Federal Bureaucracy ch.13 Flashcards
VIEWS OF THE BUREAUCRACY
- Americans seem to have a negative view of the bureaucracy
- The bureaucracy is seen as inefficient & wasteful
- Public claims they support less government
- Yet Americans support almost every specific program that the government undertakes
Bureaucracy
a complex system of organization and control that incorporates the principles of hierarchical authority, division of labor, and formalized rules.
The president is the chief
administrator of the federal system
All bureaucratic agencies are subject to Congress
for their funding, staffing & their continued existence.
Public bureaucracies
- serve the citizens
* to conserve the taxpayer’s dollars
Weberian Model
a model of bureaucracy developed by the German sociologist Max Weber, who viewed bureaucracies as rational, hierarchical organizations in which decisions are based on logical reasoning.
Acquisitive Model
views top level bureaucrats as seeking to expand the size of their budgets & staffs to gain greater power.
Monopolistic Model,
compares bureaucracies to monopolistic business firms. Lack of competition in either circumstance leads to inefficient & costly operations.
sheer size of the bureaucracy
around $3 trillion annually
Excluding the military, the federal bureaucracy includes
just under 2 million government employees.
The size of the bureaucracy has dramatically
increased in the last 200 years.
This number is somewhat deceiving,
because many other individuals work directly or indirectly for the federal government as subcontractors or consultants
executive branch
Cabinet departments
Independent executive agencies
Independent regulatory agencies
Government corporations
Cabinet Departments
the fifteen major administrative organizations within the federal bureaucracy that are responsible for major governmental functions such as defense, commerce, and homeland security.
Independent Executive Agency
a governmental unit with special responsibilities that is not part of any cabinet department.
Independent Regulatory Agency
, an agency existing outside the major departments that regulates a specific economic activity or interest.
Government corporations
government bodies, such as the U.S. Postal Service & Amtrak, which are similar to private corporations in that they charge for their services but differ in that they receive federal funding to help defray expenses. Their directors are appointed by the president with senate approval.
*no takes (profit made)
Factors determining whether someone is appointed for top jobs in the bureau:
- Way to pay off outstanding political debts
- Work experience
- Intelligence
- Political affiliations
- Personal characteristics
Before the Pendleton Act of 1883
civil service jobs were based on who you knew; not what you knew.
Spoils system
the expansion of the patronage system to a level of corruption that placed political cronies into all levels of government.
Merit system
the system that classifies federal civil service jobs into grades to which appointments are made on the basis of performance on competitive exams.
Government in the sunshine act
a law that requires all committee-directed federal agencies to conduct their business regularly in public session.
Sunset legislation
, laws requiring that existing programs be reviewed regularly for their effectiveness & be terminated unless specifically extended as a result of these reviews
Privatization
, the replacement of government services with services provided by private firms
