaucracy: the Five Strategies for Reinventing Government. Addison-Wesley, Reading (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ouchi, W.G., Dowling, J.B.: Defining the span of control. Adm. Sci. Q. 19, 357–365 (1974)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Page, E.C.: Farewell to the Weberian state? Classical theory and modern bureaucracy. Zeitschrift für Staats- und Europawissenschaften 4, 485–504 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, S., Berry, F.: Successful diffusion of a failed policy: the case of pay-for-performance in the US federal government. Public Manag. Rev. 16, 763–781 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pollitt, C.: Bureaucracies remember, post-bureaucratic organizations forget? Public Adm. 87, 198–218 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, L.W., Lawler, E.E.: Properties of organization structure in relation to job attitudes and job behavior. Psychol. Bull. 64, 23–51 (1965)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, L.W., Lawler, I.E.E.: The effects of “tall” versus “flat” organization structures on managerial job satisfaction. Pers. Psychol. 17, 135–148 (1964)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruekert, R.W., Walker, O.C., Roering, K.J.: The organization of marketing activities: a contingency theory of structure and performance. J. Mark. 49, 13–25 (1985)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rutherford, A.: Reexamining causes and consequences: does administrative intensity matter for organizational performance? Int. Public Manag. J. 19, 342–369 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryu, S., Christensen, R.K.: Organization performance in turbulent environments: the contingent role of administrative intensity in Hurricane Rita. Am. Rev. Pub. Adm., 0275074018799487 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074018799487

  • Sager, F., Rosser, C.: Weber, wilson, and hegel: theories of modern bureaucracy. Public Adm. Rev. 69, 1136–1147 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon, H.A.: The proverbs of administration. Public Adm. Rev. 6, 53–67 (1946)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, V.A.: Bureaucracy and innovation. Adm. Sci. Q. 10, 1–20 (1965)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, F.J., Riccucci, N.M.: Reinventing government. Ann. Rev. Pol. Sci. 1, 231–257 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Urwick, L.F.: The manager’s span of control. Harv. Bus. Rev. 34, 39–47 (1956)

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber, M.: The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. Oxford University Press, New York (1947)

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitford, A.B.: The hierarchical consequences of reinvention: evidence from the American bureaucracy. J. Manag. Hist. 16, 59–74 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  • Worthy, J.C.: Organizational structure and employe morale. Am. Soc. Rev. 15, 169–179 (1950)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Administration, KwangWoon University, Seoul, Korea

    Seejeen Park

Authors
  1. Seejeen Park
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Seejeen Park.

Appendix A

Appendix A

See Tables 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Table 3 Federal employee data by GS in 2003
Full size table
Table 4 Federal employee data by GS in 2007
Full size table
Table 5 Federal employee data by GS in 2011
Full size table
Table 6 Federal employee data by GS in 2015
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Park, S. Dusk for the pyramid-shaped bureaucracy: examining the shape of the U.S. federal bureaucracy in the twenty first century. Qual Quant 53, 1565–1585 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-018-0827-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-018-0827-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation