Essay Examples on University of Kentucky College of Dentistry

What discretion means is Important

Before delving into the level of discretion enjoyed by a typical street level bureaucrat understanding what discretion means is important Although the term is commonly used to portray a decision maker s power to choose one option out of many alternatives it is a complex concept with no generally acknowledged definition Christie 1986 Carrington 2005 Before looking at different features of discretion suggested by different scholars there must be a definition for discretion According to Merriam Webster Dictionary discretion is defined as following 1 a individual choice or judgment left the decision to his discretion b power of free decision or latitude of choice within certain legal bounds reached the age of discretion 2 the quality of having or showing discernment or good judgment the quality of being discreet circumspection especially cautious reserve in speech 3 ability to make responsible decisions 4 the result of separating or distinguishing Definition for this paper What this means to street level bureaucrats Lipsky 1980 elaborates three common problems that diverse strains of street level bureaucrats run into 1 a heavy workload despite lack of adequate resources 2 existence of real and psychological threats and 3 ambiguities and inconsistencies in performance goals Furthermore there cannot be a universal standard for what would account for a substantial degree of discretion of employees works given the diversity of professions that are classified as street level bureaucrats 



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