Chapter 11 - Bureaucracy

Question 1

bureaucracy

Answer 1

the complex structure of offices, tasks, rules, and principles of organization that are employed by all large-scale institutions to coordinate the work of their personnel

Question 2

department

Answer 2

the largest subunit of the executive branch. The secretaries of the fourteen departments form the Cabinet

Question 3

federal reserve system

Answer 3

a system of twelve Federal Reserve Banks that facilitates exchanges of cash, checks, and credit; regulates member banks; and uses monetary policies to fight inflation and deflation

Question 4

fiscal policy

Answer 4

the government’s use of taxing, monetary, and spending powers to manipulate the economy

Question 5

government corporation

Answer 5

a government agency that performs a service normally provided by the private sector

Question 6

implementation

Answer 6

the efforts of departments and agencies to translate laws into specific bureaucratic rules and actions

Question 7

independent agency

Answer 7

an agency that is not part of a Cabinet department

Question 8

iron triangle

Answer 8

the stable, cooperative relationship that often develops among a congressional committee, an administrative agency, and one or more supportive interest groups. Not all of these relationships are triangular, but the iron triangle is the most typical

Question 9

merit system

Answer 9

a product of civil service reform, in which appointees to positions in public bureaucracies must objectively be deemed qualified for those positions

Question 10

oversight

Answer 10

the effort by Congress, through hearings, investigations, and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies by overseeing or supervising how legislation is carried out by the executive branch