Public Administration Memo

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Memorandum To: Stephanie Nissen From: Nichole Dennis Date: 11/17/13 Re: Bureaucracy Memo INTRODUCTION In 1992, Kristin Lardner was murdered by a man who should have been in prison. Kristin was a creative and intelligent art student from D.C., living in Boston. She began dating Michael Cartier a few months before he took her life. Michael was already on probation for numerous violent acts. Acts against other people and property. WEBER’S CONCEPT OF BUREAUCRACY Max Weber’s Concept of Bureaucracy consists of three basic theories. They are: Specialization of Labor, Hierarchical Order and Impersonal Rules. "The principle of office hierarchy and of levels of graded authority mean a firmly ordered system of super-and subordination in which there is a supervision of the lower offices by the higher ones (Stillman, 54). The concept of Hierarchical Order is directly related to this case study. Hierarchical Order basically means that everyone in a bureaucratic system has someone to answer to within the government. Because we have these checks and balances system, the government is supposed to run smoothly and properly. HOW THE HIERARCHICAL ORDER FAILED KRISTIN The following are a few examples of how the Hierarchical Order failed to protect Kristin: In 1988, Cartier was arrested and sentenced to six months in jail, non of which he served. In 1990, Cartier was arrested on multiple charges such as destruction of property and animal cruelty. Between December 1990, and March 1991, Cartier continuously physically abuses, torments and harassed his girlfriend at the time. He was then arrested and served six months. In 1992, Cartier beats Kristin for the first time. Kristen breaks up with Cartier after another brutal beating and obtains an emergency protective order. May 30th, 1992 Cartier shoots and kills Kristin, then kills himself.

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