Managers respond to accountability pressure by cutting street-level discretion, not increasing it.

Evidence

Despite the dual focus of accountability inherent in the street-level bureaucrats’ roles, public managers are drawn to making street-level bureaucrats more accountable by reducing their discretion and constraining their alternatives. They write manuals to cover contingencies. — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy, 1174

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the managerial accountability reflex: constrain discretion via manuals and audits rather than share authority.
• XREF: Connects to the discretion chapters earlier in this book and to Weberian rule-by-regulation literatures on bureaucracy.