What does Michael Lipsky mean by the term street-level bureaucrat?
Street-level bureaucrats are “public service workers who interact directly with citizens in the course of their jobs, and who have substantial discreation in the execution of their work” (Lipsky 1980).
What is the theory of street-level bureaucracy?
Street-level bureaucracy (SLB) is a sociological theory that seeks to explain the working practices and beliefs of front-line workers in public services and the ways in which they enact public policy in their routine work.
Who is considered a street-level bureaucrat?
Street-level Bureaucrats are identified as people employed by government who: 1) are constant- ly called upon to interact with citizens in the regu- lar course of their jobs; 2) have significant inde- pendence in job decision-making; and 3) potentially have extensive impact on the lives of their clients.
Do street-level bureaucrats make policy?
Street-level bureaucrats make policy in two related respects. They exercise wide discretion in decisions about citizens with whom they interact. Then, when taken in concert, their individual actions add up to agency behavior.
What is street-level bureaucracy provide examples and explain the example in detail?
Street-level bureaucrats are the frontline workers or policy implementers in government. agencies such as the health service, schools or police service. Nurses, doctors, policemen and teachers are typical street-level bureaucrats.
What are street-level bureaucrats quizlet?
What are street-level bureaucrats? Public service workers who interact directly with citizens.
What are the two coping strategies of street-level bureaucrats?
They make policy by using their wide autonomy to adopt coping mechanisms, such as limiting client demand and creaming (cherry- picking). Winter and Nielsen have developed this into (1) reducing demand for output, (2) rationing output and (3) automating output. These distinctions are briefly clarified in the article.
What is so important about street-level bureaucrats?
Street-level bureaucrats can ‘make policy’ in this way because they can exercise discretion (make a choice about how they will exercise their power). Their discretion comes partly from the fact that they are regarded as professionals and therefore expected to exercise their own judgement in their fields of expertise.
Are judges street-level bureaucrats?
Although judges were included in the street-level-bureaucracy (SLB) group by Lipsky (1980), sociolegal scholars have barely used this theoretical framework to study them. This article aims to specify their position with respect to SLB in order to bridge the gap between public administration and sociolegal research.
What impact will street-level bureaucrats have on policy implementation?
Hence, when street-level bureaucrats perceive that they have discretion, they feel that they are better able to help client (more perceived client meaningfulness), which in turn increases their willingness to implement the policy. This is known as a mediation effect.
What are the two coping strategies of street-level bureaucrats define those two?
They make policy by using their wide autonomy to adopt coping mechanisms, such as limiting client demand and creaming (cherry-picking). Winter and Nielsen have developed this into (1) reducing demand for output, (2) rationing output and (3) automating output. These distinctions are briefly clarified in the article.
Why are street-level bureaucrats important?
Street-level bureaucrats act as liaisons between government policy-makers and citizens and these civil servants implement policy decisions made by senior officials in the public service and/or by elected officials.
Which challenge do street-level bureaucrats often face?
Street-level bureaucrats typically face the following key challenges: Inadequate resources. The resources at their disposal are chronically inadequate relative to the tasks they are required to perform. This resource inadequacy can take various forms.
Are social workers street-level bureaucrats?
Social workers are street-level bureaucrats whose professional routine has been strongly influenced by this neoliberal ideology (Anonymous). The withdrawal of the welfare state has also led to increased hardship among disadvantaged populations that has translated into direct pressure on public social service providers.
Who are street-level bureaucrats and in what ways do they make public policy?
What are street-level bureaucrats These are the “Public service workers who interact directly with citizens in the course of their jobs, and who have substantial discretion in the execution of their work”. These are all those involved in the provision of public services.
How can street-level bureaucrats help or hinder policy implementation?
How are teachers street-level bureaucrats?
Public school administrators and teachers are often referred to as street-level bureaucrats because they are employed by the school district and their work environment closely emulates that which is described by Lipsky (1969).
Which of the following would be considered a street-level bureaucrat responsible for implementing federal policy at a local level?
Which of the following would be considered a street-level bureaucrat responsible for implementing federal policy at a local level? In the case of the No Child Left Behind Act, schoolteachers would be considered street-level bureaucrats responsible for implementing the federal policy at a local level.
What is a street-level bureaucracy examples?
Street-level civil servants carry out and/or enforce the actions required by a government’s laws and public policies, in areas ranging from safety and security to education and social services. A few examples include police officers, border guards, social workers and public school teachers.