hey do provide great stability, and neutral treatment of different groups of people. They are also theoretically the most expert institutions for administering the law and coordinating the activities of government, or large scale institutions. They are not, however, known for being innovative, responsive, flexible, or willing to change. They are not subject to responding to the market, in the largest sense, although changes in the political marketplace can have an impact on them.
There have been many critiques of bureaucracies, including the feminist critique most recently. Most of them identify the same negative characteristics and problems.
For example, Downs (1967), in looking at the bureaucracy, focused on the fact that the bureaucracy is not limited, or shaped, by the marketplace. Instead, other forces and factors shape the value of the organization's work. As a consequence, the basic purpose of the bureaucracy as an institution is not satisfying needs in the marketplace, or producing goods and
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