Stuck in the middle

There's also a Masters course I'm auditing - Lord knows when I'm going to get time to do my own research! However, it has some relevance, since it deals with public administration and given my own topic - does Left-wing education policy actually make a difference? - I can't afford to ignore the reading material and potential discussion which may result. There's also a further course after Christmas that also caters for the same students, on comparative public policy. So no doubt that will also appear on my timetable.

This week's question though is taxing: who has greatest influence in bureaucracies? Is it the senior civil servants, middle management or the street-level providers? A case can be made for either end but would you believe that having been divided into groups I would have to end up with the one section that seems vaguest? Yup, the middle managers...