"Reforming" the Bureaucracy: Some Suggestions for the New President.

One of the more pressing problems of our times is the state of the bureaucracy. Not only have governmental institutions-federal, state, and local-fallen to new lows in public esteem, but there is evidence that the organizational performance that has gotten them this reputation is worsening rather than improving as new tasks are undertaken and level added to level in the hierarchy. Now we have a new President who has vowed to do something about the "horrible bureaucracy" over which he is presiding. This article warns him and his associates that reform isn't as easy as it sounds, and that reorganization, while necessary and useful, is only a part of the answer. It suggests a seven-point approach, the two most important of which are the exploring of new patterns of administration to replace ultimately the bureaucratic form; and the involving of members of the system-the bureaucrats themselves-in its modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]