Chapter 14 quiz
The salary range for white-collar federal civil service employees ranges is, approximately,
$18,300-$133,500.
In which of the following five-year periods did the size of the federal bureaucracy grow the most?
-(Correct)- 1940-1945 1945-1950 1955-1960 1980-1985 2000-2005
Which of the following is a part of the agenda-setting stage of the public policy cycle?
-(Correct)- Elected officials place issues on their policy agendas. Interest groups identify members of Congress to introduce a policy proposal. Congress works to pass an authorization law. Elected officials establish a plan. All of these are part of the agenda-setting stage.
Which act of Congress, passed in 1976, requires most multi-headed national agencies to conduct open, public meetings?
-(Correct)- Government in the Sunshine Act Administrative Procedure Act E-Government Act Freedom of Information Act Hatch Act
Which of the following is expected to make enough money to cover its own costs?
-(Correct)- government corporation executive office of the president cabinet department independent regulatory commission independent administrative agency
Which of the following is NOT a way in which Congress encourages bureaucratic accountability?
-(Exception)- By making rulings as to whether agency policies comply with the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments By investigating the concerns of citizens, media, or interest groups regarding agency policy implementation Through Senate confirmation of top bureaucrats By approving the legislation that creates, regulates, and funds bureaucracies Through legislative oversight of agency policies
A bureaucracy that follows Weber's ideal bureaucratic structure has all the following characteristics, EXCEPT
-(Exception)- all workers rotating through all tasks. standard operating procedures. hiring systems based on worker competency. division of labor. a hierarchy with a vertical chain of command.
The legal means to monitor bureaucrats' work and hold them accountable is possessed by
Congress, the president, and the courts.
According to Max Weber, bureaucracies possess which of the following features?
Division of labor and specialization of job tasks Hiring systems based on worker competency Hierarchy with a vertical chain of command Standard operating procedures (All of the above)
According to research, all of the following are important characteristics of the best-performing bureaucracies, EXCEPT
High levels of support from elected officials Easily measured goals High levels of support from the public -(Exception)-Low levels of administrative discretion Clear language in the authorizing legislation
What factor(s) do political scientists use to distinguish among national bureaucrats?
How they are hired, and how they can be fired
Senior executive service (SES) positions are
Hybrids of political appointments and civil service positions.
According to the politics-administration dichotomy, who implements public policy?
Politically neutral bureaucrats
The assassination of which president by an unsuccessful seeker of a patronage position spurred passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Act in 1883?
President James Garfield
What title is given to the top political appointee who heads each of the national government's 15 departments?
Secretary
Those workers who do the work of government but don't get a government paycheck are known as ________ bureaucrats.
Shadow
All of the following are associated with the process in which the government contracts private businesses or organizations to provide public services EXCEPT
Shadow bureaucrats. Privatizing. Outsourcing. -(Exception)-the plum book. Contracting-out.
According to political scientists, how many stages are there in the public policy cycle?
Six
What type of clause forces the expiration of a program or policy after a specified number of years without congressional reauthorization?
Sunset clause
Which of the following was one of the first laws designed to enhance federal bureaucratic accountability to the people?
Sunshine Act -(Correct)- Administrative Procedure Act American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Consumer Product Safety Act Federal Register
What is the name given to the book, published every four years, that lists the federal positions available through presidential patronage?
The plum book
Before the establishment of the civil service system in 1883, what system of hiring was used to staff the federal bureaucracy?
The president hired bureaucrats through the patronage system.
Which of the following rights is denied to national civil servant unions?
The right to strike and to negotiate salaries and work hours
As compared to private-sector employees, all of the following statements about public servants are accurate EXCEPT that public servants
have higher levels of formal education. express a greater concern for public service. tend to hold more professional jobs than all industries as a whole. must comply with more stringent codes of behavior. -(Correct)- are far less satisfied in their positions.
Federal civil servants can be fired for not doing their work, or
nonfeasance.
The civil service system created by the Pendleton Civil Service Act is guided by which hiring principle(s)?
open competition, competence, and political neutrality
Which piece of legislation provided some protection to whistleblowers, those employees who disclose government misconduct, waste, or abuses of authority?
Civil Service Reform Act
What is the steps included within the public policy cycle - Which of the following is the fifth stage in the public policy cycle? - Which of the following is the fourth stage in the public policy cycle? - Which of the following is the second stage in the public policy cycle?
1. Agenda setting 2. Policy formulation 3. Policy approval 4. Appropriation approval (Resource allocation) 5. Policy implementation 6. Policy evaluation
Oldest to newest list of the national government's 15 federal departments. - Which of the following is the newest of the national government's 15 federal departments?
1789 Department of State 1789 Department of Treasury 1789 Defunct- Department of War 1798 Defunct- Department of Army 1798 Defunct- Department of Navy 1859 Department of Interior 1870 Department of Justice (1789 from Attorney General's office) 1889 Department of Agriculture 1903 Defunct- Department of Commerce and Labor 1913 Department of Commerce 1913 Department of Labor 1947 Department of Defense 1953 Defunct- Department of Health, Education, and Welfare 1965 Department of Housing and Urban Development 1966 Department of Transportation 1977 Department of Energy 1979 Department of Health & Human Services 1979 Department of Education 1988 Department of Veteran Affairs 2002 Department of Homeland Security
Which of the following mechanisms is used by bureaucrats to determine if their rules have been broken and to impose penalties on violators?
Administrative adjudication
Under what authority do bureaucrats have the power to use their expertise and judgment to implement public policy?
Administrative discretion
Which of the following refers to laws that provide plans of action to address societal concerns and identify the executive units that will put them into effect?
Authorization laws
Which of the following is a part of the federal bureaucracy that primarily serves the legislative branch?
Council of Economic Advisors Office of Management and Budget -(Correct)- Government Accountability Office General Services Administration Office of Government Ethics
Which of the following federal agencies has the highest percentage of union members?
Department of Defense Department of the Treasury -(Correct)-U.S. Postal Service State Department National Park Service
The process by which the federal government shifts greater responsibility to state and local governments, thereby putting the implementation of national policy in the hands of state and local bureaucrats, is known as
Devolution.
Which piece of legislation established the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), which is charged with preventing bureaucratic conflicts of interest?
Ethics in Government Act
According to political scientists and the textbook, how many different categories of executive branch organizations are there?
Five
Which of the following was the first independent regulatory commission established by the federal government?
Food and Drug Administration Consumer Product Safety Commission -(Correct)- Interstate Commerce Commission General Services Administration Office of Personnel Management
The first three cabinet departments were
War, State, and Treasury.
independent regulatory commissions
Interstate Commerce Commission Consumer Product Safety Commission
Which president proposed the civil service reforms that led to passage of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978?
Jimmy Carter
The Pendleton Civil Service Act introduced a civil service system for the national government based on
Merit
Based on studies cited by public administration and public policy scholar Charles Goodsell, which of the following statements is correct?
Most government employees are motivated by shorter work hours. Most government employees are motivated by higher salaries. Most government employees have lower levels of formal education than employees in the private sector. -(Correct)- Most government employees are very motivated and hard workers. Most government employees are very unmotivated, lazy workers.
What is the biggest downside to holding a patronage position in the federal bureaucracy?
No job security
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 created or supported the creation of all these agencies EXCEPT the
Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA). Senior Executive Service (SES). Merit System Protection Board (MSPB). -(Exception)- Civil Service Commission (CSC).
All of the following are considered independent administrative agencies EXCEPT the
Office of Personnel Management. -(Exeption)- Consumer Product Safety Commission. General Services Administration. National Science Foundation. Smithsonian Institution. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Which of the following statements about the boards of independent regulatory commissions is true?
These agencies are under the direction of bipartisan boards.
Which of the following statements about career civil servants in senior executive service positions is FALSE?
They can be moved between agencies. They give up job security for higher pay. They are immune from firing except for misfeasance, nonfeasance, and malfeasance. They can be moved from job to job. -(Exception)- They hold most of the top policy-related patronage positions.
What criterion determines a federal job's salary?
Title Status Location -(Correct)- Rank Area of responsibility
Which title of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits federally funded institutions from discriminating in educational opportunities on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, age, and disabilities that can be reasonably accommodated?
Title VI
Which title of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in personnel practices based on race, color, ethnicity, age, and disabilities that can be reasonably accommodated?
Title VII
Which of the following best describes the business of an independent regulatory commission?
development of standards for specific industries and businesses
Federal civil servants can be fired for violating rules or regulations that guide their work, or
malfeasance.
Federal civil servants can be fired for poor work quality, or
misfeasance
The interaction of Titles VI, VII, and IX of the Civil Rights Act has helped foster a movement toward
representative bureaucracy.
Which of the following open up government functions and documents to the public, ensuring transparency and public access to decision making?
sunshine laws