Chapter Twelve: The Bureaucracy

Question 1

Bureaucracy

Answer 1

a large, complex organization of appointed, not elected, officials

Question 2

Max Weber

Answer 2

one of the first people in modern times to think seriously about the importance of bureaucracy - well organized, complex machine that is a “rational” way for a modern society to organize its business

Question 3

Hierarchical authority structure

Answer 3

a chain of command that is hierarchical - the top bureaucrat has ultimate control, and authority flows from the top down

Question 4

Task specialization

Answer 4

a clear division of labor in which every individual has a specialized job

Question 5

Extensive rules

Answer 5

clearly written, extensive rules that all people in the organization follow

Question 6

Clear goals

Answer 6

a clearly defined set of goals that all people in the organization strive toward

Question 7

The merit principle

Answer 7

merit-based hiring and promotion, no granting of jobs to friends or family unless they are the best qualified (contrasts spoils system)

Question 8

Impersonality

Answer 8

job performance that is judged by productivity, or how much work the individual gets done

Question 9

Weber’s characteristics of a bureaucracy

Answer 9

Hierarchical authority structure, task specialization, extensive rules, clear goals, the merit principle, and impersonality

Question 10

Divided supervision

Answer 10

Congress has the power to create, organize, and disband all federal agencies - this makes the Bureaucracy’s 2 masters: the Pres and Congress - encourages bureaucrats to play one branch against the other

Question 11

Close public scrutiny

Answer 11

emphasis of individual rights and their defense against governmental abuse makes court challenges to agency actions more likely

Question 12

Regulation rather than public ownership

Answer 12

US government agencies regulate privately owned enterprises, rather than operate publicly owned ones - regulation rather than ownership

Question 13

Federal civilian employee demographics

Answer 13

• 57% male
• 73% are white
• 33% hired by Defense Dept., 26% by Postal Service, 41% other agencies
• 10% work in DC
• average age is 42
• number of fed employees per 1,000 people in US has decreased from 14 in 1970’s to a little over 10 in late 1990’s
• Most fed employees are white-collar workers - secretaries, clerks, lawyers, inspectors, and engineers
• Nearly 20,000 fed civilian employees work in US territories and another 100,000 in foreign nations

Question 14

Department of Justice

Answer 14

is in inner cabinet - created to serve Attorney General

Question 15

General Services Administration

Answer 15

(GSA) operates and maintains federal properties, handling buildings, supplies, and purchasing - independent executive agency

Question 16

National Science Foundation

Answer 16

(NSF) supports scientific research - independent executive agency

Question 17

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Answer 17

(NASA) administers the US space program, financing ventures into space - independent executive agency

Question 18

Discretionary authority

Answer 18

the extent to which bureaucrats can choose courses of action and make policies that are not spelled put in advance by laws

Question 19

Spoils system

Answer 19

party loyalists are rewarded with key federal posts by the newly elected president (contrast to the merit system) - patronage

Question 20

Pendleton Act

Answer 20

set up a limited merit system for appointing federal offices - federal service placed under the Civil Service Commission

Question 21

Civil Service Commission

Answer 21

supervised a testing program to evaluate candidates for the bureaucracy - were to be selected and retained according to merit, not party loyalty - later split into the Office of Personnel Management and the Merit Systems Protection Board

Question 22

Office of Personnel Management

Answer 22

administers civil service laws, rules, regulations, written examinations for the competitive service - in charge of hiring for most agencies - when someone is hired a GS (General Schedule) Rating (GS 1 - GS 18) determines salaries

Question 23

Senior Executive Service

Answer 23

at the top of the civil service system - executives with high salaries who may be moved from one agency to another

Question 24

Merit Systems Protection Board

Answer 24

protects the integrity of the federal merit system and the rights of federal employees - hears charges of wrongdoing and employee appeals against agency actions and orders disciplinary actions against executives or employees

Question 25

Interstate Commerce Commission

Answer 25

(ICC) oldest of the regulatory agencies - first regulated railroads, but now oversees trucking as well

Question 26

Federal Trade Commission

Answer 26

(FTC) regulates business practices and controls monopolies

Question 27

National Labor Relations Board

Answer 27

(NLRB) regulates labor-management relations

Question 28

Federal Reserve Board

Answer 28

(FRB) governs banks and regulates the supply of money

Question 29

Securities and Exchange Commission

Answer 29

(SEC) polices the stock market

Question 30

Government corporations

Answer 30

a blend of private corporation and government agency - allow more freedom and flexibility than exists in regular government agencies

Question 31

Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Answer 31

controversial - operates public radio and television stations

Question 32

Tennessee Valley Authority

Answer 32

One of FDR's New Deal programs - harnesses power of the Tennessee River to protect farmlands and provide cheap electricity

Question 33

US Postal Service

Answer 33

the post office is a corporation that competes with private services

Question 34

Amtrak

Answer 34

provides railroad passenger service - heavily subsidized by government - created because of lack of private companies doing the same, and has had some huge financial losses

Question 35

Munn v. Ohio

Answer 35

upheld the rights of the state of Illinois to regulate the charges and services of a Chicago warehouse (1877)

Question 36

Duplication

Answer 36

Congress rarely gives any one job to a single agency - helps keep one agency from becoming all powerful - e.g. drug trafficking handled by Customs Services, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Border Patrol, and Defense Dept.

Question 37

Authorization

Answer 37

no agency may spend money unless it has first been authorized by Congress - Congress also appropriates the money (almost always cuts agency budgets from the levels authorized)

Question 38

Appropriation

Answer 38

money formally set aside for a specific use

Question 39

Hearings

Answer 39

Congressional committees may hold hearings as part of their oversight responsibilities - a weak agency reflects weak oversight

Question 40

Rewriting legislation

Answer 40

Congress may rewrite legislation or make it more detailed to restrict the power of an agency

Question 41

Appointments

Answer 41

POTUS appoints senior bureaucrats, including agency heads and subheads - this gives him control over the bureaucracy (only 3% of total positions though)

Question 42

Executive orders

Answer 42

agencies must obey them - aides may also pass the word informally to agencies as to the Pres' wishes

Question 43

Economic powers

Answer 43

Pres may exercise authority through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) OMB may cut or add to an agency's budget, although Congress does most of the appropriating

Question 44

Reorganization

Answer 44

the Pres may reorganize or combine agencies to reward or punish them - this is limited however, because entrenched bureaucracies, Congress, and interest groups may keep him from doing what he might like

Question 45

Iron Triangle

Answer 45

alliance among bureaucrats, interest groups, and congressional subcommittee members - form to promote their common causes (so strong that they're referred to as subgovernments - place where real decisions are made) - how policy is formed

Question 46

Issue networks (not common on the exam)

Answer 46

consist of people in an interest group, on congressional staffs, in universities, and in the mass media who regularly debate an issue - contentious - a President may pick a new agency head from the issue network who agrees with him

Question 47

Hatch Act

Answer 47

required employees, once they were hired, to have as little to do with political parties as possible, forbidding them from engaging in many party activities