Gov Chapter 15
Once hired into the federal bureaucracy, a person is assigned a ________ rating, which determines oneʹs salary range.
General Schedule
Which of the following statements about bureaucracies is FALSE?
Government bureaucracies have been shown to be less efficient and effective than private bureaucracies.
Which Cabinet department is charged with overseeing the nation's national resources?
Interior
The classic conception of a bureaucracy was advanced by ________, who argued that the bureaucracy was a ʺrationalʺ way for a modern society to conduct its business.
Max Weber
The ________ Act was passed partly as a memorial to the memory of President James Garfield, who was assassinated in 1881.
Pendleton Civil Service
Which of the following statements about plum book appointees is FALSE?
Plum book appointees are often instrumental in changing and reforming their agencies.
Which of the following statements about independent regulatory commissions is FALSE?
Regulatory commission members may not be drawn from the ranks of present or former employees of the regulated industry.
Which of the following is NOT a method a president can use to control the bureaucracy?
Rewrite statutes to make instructions clearer as to how policies are intended
Which of these is the newest government agency?
Social Security Administration
The largest federal agency based on dollars spent is the
Social Security Administration.
Which of the following is TRUE about the federal bureaucracy
The state and local governments have far more employees than the federal bureaucracy.
Which of the following is NOT true about presidential appointees to bureaucracies?
They must be recommended by the Office of Personnel Management's ʺrule of three.ʺ
Which of the following statements about government regulation in America is accurate?
Until 1887, the federal government made almost no regulatory policies and had no regulatory agencies.
Which of the following is NOT an area in which an ʺiron triangleʺ has controlled federal policy over the past several decades?
environmental policy
The Pendleton Act established the
federal civil service.
Amtrak and the United States Postal Service are examples of
government corporations.
Which of the following statements about bureaucracies and the scope of government is FALSE?
When the president and Congress chose to deregulate certain areas of the economy or cut taxes, the bureaucracy prevented them from doing so.
An independent regulatory agency is governed by
a small commission, usually with five to ten members, appointed by the president for fixed terms.
The authority of administrative actors to select among various responses to a given problem is Called
administrative discretion
When Congress passes regulatory legislation for which it has established goals, it then
grants power to regulatory agencies to develop guidelines and enforce compliance.
Most regulatory agencies adopt specific ________ to carry out a policy, based on what they believe was the intended purpose of the specific policy at hand.
guidelines
Until 1887, the federal government had
almost no regulatory policies.
Which of the following would not be considered a street-level bureaucrat?
an assistant secretary in the Department of Transportation
Whatever strategy Congress permits a regulatory agency to use, all regulation contains the following elements EXCEPT
an incentive system to maximize performance by those regulated.
In addition to a hierarchical authority structure, Max Weber argued that a bureaucracy involves all of the following EXCEPT
an incentive system.
As the oversight powers of Congress in regard to the bureaucracy have become more vigorous, they have also
become more fragmented
The plum book
book lists top federal jobs available by Presidential appointment.
Once a policy decision has been made, such as by passing a legislative act or issuing an executive order, the
bureaucracy is responsible for its implementation.
Most of the government is composed of
bureaucrats
The real work of a Cabinet department is done in the
bureaus.
Each bureaucratic agency is created initially
by Congress.
Bureaus in the federal bureaucracy are also known as all of the following EXCEPT a
department
One proposed solution to the ʺproblemʺ of the proliferation of regulatory agencies and policies has been
deregulation
The Weberian theory of bureaucracies views them in the most positive light as
hierarchical.
Creating new agencies, developing guidelines, and coordinating resources to achieve a policy goal is called
implementation.
The General Services Administration and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration are examples of
independent executive agencies.
According to Hugh Heclo, the plum book system of recruiting federal employees tends to result in the appointment of administrators who
do not stay long enough in their appointed position to be effective.
The Interstate Commerce Commission and the Federal Reserve Board are examples of
independent regulatory agencies.
The parts of the federal bureaucracy with responsibility for different sectors of the economy, and making and enforcing rules designed to protect the public interest, are the
independent regulatory agencies.
A major problem for presidents and Congress in controlling bureaucracies is the existence of
iron triangles
As a percentage of the total work force, federal government employment
is declining.
ʺIron trianglesʺ face challenges from a growing number of
issue networks
Congress tries to control the bureaucracy through each of the following EXCEPT
issuing congressional orders
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was successful for all of the following reasons EXCEPT
it was universally supported.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was successfully implemented thanks to its
its clear goal, its clear methods to achieve the goal, and its lack of bureaucratic fragmentation.
Vigorous disputes over the implementation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 in regard to funding for womenʹs athletic programs arose primarily due to
lack of clarity in the original policy decision.
Which of the following is NOT a reason that policy implementation sometimes breaks down in the federal bureaucracy?
lack of standard operating procedures
As a whole, the permanent bureaucracy is
more broadly representative of the American people than legislators, judges, or presidential appointees.
Proposals to reorganize the government in order to solve the problem of bureaucratic fragmentation are often
opposed by agencies not wanting to be submerged within a broader bureaucratic unit.
Independent regulatory agencies have
powerful rule-making, dispute-settling, and enforcement authority.
All regulations contain each of the following elements EXCEPT
presidential oversight and control of enforcement
The Hatch Act, passed in 1940
prohibits federal civil service employees from active participation in partisan politics.
Standard operating procedures accomplish all of the following EXCEPT
reduce red tape.
The use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector is called
regulation
Congress tries to control the bureaucracy through
rewriting laws and budgets and holding hearings.
Administrative discretion is greatest when
rules do not fit a case.
Studies have found that most Americans are
satisfied with the help received from bureaucrats.
Section 844 of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 was vaguely written, eventually resulting in
scores of court cases.
Government corporations provide
services and charge for them.
A major complaint of the Food and Drug Administration is the
shortage of personnel.
When bureaucrats are asked to execute orders with which they do not agree,
slippage is likely to occur between policy decisions and performance.
Administrative personnel who exercise discretion, pay attention to routine, and deal directly with clients, are called
street-level bureaucrats.
Those civil service employees who are in constant contact with the public (often a hostile one) and have considerable discretion are known as
street-level bureaucrats.
An ʺiron triangleʺ is also referred to as a
subgovernment
Each of the following is a criticism of regulation EXCEPT
that it lowers prices
Federal employees are prohibited from active participation in partisan politics through
the Hatch Act
Deregulation has resulted, at least in part, in each of the following EXCEPT
the proliferation of government agencies.
Which of the following is a legitimate criticism of the federal civil service?
Firing incompetents is extremely difficult.
Which of the following statements about the size of bureaucracies is FALSE?
As a percentage of America's total work force, federal government employment has been growing.
There are roughly ________ civilian and military federal government employees
4,000,000
The Federal Aviation Administrationʹs protocol for for hijackings assumed that
All of the above
Which of the following statements is FALSE?
Bureaucrats are often fired for using too much administrative discretion.
Which of the following would be included in a plum book
Cabinet secretaries
To limit bureaucratic discretion and make its instructions clearer,
Congress can write new and more detailed legislation.
Which of the following statements about Congress and the bureaucracy is FALSE?
Congress has found it easy to control the bureaucracy.
Which of the following would NOT be considered part of the Weberian model of bureaucracy?
Decentralized authority structure
The ________ employs about one-fourth of all federal civilian workers, more than any other department or agency.
Department of Defense
The Cabinet department that has the largest budget is the
Department of Health and Human Services.
Which of the following statements about the hiring and firing of civil servants is FALSE?
Due to the merit system, it is easy to fire incompetent civil servants.
Which of the following statements about bureaucracies is FALSE?
Each bureaucratic agency is created by the president.
Which of the following is NOT true about standard operating procedures?
Each federal department and agency has a plum book which lists its standard operating procedures.
Which of the following is NOT an accusation made against the regulatory system?
Excessive regulation contributed to the savings and loan industry disaster of the 1980s.
Which of the following is NOT true about ʺiron trianglesʺ?
they are indestructible
The diffusion of responsibility within the bureaucracy makes the coordination of policies both
time-consuming and difficult.
The main job of federal bureaucrats is
to implement and regulate government policies.
An obstacle to the successful implementation of public policy is
unclear policy goals and poorly designed policies.
) In the case of Munn v. Illinois, decided in 1877, the United States Supreme Court
upheld the right of government to regulate the business operations of a firm.
The Weberian model depicts a bureaucracy as a
well-organized machine with plenty of working but hierarchical parts.
Issue networks are a growing participatory force in bureaucratic decision making
whose members' interest in issues is intellectual or emotional rather than material.
