Unit 5 - Chapter 14 Flashcards
“A” bureaucracy
a hierarchal system or model of organization
“The” bureaucracy
applying this model of organization to the executive branch to carry out laws
standard operating procedere (SOPs)
procedures for everyday decision-making, enable bureaucrats to bring efficiency and uniformity to the running of complex organizations (makes employees interchangeable and makes things fair)
“red tape”
negative term for SOPs, official routine or procedure marked by excessive complexity
discretionary authority
the authority of administrative actors to select among various responses to a given problem (often when SOPs don’t fit a case, think cops)
executive agreements
government that’s not the other things, perform day-to-day operations of the govt, typically appointed by presidents (NASA)
government corporations
like private organizations, provides a service that could be delivered by the private sector and typically charges for its services (US Postal service)
spoils system/patronage
a hiring and promotion system based on political factors rather than on merit or competence (happened more often in past to keep political allies loyal)
Pendleton Act
an act that created a federal civil service so that hiring and promotion would be based on merit rather than patronage
Hatch Act
a federal law prohibiting government employees from active participation in partisan politics or running for office while on duty/working there
Civil Service Reform Act
federal law that created office of personnel management (OPM)
Iron Triangles/subgovernment
consist of interest groups, government agencies, and congressional committees that have a mutually dependent, mutually advantageous relationship
(modern times more complicated, more like venn diagrams)
myths of bureacracy
Americans dislike bureaucrats (good individual experiences), it’s growing (only at state level), most bureaucrats work in DC, they’re inefficient
tradeoffs of bureaucratic system
traded effectiveness for efficiency, traded being responsive for being fair, traded personal independence for accountability
civil servants
Bureaucrats hired through a merit-based personnel system who have job protection
civil service
a body of government employees that are hired through a system based on the merit system and to create a nonpartisan government service
merit principle
using entrance exams and promotion ratings to reward qualified individuals
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
OPM administers and creates exams civil servant exams, in charge of hiring for most agencies in federal government
GS (General Schedule) rating
a schedule for federal employees, by which salaries can be keyed to rating and experience
Senior Executive Service
an elite group of about 9,000 federal government managers at the top of the civil service system
policy implementation
the stage of policymaking between the establishment of a policy and the consequences of the policy for the people affected
independent regulatory commission/independent executive agencies
responsibility for making and enforcing rules to protect the public interest in a particular sector of the economy (Federal communications commission, Federal Reserve Board)
quasi, or semi, legislative powers, make rules for the areas they regulate, quasi-judicial, can decide how to punish people
street-level bureaucrats
a phrase referring to those bureaucrats who are in constant contact with the public and have considerable administrative discretion
implementation of voting rights act of 1965
highly effective, all levels of bureaucracy implemented it despite protests from South
