This article examines the exercise of discretion by street-level bureaucrats. The article first examines some of the arguments for and against the uses of discretion by street-level workers. It then looks at the impact of the professional bureaucracy on the exercise of discretion. Finally, the article suggests the need for further research on street-level discretion.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BarthT. J. (1992). The Public Interest and Administrative Discretion.American Review of Public Administration, 22 (4).
2.
BohteJ.& MeierJ. (2000, March/April). Goal Displacement: Assessing the Motivation for Organizational Cheating.Public Administration Review, 60(2)173–182.
3.
BrynerG. C. (1987). Bureaucratic Discretion: Law and Policy in Federal Regulatory Agencies.NY: Pergamon Press.
4.
CalhounC.LightD., & KellerS. (1994). Sociology. (6th ed.). NY: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
5.
CarpenterM. A.& GoldenB. R. (1997). Perceived Managerial Discretion: A Study of Cause and Effect.Strategic Management Journal, 18(3)187–206.
6.
DeLisiM.& RegoliB. (1999). Race, Conventional Crime, and Criminal Justice: The Declining Importance of Skin Color.Journal of Criminal Justice, 27(6)549–557.
7.
DenhardtR. B. (1984). Theories of Public Organization.CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.
8.
DworkinR. (1978). Taking Rights Seriously.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
9.
ForsythA. (1999, August). Administrative Discretion and Urban and Regional Planners' Values.Journal of Planning Literature, 14(1)5–15.
10.
FirthH. (1998-1999). Accountability, Role Change and Adjustment to Care Management.Social Work & Social Sciences Review, 8(1)42–58.
11.
HasenfeldY.& EnglishR. (eds). (1974). Human Service Organization.Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press.
12.
HeffronF. (1989). Organization Theory and Public Organizations: A Political Connection.NJ: Prentice Hall.
13.
IgbariaM.& WormleyW. M. 1992, December). Organizational Experiences and Career Success of MIS Professionals and Managers: An Examination of Race Differences.MIS Quarterly, 16(2)507–529.
14.
KaufmanH. (2001, Jan/Feb). Major Players: Bureaucracies in American Government.Public Administration Review, 61(1)18–42.
15.
KeiserL. R. (1999, January). State Bureaucratic Discretion and the Administration of Social Welfare Programs: The Case of Social Security Disability.Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 9(1)87–96.
16.
KeiserL. R.& SossJ. (1998, October). With Good Cause: Bureaucratic Discretion and the Politics of Child Support Enforcement.American Journal of Political Science, 42(4)1133–1156.
17.
KellyM. (1994). Theories of Justice and Street-Level Discretion.Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 4(2)119–140.
18.
KelleyS. W.& LongfellowT. (1996, Summer). Organizational Determinants of Service Employees' Exercise of Routine, creative, and deviant discretion. Journal of Retailing, 72(2)1–24.
19.
KelmanS. (1990). Procurement and Public Management: The Fear of Discretion and the Quality of Government Performance.Washington, DC: AEI Press.
20.
KerwinC. (1994). Rulemaking: How Government Agencies Write Law and Make Policy. Washington, DC.: CQ Press.
21.
KleinigJ. (1996). Introduction: Handling Discretion with Discretion. In KleinigJ. (Ed.), Handled with Discretion: Ethical Issues in Police Decision Making (pp. 1–12). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
22.
LeavitW. M.& JohnsonG. (1998, Spring). Employee Discipline and the Post-Bureaucratic Public Organization: A Challenge in the Change Process.Review of Public personnel Administration, 18(2)73–81.
23.
LipskyM (1980). Street Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Service.NY: Public Services.
24.
LynnL. E.Jr., (1998, May/June). The New Public Management: How to Transform a Theme into a Legacy.Public Administration Review, 58(2)231–237.
25.
MaO. J. (1990). Dimensions and Dynamics of Police Discretion: A Social Power Perspective and Discriminant Analysis.Michigan: Dissertation Information Service.
26.
McGregorJ. (1996). From the State of Nature to Mayberry: The Nature of Police Discretion. In KleinigJ. (Ed.), Handled with Discretion: Ethical Issues in Police Decision Making (pp. 47–64). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
27.
MeierK. J. (1993). Politics and the Bureaucracy: Policymaking in the Fourth Branch of Government.Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing.
28.
MitchellC. E. (1999, Spring). Violating the Public Trust: The Ethical and Moral Obligations of Government Officials.Public Personnel Management, 28(1)27–39.
29.
MooreS. (1990). Street-level Policymaking: Characteristics of Decision and Policy in Public Welfare.American Review of Public Administration, 20(3)191–205.
30.
PollardE.& LiebeckH. (1995). The Oxford Large Print Dictionary (2nd ed.).Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
31.
PowellD. D. (1981). Race, Rank and Police Discretion.Journal of Police Science and Administration, 9(4)383–389.
32.
PowellD. D. (1990). A Study of Police Discretion in 6 Southern Cities.Journal of Police Science and Administration, 17(1)1–7.
33.
RansonS.& StewartJ. (1995). Management for the Public Domain: Enabling the Learning Society.NY: St. Martin Press, Inc.
34.
ReimanJ. (1996). Is Police Discretion Justified in a Free Society? In KleinigJ. (Ed.) Handled with Discretion: Ethical Issues in Police Decision Making (pp. 71–84). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
35.
RohrJ. A. (1998). PublicSservice, Ethics, and Constitutional Practice.Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas.
36.
RumgayJ.& BrewsterM. (1996, September). Restructuring Probation in England and Wales: Lessons from an American Experience.The Prison Journal, 76(3)331–343
37.
ScottP. G. (1997, January). Assessing Determinants of Bureaucratic Discretion: An Experiment in Street-level Decision Making.Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory, 7(1)1–22.
38.
SeldenS. C.BrewerG. A., & BrudneyJ. L. (1999, May). Reconciling Values in Public Administration: Understanding the Administrative Role Concept.Administration & Society, 31(2)171–204.
39.
ShumavonD. H.& HibbelnH. K. (1986). Administrative Discretion and Public Policy Implementation.NY: Praeger.
40.
SparrowM. K.MooreM. H., & KennedyD. M. (1990). Beyond 911: A New Era for Policing.NY: BasicBooks.
41.
StoneD. (1988). Policy Paradox & Political Reason.NY: Harper Collins.
42.
ThomasC. W. (1998, May). Maintain and Restoring Public Trust in Government Agencies and Their Employees.Administration & Society, 30(2)166–193.
43.
TobiasR. M. (2000, January). Realizing Reform. Government Executive, 32(1)39–42.
44.
WalkerS. (1983). Employment of Black and Hispanic Police Officers.Review of Applied Urban Research, 11(6)1–6.
45.
WalkerS. (1993). Taming the System: The Control of Discretion inCcriminal Justice 1950-1990. NY: Oxford University Press, Inc.
46.
WilsonJ. Q. (1989). Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do and Why They Do It.NY: BasicBooks.