Week 7 of UCalgary MPP 2023-2024 Class

Oct. 10 – Oct. 13, 2023; this week was shorter due to the Thanksgiving Monday holiday.

In our Tuesday session of PPOL 619: Governance, Institutions, and Public Policy, our focus shifted to the backbone of policy development and execution: bureaucracy. We ventured deep into the contrasting realms of the traditional Weberian model and the contemporary New Public Management (NPM) theory of bureaucracy.

Max Weber (1864-1920), the influential German sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, conceptualized the Weberian model of bureaucracy. In his posthumously published work, "Economy and Society," he emphasized the attributes of an ideal bureaucracy. The work was published in 1921/22 by his wife Marianne Weber. A model where specialization and division of labor thrive, leading to optimal output. Hierarchical relationships dominate this system, ensuring clear lines of command and communication. It's a top-to-bottom control mechanism, offering clear directives and accountability, which he termed a 'monocratic hierarchy'. Given Weber’s legal background, he stressed the importance of formal rules and a defined protocol, ensuring fairness and impartiality. In Weber's vision, bureaucracies epitomized efficiency and accountability, with bureaucrats playing roles strictly subservient to their political masters.

However, bureaucracy is a continually evolving entity. As the industrial revolution dawned, and the challenges of administrative red tape became apparent, the need for a more streamlined approach emerged. This paved the way for New Public Management (NPM), a model promoting an entrepreneurial style of governance leaning on market discipline. The U.S. saw significant contributions to this approach, notably from Woodrow Wilson, who argued for the separation of administration from political policymaking. His vision was to infuse the market's dynamism into bureaucracy, pushing it away from hierarchical rigidity towards flexibility.

Then for approx. an hour we had a group exercise, where we brainstormed healthcare solutions for Alberta's rapidly aging population, challenged with the need to rapidly expand long-term care. Our team of five, brainstormed alternatives based on the Weberian model against those grounded in New Public Management. It was an enriching experience to dissect the strengths and weaknesses of each approach in a real-world application. Our group recommendation was for the government to set a specific individualized annual budget for elderly care (e.g. $60k/elderly/yr). By doing so, it would pave the way for the private sector to invest in the establishment of long-term care homes, all the while adhering to government-mandated best practices. This essentially would usher in a competitive yet standardized care environment. Our second recommendation pivoted around the establishment of a rigorous quality assurance program. This program would deploy full-time inspectors responsible for ensuring adherence to best practices, acting as a safeguard to protect the health and interests of our aging citizens. This recommendation was heavily influenced by the NPM approach, which champions the cause of efficient service delivery through private sector involvement, while ensuring that public interest remains paramount.

I had two deliverables scheduled for later in the week: a take-home quiz for PPOL619 and a prospectus for the term assignment in PPOL699, where I chose to explore the competitive policy landscape within Alberta's electrical market structure. The term paper is due by the end of the semester.

*Photo: Peace bridge in Calgary, AB taken May 01/22.

Summit photo