In his analysis, Michael Lipsky (1980, p. 13) identifies the primary area in which government bureaucrats have discretionary decision-making power. Bureaucrats exercise discretion in decisions about citizens with whom they interact. Over time, the sum total of the exercise of this discretion and the decisions made by these bureaucrats becomes the agency's culture or behavior. Both Lipsky's and Brehm & Gates' (2000) analysis demonstrates that bureaucratic decision-making processes are heavily reliant on two important factors. First, bureaucratic decision making is dependent on the way supervisors filter agency policy down to subordinates. Second, decision making in government agencies relies heavily on each individual bureaucrat's functional preference for the tasks he or she is required to perform.
In their analysis, Brehm & Gates (2000, p. 73) attempt to explain the seeming rigidity and lack of accountability that pervades bureaucratic decision-making by referencing the tendency of most bureaucrats to conform to the decision-making processes of other bureaucrats. For example, Brehm & Gates point out that many bureaucrats who feel uncertain of their environments, such as police officers and social workers who are often faced with situations of first impression but with serious consequences for a wrong decision, these bureaucrats demonstrate a surprising level of conformity in response to policy (Brehm & Gates, 2000, p. 73). Notably, this also conforms with Brehm & Gates' finding that the greater the frequency of contact among subordinates, the greater the degree of conformity in their behavior and decision-making processes.
The conformity of the decision-making processes in such areas occurs despite the high level of discretion bureaucrats in these areas often have regarding how to react to a given situation. As Lipsky notes, professional bureaucrats are regularly deferred to in their specialized areas of
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