Finding safety in the skies: The Federal Aviation Administration and the process of regulation.
Item
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Title
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Finding safety in the skies: The Federal Aviation Administration and the process of regulation.
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Identifier
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AAI9630505
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identifier
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9630505
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Creator
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Sconfienza, Steven R.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Robert Alford
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Date
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1996
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, Public and Social Welfare | Political Science, Public Administration | Transportation
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Abstract
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This research examines the regulatory process in a government agency. Using the Federal Aviation Administration (the FAA) as a case study, the research develops a model of goals and applies those goals to actions. The goals developed are an objective response, a symbolic response, a response framed in a multiple patron-client environment, and a chaotic response developed where processes and objectives are unclear. Four FAA actions are studied: a rule-making action concerning pilot licensing and currency requirements; an externally-mandated modification to internal FAA structure that affected regulatory units; an externally-mandated modification to internal FAA rule-making processes; and an aircraft certification issue that reasonably ought to have resulted in a rule-making action, that did not, but that did include alternative regulatory processes. In each case the study finds that while objective safety of flight issues exist that may require legitimate rule-making action or be factors in real or potential actions, the organization is also dealing with pervasive needs for symbolic action as well a balancing significant demands from a variety of external agents. These forces produce within the organization uncertainty, and at times conflict, as to objectives and processes. The effect of this on the FAA's processes of regulation, possible alternatives to the structure as it now exists, and how this may be generalizable to regulatory bodies generally is discussed.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
