A bureaucracy is the group of unelected workers, managers and administrators that make up the government infrastructure.

They are in charge of implementing the policies set by the elected and appointed leadership of their agency or department. The consequence of an entrenched bureaucracy is that the "organizational culture" can be resistant to change so despite the good intentions of new leadership innovation is resisted by the bureaucracy. It makes change management extremely important when leading a government agency or department. I have seen staff work on projects while openly discussing that fact that these changes will all disappear in a couple of years when the politicians move on.

Source(s):
Manager in a Government Agency