Chapter 12: The Bureaucracy Flashcards
bureaucracy
the complex structure of offices, rules, tasks and principles of organization that is employed by all large-scale institutions to coordinate the work of their personnel
implementation
the efforts of departments and agencies to translate laws into specific bureaucratic rules and actions
principal-agent problem
a conflict in priorities between an actor and the representative authorized to act on the actor’s behalf
independent regulatory commission
a government agency outside the executive department usually headed by commissioners
government corporation
a government agency that performs a market-oriented public service and raises revenues to fund its activities
merit system
a product of civil service reform, in which appointees to positions in public bureaucracies must objectively be deemed qualified for those positions
political appointees
the presidentially appointed layer of the bureaucracy on top of the civil service
senior executive service
the top, presidentially appointed management rank for career civil servants
privatization
the process by which a formerly public service becomes a service provided by a private company but paid for by the government
OMB
the agency in the EOP with control over the federal budget and regulations
police patrol oversight
regular or even preemptive congressional hearings on bureaucratic agency operations
fire alarm oversight
episodic as-needed congressional hearings on bureaucratic agency operations, usually prompted by media attention or advocacy group complaints
regulatory capture
a form of government failure in which regulatory agencies become too sympathetic to interests or businesses they are supposed to regulate
inspectors general
independent audit organizations located in most federal agencies
