Bureaucratic Representation

Bureaucratic
representation
is
when
it
is
expected
that public
administrator and government officials in a bureaucracy represent and conduct duties
that are of concern for the interest of the individuals and groups they represent and
serve. Studies have shown that there are an endless list of variable linking active and
passive representation such as class, race, gender, ethnicity, as well as cultural traits
such as language and religion. A number of studies have demonstrated a possible
linkage between active and passive representation. Active representation is a process
while passive representation is a characteristic. The possible linkage between active
and passive is one that is complex and perplexing.
Active
Active representation is a function that concludes represented groups benefit from
representative bureaucracies. Most active representation is concerned with how
representation
influence policymakers
and
implementation
and
assumes
that bureaucrats will act purposely on behalf of their counterparts in the general
population. An example being, women and men working beside one another within a
bureaucracy, women are more likely to actively promote issues and agendas that benefit
women in the general population. Potential barriers to active representation are peer
pressures that appear within work environments as well as social ones. The pressures
placed on bureaucratic of a primary group to conform are notorious within any
environment.
Passive
Representative bureaucracy in the passive sense is the degree to which the social
characteristics of the bureaucracy reflect the social characteristics of the populations the
bureaucracy serves. Studies of passive representation examine whether the
composition of bureaucracies mirror the demographic composition of the general
population. Passive representation exists when bureaucracy's demographic
characteristics demonstrate the demographic characteristics of the population.