Bureaucracy Flashcards
Bureaucracy
a hierarchical authority structure that uses task specialization, operates on the merit principle, and behaves with impersonality.
Patronage
A system in which jobs and promotions are awarded for political reasons rather than for merit or competence.
Pendleton Civil Service Act
Passed in 1883, an act that created a federal civil service so that hiring and promotion would be based on merit rather than patronage.
Civil Service
A system of hiring and promotion based on the merit principle and the desire to create nonpartisan government service.
Merit Principle
The idea that hiring should be based on entrance exams and promotion ratings to produce administration by people with talent and skill.
Hatch Act
A federal law prohibiting government employees from active participation in partisan politics while on duty or for employees in sensitive positions at any time.
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
The office in charge of hiring for most agencies of the federal government, using elaborate rules in the process.
GS (General Schedule) Rating
A schedule for federal employees, ranging from GS 1 to GS 18, by which salaries can be keyed to rating and experience.
Senior Executive Service
An elite cadre of about 9,000 federal government managers at the top of the civil service system.
Independent Regulatory Commission
A government agency with responsibility for making and enforcing rules to protect the public interest in some sector of the economy and for judging disputes over these rules.
Governmental Corporation
like business corporations, provides a service that could be delivered by the private sector and typically
Independent Executive Agency
The government agencies not accounted for by cabinet departments, independent regulatory commissions, and government corporations. Administrators are typically appointed by the president
NASA is an example.
Policy Implementation
establishment of a policy and the consequences of the people affected. Implementation involves translating the goals and objectives of a policy into an operating, ongoing program.
Standard Operating Procedures
Better known as SOPS, these procedures for everyday decisions making enable bureaucrats to bring efficiency and uniformity to the running of complex organizations.
Administrative Discretion
The authority of administrative actors to select among various responses to a given problem. Discretion is greatest when routines, or standard operating procedures, do not fit a case.
Street-level Bureaucrats
A phrase coined by Michael Lipsky, referring to those bureaucrats who are in constant contact with the public and have considerable administrative discretion.
Regulation
The use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector.
Deregulation
The lifting of government restrictions on business, industry, and professional activities.
Command-and-Control Policy
The typical system of regulation whereby government tells business how to reach certain goals, checks that these commands are followed, and punishes offenders.
Incentive System
An alternative to command-and-control, with market like strategies such as rewards used to manage public policy.
Executive Orders
Regulations originating with the executive branch. Executive orders are one method presidents can use to control the bureaucracy.
Iron Triangles
Also known as subgovernments, a mutually dependent, mutually advantageous relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees.
Who helped end the pArtonage sys
Charles guiteau
Omp is in charge of
Hiring most federal agencies heads
They create the test and give the names to different agencies of those who passed it
Civil-service are —— after a probbaitary period
Protected and cannot lose their jobs
Most of the time firing is hard work so they just give incompetent workers easy jobs
What is the Plum book
The list of the top federal jobs available for direct presidential appointment
What are some characteristics of political appointees by the president
Diversey and balance
very qualified personnel
and very short terms
What cabinet department is not headed by secretary
Justice headed by the attorney general
What are some other names for bureau where most work is done
Service office administration
What are some examples of independent regulatory commissions
5
FRBFederal Reserve Board governs banks NLRBLabor relations Board FCC licenses and regulates media FTCFederal Trade Commission SECsecurities and exchange commission oversees the stock market
Why are independent regulatory commissions not completely effective
Some of the partners of the industry work for regulatory commissions therefore not implementing rules on them
What is example of a government corporation
The TVA part of the new deal protected against erosion and provided electricity Americans in Midwest
What are some examples of independent executive agencies
GSA gen. services admin handles building supplies and purchasing
National Science Foundation NSF
NASA
Which has more members independent executive agencies or independent regulatory commissions
inDependent executive agencies
What three things are included in policy implementation
1creation of a new agency or assignment of a new responsibility to an old agency
2translation of policy goals into operational roles and developments of guidelines for the program
3coordination of resources and personnel to achieve intended goals
Why do the best laid plans sometimes flunk the implementation test
Faulty program designed,lack of clarity contradictory orders and lack of resources due to a small bureaucracy lack of authority
why does Congress not give bureaucracies more resources
Because of you not wish to be inspected or regulated and for for inefective bureaucracy
Limited budgetary resources
Standard operating procedures pros and cons
Pros save time there make personnel interchangeable
cons red tape and potentially dangerous obstacles
What are some examples of street-level bureaucrats
Police officers welfare workers and lower court judges
***note they use discretion aloft
How can discretion differ
They use their personal views and in chess to execute orders on which they do not agree
Fragmentation examples
Two agencies not communicating
agencies trying to do the same thing
Why does the government not fix fragmentation and re-organize the government
Because of the decentralization of power they would lose control over agencies if they were merged with others and interest groups to wouldn’t want to give up the relationships with their agencies and the agencies themselves want to be integrated
What are some pros and cons of private contractors in government
pro –they provide specialized skills, more efficent and, they cut costs allow for more federal employees
Con—- The above applies to local and state governments they have no affect on national government
What are some examples of governmental. regulatnatal agencies
Security and exchange commission the national relations Board the department of labor and equal opportunity commission the EPA and the FTC
What did Munn v Illinois do
Created the first regulatory agency the interstates commerce commission ICC
What ways do Congress regulate agencies
One grants power of directions
2 set a rule set rules and guidelines for the agency itself
3 enforce means of compliance
How do you presidents try and control the bureaucracy
Appointing the right people to head the agency
issue orders (executive)
altar and agencies budget through the OMB
re-organize the agency
How does Congress try to take control of bureaucracies
Influencing the appointment of agency heads
altering agency
budget holding hearings
writing legislation or making it more detailed
What is a limitation rider
Forbids agency from spending money for Pacific purposes
Why are I and triangles between bureaucracy and other groups so prevalent
Lack of involvement of other branches
and strong subgovernmant
decentralization and fragmentation of the policymaking process
Iron triangles are usually between
congressional subcommittee’s
and interest groups
bureaucracy
What are the two unelected policymaking institutions
bureaucracyand the courts
