What is Government Bureaucracy?

A bureaucracy is a large organization characterized by a hierarchical and centralized authority. In modern usage, bureaucracy refers to any large organization with complicated rules and regulations. The bureaucracy also includes non-political appointees who help carry out these functions and political appointees who manage these departments or agencies on behalf of their political party or president. These appointees include cabinet secretaries, agency directors, and other high-level officials working day-to-day operations within government departments or agencies.
Government bureaucracies are often responsible for providing services to the public, such as issuing driver’s licenses, processing tax returns, and providing benefits to the unemployed. The size of government bureaucracies and their budgets vary widely from country to country and from one level of government to another. In some countries, government bureaucracies are small and lean. In others, they are large and bloated with personnel and resources that could be put to better use elsewhere.
However, government bureaucrats may use their authority for personal gain by accepting bribes or engaging in other forms of graft or extortion. Some have suggested that this corruption is more common when governments have little oversight from elected officials or independent auditors who can monitor their activities.
Government bureaucracies can be found at all levels of government — national, regional, local and international.