ch 8 (vb)

Question 1

agency theory

Answer 1

also called the principal-agent model, the basic premise is that bureaucracies are agents that act on behalf of the legislature-the principal or “client”-in a relationship similar to a business contract

Question 2

authority leakage

Answer 2

when the distortions created by communication down a chain of command make it impossible to control those who act

Question 3

bureaucracy

Answer 3

the position within the political administrative structure-the desk, not the person-that defines the role or function to be performed

Question 4

cockroach theory of bureaucracy

Answer 4

the idea that bureaucracies serve the public as best as they can and hope to stay hidden from the media and well fed in the darker recesses of an anonymous bureaucratic government

Question 5

iron triangle

Answer 5

the situation where the bureaucracy is captured and redirected to focus on the needs of an interest group rather than on the public interest or even its original mandate

Question 6

overhead democracy

Answer 6

system of government in which elected officials-who are periodically held accountable to the desires of the voting public-are put at the top of the bureaucratic hierarchy or are otherwise entrusted with mechanisms that allow them to effectively control the unelected portions of the governments

Question 7

principal-agent model

Answer 7

also called agency theory, the basic premise that bureaucracies are agents that act on behalf of the legislature-the principal or “client”-in a relationship similar to a business contract