Bargaining and command by heads of U.S. government departments

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Abstract
The 13 department of heads of the president's cabinet are among the most important and powerful people in the United States government. Laws, presidemtial authority, and administrative theory say that they should command. In fact, they spend much of their time bargaining. They dicker with the president, the White House staff, their own assistant secretaries, their civil service subordinates, and thier clientele. These powerful men and women bargain for the same reasons that they command: to acquire information, to mobilize resources, to implement their programs, and to advance their own positions. Besides standard published sources, the author draws on his personal experience as a presidential appointee in the Carter Administration. On certain points, he compares the American system to the British government.

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