Jason Nguyen- AP U.S. Government and Politics: Chapter 14 Vocabulary

hierarchical authority

A basic principle of bureaucracy that refers to the chain of command within an organization whereby officials and units have control over those below them.

formalized rules

A basic principle of bureaucracy that refers to the standardized procedures and established regulations by which a bureaucracy conducts its operations.

government corporations

A government agency that operates like a business corporation, created to secure greater freedom of action and flexibility for a particular program.

independent regulatory commission

A government agency whose independence is backed by Congress with responsibility for making and enforcing rules to protect the public interest in some sector of the economy and for judging disputes over these rules.

iron triangles

A mutually dependent relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees. They dominate some areas of domestic policymaking.

street-level bureaucrats

A phrase coined by Michael Lipsky, referring to those bureaucrats who are in constant contact with the public and have considerable administrative discretion.

GS (General Schedule) rating

A schedule for federal employees, ranging from GS 1 to GS 18, by which salaries can be keyed to rating and experience.

bureaucracy

A system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives.

civil service

A system of hiring and promotion based on the merit principle and the desire to create a nonpartisan government service.

spoils system

A system of public employment based on rewarding party loyalists and friends.

merit system

A system of public employment in which selection and promotion depend on demonstrated performance rather than political patronage.

presidential reorganization

A term used to refer to a major statutory power that has sometimes been temporarily extended by the United States Congress to the President of the United States.

incentive system

According to Charles Schultze, a more effective and efficient policy than command-and-control; in the incentive system, market-like strategies are used to manage public policy.

command-and-control policy

According to Charles Schultze, the existing system of regulation whereby government tells business how to reach certain goals, checks that these commands are followed, and punishes offenders.

cabinet

Advisory council for the president consisting of the heads of the executive departments, the vice president, and a few other officials selected by the president.

executive leadership system

An approach to managing the bureaucracy that is based on presidential leadership and presidential management tools, such as the president's annual budget proposal.

standard operating procedures/red tape

Better known as SOPs, these procedures are used by bureaucrats to bring uniformity to complex organizations (usually public). Uniformity improves fairness and makes personnel interchangeable.

Senior Executive Service

Established by Congress in 1978 as a flexible, mobile corps of 9000 senior career executives who work closely with presidential appointees to manage government.

independent executive agencies

Federal agencies that aren't large or important enough to get department status. Directors appointed by President w/ advice & consent of Senate. Ex. NASA, CIA, EPA

executive orders

Formal orders issued by the president to direct action by the federal bureaucracy. Executive orders are one method presidents can use to control the bureaucracy.

patronage

Granting favors or giving contracts or making appointments to office in return for political support.

National Performance Review

Now also known as the National Partnership for Reinventing Government: a major Clinton Administration initiative in 1993 designed to streamline the federal bureaucracy, cut wasteful spending, and make government more efficient ("works better and costs less.").

Pendleton Civil Service Act

Passed in 1883, an Act that created a federal civil service so that hiring and promotion would be based on merit rather than patronage.

clientele groups

Special interest groups that benefit directly from the activities of a particular bureaucratic agency and therefore are strong advocates of the agency.

Hatch Act

The 1939 act to prohibit civil servants from taking activist roles in partisan campaigns. This act prohibited federal employees from making political contributions, working for a particular party, or campaigning for a particular candidate.

neutral competence

The administrative objective of a merit-based bureaucracy. Such a bureaucracy should be "competent" in the sense that its employees are hired and retained on the basis of their expertise and "neutral" in the sense that it operates by objective standards rather than partisan ones.

administrative discretion

The authority of administrative actors to select among various responses to a given problem. Discretion is greatest when routines, or standard operating procedures, do not fit a case.

bureaucratic accountability

The degree to which bureaucrats are held accountable for the power they exercise.

whistle-blowing

The disclosure of information by a company insider that exposes illegal or unethical behavior by others within the organization.

demographic representativeness

The idea that the bureaucracy will be more responsive to the public if its employees at all levels are demographically representative of the population as a whole.

deregulation

The lifting of government restrictions on business, industry, and professional activities.

Office of Personnel Management

The office in charge of hiring for most agencies of the federal government, using elaborate rules in the process.

job specialization

The process by which a division of labor occurs as different workers specialize in different tasks over time.

policy implementation

The stage of policymaking between the establishment of a policy and the consequences of the policy for the people whom it affects. It involves translating the goals and objectives of a policy into an operating, ongoing program.

agency point of view

The tendency of bureaucrats to place the interests of their agency ahead of other interests and ahead of the priorities sought by the president or Congress.

regulation

The use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector.

impounding

Withholding by a president of funds that have been appropriated by Congress. Used in place of a line-item veto.