Ch 8 and 14 Flashcards
(39 cards)
What is bureaucracy?
The term used for one executive branch unit, and for the collection of all executive branch units, in a government.
What are bureaucrats?
Non-elected government employees hired to implement public policy. (Public administrators/servants)
What is red tape?
Standardized rules and procedures that are inefficient and dehumanizing, involving tedious paperwork.
What is Weber’s Ideal Bureaucracy?
1) Division of labor, 2) specialization of job tasks, 3) hiring and promotion systems based on worker competency, 4) hierarchy with a vertical chain of command, and 5) reliance on standard operating procedures, rules, and regulations
Describe the basic organization and major components of the federal government.
1) Departments, 2) Independent administrative agencies, 3) Independent regulatory commissions, 4) Government Corporations, 5) Agencies in the Executive Office of the President
What is the Plum Book?
A publication by the federal government after each presidential election which lists the top jobs (~4,000, of which ~1,200 the senate can confirm/reject) in the bureaucracy to which the president will appoint people through the patronage system (bypasses open competition). Appointees tend to be those who support their policy preferences, but have no job security.
What is the Senior Executive Service (SES)?
A unique personnel system for top managerial, supervisory, and policy positions offering less job security but higher pay than the merit-based civil service system. 90% are merit career employees that to be fired, no/poor job performance is required (or violates rules/laws); other 10% are non-career and temporary appointees of the president’s offices and has no job security.
What is merit-based civil service?
A personnel system in which bureaucrats are hired on the basis of the principles of competence, equal opportunity, and political neutrality. They have job protection once hired, and cannot be disciplined/fired for political reasons. (Civil Servants)
What is the Pendleton Civil Service Act?
Enacted due to the assassination of President James Garfield by a man who didn’t get a patronage position, the act aims to eliminate the expectation that government jobs were the spoils of an electoral victory.
What is the job of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)?
They are responsible for developing and implementing merit-based civil service personnel policies and procedures as the central human resources (personnel) office.
What are shadow bureaucrats?
People hired and paid by private for-profit and nonprofit organizations that implement public policy through a government contract.
How many cabinet departments are there and what are they responsible for? How are they created?
There are 15 departments, each responsible for one broadly defined policy area.
What are independent executive agencies?
An executive branch unit created by Congress and the president that is responsible for a narrowly defined function and whose structure is intended to be protected from partisan politics. Some handle governmental functions not within the scope of responsibilities of other departments, others support the work of existing departments, and others still focus on research and exploration. They do not report to a cabinet secretary, and their heads typically serve a fixed term. Administrative agencies must have cause to remove, but others might be removed without reason.
What are independent regulatory commissions?
An executive branch unit outside of cabinet departments, responsible for developing standards of behavior within specific industries and businesses, monitoring compliance with these standards, and imposing sanctions on violators. Initially centered on economic regulation, there is now more focus on social regulation. These regulatory agencies are under direction of bipartisan boards or commissions whose members do not need to be loyal to the president’s preferences.
What are Government Corporations?
An executive branch unit that sells a service/product and is expected to be financially self-sufficient, competing for customers while fulfilling legal obligations (eg, USPS). Typically, a bipartisan board directs each government corporation with members appointed by the president serving staggered fixed terms. They are independent of cabinet departments and congressional power of the purse.
Stages of the policy-making process.
1) Agenda Setting (elected officials decide what issues to discuss/address - iron triangles and issue networks)
2) Policy formation (members of Congress introduce proposals for legislative action, or executive order by president)
3) Policy approval (when congress passes a law and president signs it (or is overridden))
4) Resource allocation (fiscal year budget, approved to spend a certain amount of money. Generally with a budget request having to be justified.)
5) Policy Implementation (political appointees enact rules/regulations for bureaucrats to enforce. Administrative discretion and adjudication.)
6) Policy Evaluation (individuals/groups/bureaucrats evaluate effectiveness and efficiency)
What is a politics-administration dichotomy?
The concept that elected government officials, who are accountable to the voters, create and approve public policy. Competent, politically neutral bureaucrats implement that public policy. In reality, there is no clear line drawn.
What are Sunshine Laws?
Legislation that opens up government functions and documents to the public.
How is the federal bureaucracy held accountable?
Sunshine laws for transparency, allowing citizens or watchdog groups to identify a problem with bureaucratic operations. If a problem is found, they often turn to the media to bring public focus on an issue.
A lawsuit can be filed to hold bureaucrats accountable to the courts.
Bureaucrats must follow congressional preferences or risk being eliminated, budget cut, or legal authority modified (they also confirm some appointees). Legislative oversight with congressional investigations.
The president might hold bureaucrats accountable by approving or vetoing authorization and appropriation bills. Office of Management and Budget evaluates performance for the president.
Bureaucrats also hold themselves accountable by worrying about inefficiency and waste in public service. Codes of behavior, whistleblower protections, and inspectors general help foster accountability.
What is a whistleblower?
A bureaucrat or private party who discloses to the government mismanagement, fraud, waste, corruption, or threats to public health and safety.
What is an Inspectors General?
Political appointees who work within a government agency to ensure the integrity of public service by investigating allegations of misconduct by bureaucrats.
What are the major functions of political parties?
1) Recruit/run candidates under their own label
2) Seek to govern (Majority of seats/executive)
3) Opinions on multiple issues (Platform)
4) Quasi-public organizations that perform functions like running elections
What is a party platform?
Formal statement of a party’s principles and policy objectives
What is grassroots organizing?
engaging in tasks that involve direct contact with voters (or potential voters) - volunteering in campaigns, etc
