Deck 13: The Federal Bureaucracy

Question 1

The National Science Foundation is a(n)

A)government corporation.
B)independent regulatory agency.
C)cabinet office.
D)independent executive agency.
E)interest group.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

In referring to administrative policymakers as a "government of strangers," Hugh Heclo was referring to

A)their transience.
B)the fact that most last less than two years in their positions.
C)the fact that most top officials rarely stay in their positions long enough to get to know their subordinates.
D)Heclo was referring to all of these.
E)Heclo was referring to none of these.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following is a way presidents attempt to control the bureaucracy?

A)Creating an iron triangle
B)Holding oversight hearings
C)Rewriting legislation or adding additional details to existing legislation
D)Issuing an executive order
E)All of these are ways presidents attempt to control the bureaucracy.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following requirements resulted from the Hatch Act?

A)Civil service employees cannot actively engage in partisan politics while on duty.
B)Civil service employees in sensitive positions,such as those in the area of national security,may only engage in political activities when off duty.
C)No civil servants are permitted to make individual contributions to political campaigns.
D)Civil servants are permitted to run for public office.
E)Civil servants' rights to free speech include the right to run for political office at any point in their career.

Question 5

________ are responsible for making and enforcing rules to protect the public interest in particular sectors of the economy,and for judging disputes over these rules.

A)Government corporations
B)Independent regulatory commissions
C)Cabinet offices
D)Independent executive agencies
E)Blue ribbon commissions

Question 6

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

A)deregulation.
B)defederalization.
C)decentralization.
D)deincentivizing.
E)deimplementation.

Question 7

The Weberian model views bureaucracies as

A)promoting good monopolies.
B)loosely organized and loosely run.
C)largely self-serving.
D)efficient and necessary.
E)hindering democracy.

Question 8

Issue networks are

A)a growing participatory force in bureaucratic decision making whose members' interest in issues is intellectual or emotional rather than material.
B)the same as "iron triangles."
C)the relatively new television stations that specialize in political coverage.
D)subject to standard operating procedures.
E)two or more agencies that share regulatory power when a policy or regulation affects more than one regulatory body.

Question 9

Which individual helped end the spoils system?

A)Abraham Lincoln
B)Andrew Jackson
C)Andrew Johnson
D)Charles Guiteau
E)Jimmy Carter

Question 10

Most Americans

A)are generally satisfied with the help they receive from bureaucrats.
B)dislike bureaucrats.
C)actually like bureaucracies.
D)would like to work for a bureaucracy.
E)describe most bureaucrats as unwilling to serve their clients' interests.

Question 11

The Department of the Treasury is a(n)

A)cabinet department.
B)independent regulatory commission.
C)government corporation.
D)government bank.
E)independent executive agency.

Question 12

____ systems are designed to hire and promote members of the bureaucracy on the basis of merit and to create a nonpartisan government service.

A)Patronage
B)Civil service
C)Hatch
D)Civilian
E)Military

Question 13

Patronage refers to

A)a system in which jobs and promotions are awarded for political reasons.
B)a system in which jobs and promotions are awarded on the basis of desert.
C)a system of hiring and firing based on the merit principle.
D)the schedule for federal employees,ranging from GS 1 to GS 18,by which salaries can be keyed to rating and experience.
E)an elite cadre of about 9,000 federal government managers at the top of the civil service system.

Question 14

Regulation refers to

A)procedures for everyday decision making that bring efficiency and uniformity to the running of complex organizations.
B)the authority of administrative actors to select among various responses to a given problem.
C)the use of government authority to control or change some practice in the private sector.
D)the stage of policymaking between the establishment of a policy and the consequences of the policy for the people affected.
E)translating the goals and objectives of a policy into an operating,ongoing program.

Question 15

Regulations originating with the executive branch are called

A)presidential bills.
B)vetoes.
C)line-item vetoes.
D)regulatory reports.
E)executive orders.

Question 16

Which of the following elements are necessary for bureaucracy according to Max Weber?

A)Hierarchical authority structure
B)Task specialization
C)Rules
D)Impersonality
E)All of these are necessary according to Weber.

Question 17

The authority of administrative actors to select among various responses to a given problem is called

A)policy implementation.
B)selective management.
C)the merit principle.
D)the definition of alternatives.
E)administrative discretion.

Question 18

Administrative personnel who exercise discretion,pay attention to routine,and deal directly with clients

A)are called street-level bureaucrats.
B)are limited to high-level positions in the administration.
C)implement federal policies.
D)are part of the Senior Executive Service.
E)are usually dismissed for not following standard operating procedures.

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT an element of all regulation governing bureaucratic agencies?

A)A grant of power and set of directions from Congress
B)A set of rules and guidelines determined by the regulatory agency itself
C)Some means of enforcing compliance
D)A timeline for eventual deregulation
E)None of these; all are elements of regulation

Question 20

The stage of policymaking involving the translation of goals and objectives of a policy into operating ongoing programs is called

A)implementation.
B)agenda setting.
C)assessment.
D)evaluation.
E)standard operating procedure.

Question 21

The federal bureaucracy has shrunk in size relative to the population it serves.

Question 22

According to Max Weber,bureaucracy has a hierarchical authority structure that uses task specialization and operates on the merit principle.

Question 23

Executive orders are regulations originally from Congress and are one means legislators use to control the bureaucracy.

Question 24

Iron triangles are mutually advantageous relationships between bureaucratic agencies,interest groups,and congressional committees.

Question 25

The Department of Defense constitutes more than one-half of the federal bureaucracy.

Question 26

As a percentage of America's total workforce,federal government employment has

A)been shrinking not growing.
B)been growing not shrinking.
C)been relatively stable.
D)eliminated private-sector jobs.
E)created private-sector jobs.

Question 27

President James Garfield's assassin was disgruntled because he had not received a federal appointment under the spoils system.

Question 28

EPA standards requiring that cars include pollution control and energy-saving devices are examples of regulation.

Question 29

Which of the following statements about bureaucracies is FALSE?

A)Bureaucratic power extends to every corner of American economic and social life.
B)Bureaucracies are scarcely hinted at in the Constitution.
C)Nothing better illustrates the complexity of modern government than its massive bureaucracies.
D)Each bureaucratic agency is created by the president.
E)How to manage and control bureaucracies is a central problem of democratic government.

Question 30

The United States Postal Service is a government corporation.

Question 31

In addition to a hierarchical authority structure,Max Weber argued that a bureaucracy involves all of the following EXCEPT

A)extensive rules.
B)an incentive system.
C)task specialization.
D)the merit principle.
E)a hierarchical authority structure.

Question 32

The elite cadre of federal government managers is known as the Senior Executive Service.

Question 33

Which president claimed,"to the victors belong the spoils"?

A)Abraham Lincoln
B)Andrew Jackson
C)Andrew Johnson
D)Franklin d.Roosevelt
E)John F. Kennedy

Question 34

The Weberian theory of bureaucracies views them in the most positive light as

A)acquisitive.
B)inefficient.
C)monopolistic.
D)hierarchical.
E)democratic.

Question 35

Which of the following would NOT be considered part of the Weberian model of bureaucracy?

A)Task specialization
B)Decentralized authority structure
C)Extensive rules
D)Impersonality
E)Both a and d are true.

Question 36

Administrative discretion is greatest when routines do not fit a case.

Question 37

Which of the following individuals advanced the classic conception of bureaucracy?

A)Max Weber
B)Karl Marx
C)Adam Smith
D)John Adams
E)Richard Nuestadt

Question 38

Federal government employment accounts for about ___ percent of all civilian jobs.

A)2
B)10
C)15
D)20
E)30

Question 39

The Weberian model depicts a bureaucracy as

A)fundamentally dangerous to a democratic society.
B)inefficient,primarily concerned with maximizing its budget,and largely responsible for the growth of modern government.
C)wasteful,bloated,overstaffed,overpaid,and arrogant.
D)a well-organized machine with plenty of working,hierarchical parts.
E)ambling and groping,affected by chance,and largely operating by a loosely run style of trial and error.

Question 40

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

A)The FDA is so short of staff that it inspects the average U.S. food company just once every 10 years.
B)The FDA inspects less than 1 percent of all food imports.
C)Congress is typically very enthusiastic about creating a single food safety agency to target inspections,streamline safety programs,and use resources more efficiently.
D)The House Energy and Commerce Committee has oversight over the FDC.
E)The House Agriculture Committee has oversight over the USDA.

Question 41

There are ____ cabinet departments headed by a secretary chosen by the president and approved by the Senate.

A)5
B)10
C)15
D)20
E)25

Question 42

According to Government in America,which of the following is a legitimate criticism of the federal civil service?

A)Firing incompetents is extremely difficult.
B)Workers are not protected against political firings.
C)It does not operate on the merit principle.
D)Too many federal civil servants are actively involved in partisan politics.
E)All of these are legitimate criticisms.

Question 43

The ________ Act was passed partly as a memorial to the memory of President James Garfield,who was assassinated in 1881.

A)Pendleton Civil Service
B)Treason
C)Voting Rights
D)Hatch
E)Interstate Commerce

Question 44

Patronage is a hiring and promotion system based on

A)knowing the right people.
B)civil service exams.
C)talent and skill.
D)the Pendleton Act.
E)the merit principle.

Question 45

The elite cadre of approximately 9,000 federal government managers established by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978,including primarily career officials and some political appointees who do not require Senate confirmation,is called the

A)Civil Service.
B)Senior Executive Service.
C)General Schedule Service.
D)Civil Executive Service.
E)Civil General Service.

Question 46

Which of the following is NOT true about presidential appointees to bureaucracies?

A)They often do not know their own agency subordinates very well,much less people in other agencies.
B)They must be recommended by the Office of Personnel Management's "rule of three."
C)As political appointees,they are often unaccustomed to the administrative routines,budget cycles,and legal complexities of their agencies or departments.
D)They tend to spend fewer years in their positions than those in the civil service.
E)According to Hugh Heclo,their most important trait is their transience.

Question 47

Which of the following is NOT a cabinet department?

A)Education
B)Energy
C)Peace Corps
D)Homeland Security
E)Transportation

Question 48

What is known as the "granddaddy" of the government corporations?

A)The Tennessee Valley Authority
B)The U.S. Postal Service
C)Amtrak
D)General Services Administration
E)National Science Foundation

Question 49

All civil service systems are designed to

A)create a nonpartisan government service with promotion on the basis of merit.
B)create job replacements when a new party comes to power.
C)ensure the General Schedule rating system for patronage appointments.
D)centralize government employment at the federal level.
E)create a system that ranks and rewards employees by their time spent in government.

Question 50

Federal employees are prohibited from active participation in partisan politics through the

A)Twenty-fifth Amendment.
B)Pendleton Act.
C)Supreme Court ruling in Democratic National Committee v. Hayes.
D)Hatch Act.
E)merit system.

Question 51

Which of the following statements about the hiring and firing of civil servants is FALSE?

A)The Office of Personnel Management has elaborate rules about hiring,promotion,and firing of civil servants.
B)The top of the civil service is composed of about 9,000 members of the Senior Executive Service.
C)Once hired,civil servants are assigned a General Schedule ranging from GS 1 to GS 18.
D)Due to the merit system,it is easy to fire incompetent civil servants.
E)Civil servants are protected from political firings.

Question 52

The schedule for federal employees ranging from GS 1 to GS 18,by which salaries are keyed to rating and experience,is called the

A)Federal Register.
B)Hatch Register.
C)General Schedule.
D)Merit Schedule.
E)Spoils System.

Question 53

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

A)Charles Guiteau shot and killed President Garfield because the president did not give him a federal appointment.
B)President Arthur,a former customs clerk of New York,encouraged passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883.
C)Andrew Jackson opposed the patronage system.
D)President Arthur was called "the Prince of Patronage" before working to pass the Pendleton Act.
E)None of the above; all are true.

Question 54

The federal civil service was created by

A)Article IV of the Constitution.
B)an executive order of President Arthur.
C)the Office of Management and Budget.
D)the merit principle.
E)the Pendleton Act.

Question 55

Independent regulatory agencies have

A)complete independence from the president,but their policymakers are appointed by Congress.
B)powerful rule-making,dispute-settling,and enforcement authority.
C)no real enforcement power anymore and remain today as part of the federal government only in a ceremonial role.
D)no formal ties to either the president or the Congress.
E)governing commissions composed of longtime federal Civil Service employees.

Question 56

The Hatch Act,passed in 1940,

A)established the patronage system for federal employment.
B)prohibited the president from firing the heads of independent executive agencies.
C)prohibits federal civil service employees from active participation in partisan politics.
D)required the publication of the Plum Book.
E)established the federal civil service.

Question 57

Until the late-nineteenth century,most government employees got their jobs through

A)the patronage system.
B)the merit principle.
C)hereditary preferences.
D)civil service testing.
E)a lottery system.

Question 58

According to Hugh Heclo,the Plum Book system of recruiting federal employees tends to result in the appointment of

A)talented experts with proven party loyalty.
B)people with access to the Internet,but not necessarily the most qualified people.
C)senior civil servants to sensitive posts.
D)administrators who do not stay long enough in their appointed position to be effective.
E)large numbers of women and minorities,just as it was intended to do.

Question 59

Which of the following statements about Plum Book appointees is FALSE?

A)Most presidents seek appointees with sympathy for similar policy positions.
B)Ambassadorship appointments often go to large campaign contributors.
C)Plum Book appointees are often instrumental in changing and reforming their agencies.
D)Presidents often consider sex,religion,and race in making Plum Book appointments.
E)There are about 500 top policymaking positions in the Plum Book,plus an additional 2,500 lesser positions.

Question 60

Amtrak and the United States Postal Service are examples of

A)government corporations.
B)independent executive agencies.
C)cabinet departments.
D)executive commercial agencies.
E)independent regulatory agencies.

Question 61

Government corporations

A)operate an airline,manufacture steel,and provide health insurance.
B)provide services and charge for them.
C)tend to be captured by interest groups.
D)are independent regulatory agencies.
E)sell stock and pay dividends.

Question 62

Creating new agencies,developing guidelines,and coordinating resources to achieve a policy goal is called

A)bureaucratization.
B)regulation.
C)implementation.
D)actualization.
E)policymaking.

Question 63

The creation of the new Department of Homeland Security in 2002 is an example of

A)reorganization.
B)fragmentation.
C)standard operating procedure.
D)administrative discretion.
E)decentralization.

Question 64

The 96 agencies that are all involved in issues of nuclear proliferation constitute an example of ____ within the bureaucracy.

A)standard operating procedures
B)lack of resources
C)fragmentation
D)general schedule
E)discretion

Question 65

All regulations contain each of the following elements EXCEPT

A)a grant of power and set of directions from Congress.
B)some means of enforcing compliance with congressional goals and agency regulations.
C)presidential oversight and control of enforcement.
D)a set of rules and guidelines by the regulatory agency itself.
E)None of these; all are elements of the regulatory process.

Question 66

Which of the following is NOT a strategy that Congress employs to try to control the bureaucracy?

A)Altering agency budgets
B)Influencing the appointment of agency heads
C)Holding oversight hearings
D)Rewriting or altering legislation
E)Issuing executive orders

Question 67

The main job of federal bureaucrats is to

A)advise the president and cabinet on internal affairs.
B)countervail the power of private corporations,especially monopolies.
C)compete with the private sector for monopoly power.
D)protect the interests of their constituencies.
E)implement and regulate government policies.

Question 68

Those civil service employees who are in constant contact with the public (often a hostile one)and have considerable discretion are known as

A)street-level bureaucrats.
B)routinizers.
C)General Schedule foot soldiers.
D)the Senior Executive Service.
E)civil servants.

Question 69

The _____ is the president's own final authority on any agency's budget.

A)Congressional Budget Office
B)Department of Treasury
C)Securities and Exchange Commission
D)Office of Management and Budget
E)Office of the Vice President

Question 70

Once a policy decision has been made,such as by passing a legislative act or issuing an executive order,the bureaucracy is responsible for

A)its ratification.
B)its implementation.
C)its deregulation.
D)funding it.
E)judging its merits.

Question 71

Standard operating procedures may become frustrating to citizens and obstacles to action when they

A)do not directly apply to a particular situation.
B)slow bureaucratic responses to citizens' needs.
C)are not specifically codified.
D)transfer personnel to different posts.
E)are not closely followed.

Question 72

In the case of Munn v.Illinois,decided in 1877,the United States Supreme Court

A)ruled that states could not impose corporate income taxes.
B)ruled that the Civil Service System was constitutional.
C)outlawed the patronage system.
D)held that government had no right to regulate the business operations of a firm.
E)upheld the right of government to regulate the business operations of a firm.

Question 73

An "iron triangle" consists of

A)representatives of the executive,legislative,and judicial branches of the government.
B)the president,the head of a relevant congressional committee,and the head of any regulatory agency.
C)a bureaucratic agency,an interest group,and a congressional committee or subcommittee.
D)the metal stamp used to certify that the president has approved a new regulation and it now takes legal effect.
E)those favoring regulation X,those opposing regulation X,and the regulatory agency in charge of overseeing regulation X.

Question 74

The use of government authority to control or change some practice in the private sector is known as

A)socialism.
B)regulation.
C)oversight.
D)executive review.
E)public administration.

Question 75

________ is the authority of administrative actors to select among various responses to a given problem.

A)Standard operating procedure
B)Administrative discretion
C)Administrators' disposition
D)Executive power
E)Deregulation

Question 76

Administrative discretion is greatest when

A)rules and regulations are not written down.
B)standard operating procedures are used.
C)an agency has elaborate rules and regulations.
D)a particular agency is the subject of media coverage.
E)rules do not fit a case.

Question 77

A regulation originating from the executive branch is called a(n)

A)law.
B)bill.
C)executive order.
D)veto.
E)pocket veto.

Question 78

The complex case of implementing Title IX for intercollegiate athletics is an example of implementation problems linked to

A)faulty program design.
B)lack of clarity.
C)lack of resources.
D)administrative routine.
E)administrators' dispositions.

Question 79

The General Services Administration and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration are examples of

A)government corporations.
B)independent regulatory agencies.
C)cabinet departments.
D)presidential administrative agencies.
E)independent executive agencies.

Question 80

One proposed solution to the "problem" of the proliferation of regulatory agencies and policies has been

A)deregulation.
B)deproliferation.
C)budget cuts.
D)standard operating procedures.
E)the incentive system.