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Competence in Bureaucracy

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Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance

Synonyms

Neutral competence; Responsive competence

Definitions

Bureaucratic competence may be defined as the capacity of a public official or agency to efficiently and effectively accomplish the administrative role.

Introduction

A hallmark of bureaucratic competence is awareness among public sector officials of the existence of and interaction between the spheres of politics and administration. Competence in bureaucracy is thought to be predicated not only on a thorough understanding of administrative practices and proficiency in policy-related subject matter, leading to effective and efficient government processes, but also a responsiveness to the direction of political forces. A considerable amount of power to direct, implement, and even design policy is resident in the bureaucracy. The neutrality and expertise of unelected public servants have historically been a point of defense for the existence of a strong administrative sector with policy-making power (Rourke 1992), as well as...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Walden University, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Christopher L. Atkinson

  2. School of Public Administration, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA

    Christopher L. Atkinson

Authors
  1. Christopher L. Atkinson
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Correspondence to Christopher L. Atkinson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, USA

    Ali Farazmand

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Atkinson, C.L. (2017). Competence in Bureaucracy. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_668-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_668-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31816-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31816-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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