Ch. 8

Which of the following policy areas is most likely to be involved in an iron triangle?

Agricultural policy

Which 1883 civil service reform required the hiring and promoting of civil servants to be based on merit, not patronage?

The Pendleton Act

A clear chain of command with all employees knowing who their supervisors are as well as whom they are responsible for is an example of

a hierarchy.

The purpose of explicit bureaucratic rules is to ensure that

all people who interact with the bureaucracy are treated in the same fashion.

According to the textbook, bureaucracies are often the only meeting ground for citizens and politics because they

are often the only contact citizens have with government.

Government corporations

are set up to provide goods or services that are not profitable for a private business to provide.

The bureaucracy engages in the lawmaking process

because Congress often passes very general laws that require clarification before they can be enforced.

Bureaucracies are found in

both the public and private sectors.

The value of explicit rules in bureaucratic institutions is that they

create standardization and predictability.

Bureaucracies are

found in both the public and private sectors.

The bulk of the federal bureaucracy is

found in the executive branch.

The term "bureaucratese" refers to the

highly specialized jargon used by bureaucrats.

The government organizations that oversee various businesses, industries, or economic sectors are

independent regulatory boards and commissions.

Because presidents and their appointees often struggle with entrenched bureaucracies, presidents

often prefer to start new agencies rather than deal with the old ones.

The practice in which successful party candidates reward supporters with jobs or favors is known as

patronage.

The term "iron triangles" refers to the

phenomenon of members of interest groups, congressional committees, and bureaucratic agencies cooperating for mutual benefit.

When political bureaucratic appointees conflict with career civil servants,

political appointees have the advantage of a higher position of authority, but civil servants can stall to slowly kill policy changes.

President Bush's use of his appointment power demonstrated

presidential attempts to influence the bureaucracy.

The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989

prevents individuals from being punished for exposing bureaucratic wrong-doing.

To respond to clientele groups, some departments and agencies were formed to

serve and regulate particular organized and unorganized groups.

Citizen advisory councils are established to

subject key policy decisions to the consideration of the general public.

The fifteen departments that make up the major subdivisions of the federal government also represent

the president's cabinet.

Bureaucratic accountability refers to

the principle that bureaucratic employees should be answerable to supervisors, all the way up the chain of command.

The desire by agencies to maintain total control over their own resources and policy decisions, rather than cooperating with other agencies, can lead to

wasteful and inefficient policy decisions.

______ refers to bureaucrats' authority to use their own judgment in interpreting and carrying out the laws of Congress.

Bureaucratic discretion