Government bureaucracies expanded f

Government bureaucracies expanded for much of the twentieth century. To some, bureaucracy appeared to be the ideal organizational type for the performance of complex yet repetitive tasks: it allowed separate parts of the state to specialize in particular tasks, while providing the center with effective control over each of the parts.Yet, by the late twentieth century, a growing number of critics argued that government bureaucracies had become too big and complex, leading to a lack of responsiveness and inefficiency. Some of these critics argued that bureaucracies were inherently unresponsive and inefficient in that they were shielded from the disciplines of the market. Popular culture abounded with jokes and complaints about lazy, self-serving bureaucrats and their love of red tape: the British sitcom Yes Minister is a classic of this genre. The backlash against bureaucracy led to attempts to reform government. It led, in particular, to attempts to replace hierarchy with markets and networks – to move from government to governance.