Deck 14: The Federal Bureaucracy

Question 1

In addition to the federal bureaucracy, an additional category of public bureaucracies exists through

A)state and local bureaucracies.
B)legislative acts of Congress.
C)presidential executive orders.
D)judicial review and oversight.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The German sociologist who attempted to define the boundaries and characteristics of bureaucratic organization was

A)Karl Marx.
B)Sigmund Freud.
C)Max Weber.
D)Carl Jung.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The Weberian bureaucracy is characterized by which of the following organizational traits?

A)clear division of labor
B)hierarchal organization
C)impersonal relationships
D)all of these

Answer 3

D

Question 4

In the months that followed the landfall of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the American federal bureaucracy

A)demonstrated a lack of power.
B)increased in national prominence.
C)increased in regulatory authority.
D)failed to achieve statutory goals.

Question 5

The sets of rules governing the behavior of bureaucrats are commonly referred to as

A)federal governmental regulations.
B)bureaucratic operational guidelines.
C)standard operating procedures.
D)federal legislative agendas.

Question 6

Which of the following was used as the shelter of last resort for New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina?

A)Bourbon Street
B)Louisiana State University (LSU)
C)the New Orleans Superdome
D)the Fourth Ward

Question 7

According to Chester Barnard's research at AT&T in the early 20th century, ______ and not just rules and regulations are central to understanding bureaucracy.

A)legislation
B)people
C)labor
D)planning

Question 8

An official employed within a government bureaucracy is called a(n)

A)bureaucrat.
B)autocrat.
C)democrat.
D)ethnocrat.

Question 9

According to early research into bureaucracies, bureaucratic power rests upon

A)individual bureaucrats.
B)rational-legal authority.
C)the laws of economics.
D)the principles of management.

Question 10

Unlike Congress, the president, and the Supreme Court, the federal bureaucracy differs in that it ______.

A)lacks the powers vested in the three branches of government.
B)is more complicated and less effective.
C)is not considered a part of American government.
D)has a more direct impact on American lives.

Question 11

The agency responsible for planning and operating the New Orleans levee and pump system was the ______.

A)American Red Cross
B)Federal Emergency and Management Agency (FEMA)
C)Salvation Army
D)United States Army Corps of Engineers

Question 12

Privately owned corporations and companies that carry out specific tasks according to a prescribed set of rules and procedures are called

A)public corporations.
B)private bureaucracies.
C)nongovernmental organizations.
D)independent agencies.

Question 13

For Chester Barnard, ______ was central to the success of a bureaucracy and overcoming its challenges.

A)organization
B)leadership
C)power
D)labor

Question 14

For Chester Barnard, the essence of a bureaucracy is that it involves ______ in pursuit of a joint objective.

A)clear division of labor
B)loosely organized operations
C)conscious coordination of activities
D)tightly bound rules and regulations

Question 15

In the days, weeks, and months that followed Hurricane Katrina, residents of the Gulf Coast were looking to the ______ to step in and lead the recovery effort.

A)American Red Cross
B)Federal Emergency and Management Agency (FEMA)
C)Salvation Army
D)United States Army Corps of Engineers

Question 16

The challenge that arises when one actor tasks another to carry out their wishes in the presence of uncertainty and unequal information is called the ______ problem.

A)principal-agent
B)employer-employee
C)manager-worker
D)owner-manager

Question 17

Driving much of the bureaucracy's direct involvement in American lives are the demands of

A)the president.
B)Congress.
C)the people themselves.
D)the federal judiciary.

Question 18

An organization designed to carry out specific tasks according to a prescribed set of rules and procedures is referred to as a(n)______.

A)democracy
B)anarchy
C)bureaucracy
D)hierarchy

Question 19

The word "bureaucracy" literally means

A)"rule by offices."
B)"rule by managers."
C)"rule by the people."
D)"rule by agents."

Question 20

Of all of the concerns in New Orleans prior to Hurricane Katrina, perhaps most worrisome was the ______ system.

A)levee and pump
B)emergency preparedness
C)evacuation route
D)fire and EMS

Question 21

Which of the following best describes the pattern of growth for American bureaucracy?

A)steadily and predictably increasing
B)constant and unchanging
C)periods of little growth followed by periods of rapid growth
D)periods of rapid decline followed by periods of slight growth

Question 22

The Senate's major role in assuring a well-qualified bureaucracy is its ______.

A)oversight
B)legislative
C)advice and consent
D)committee

Question 23

Of special concern in James Wilson's analysis was the ability or inability to observe

A)actions and consequences.
B)inputs and processes.
C)outputs and outcomes.
D)costs and benefits.

Question 24

If outputs and outcomes are unknown by management,

A)incentives are unclear.
B)effective management is impossible.
C)quality planning cannot be implemented.
D)organizational structure cannot hold.

Question 25

For political scientist James Q.Wilson, ______ matter as much as individuals.

A)rules and procedures
B)incentives and salaries
C)punishments and rewards
D)organization and management

Question 26

How is the American bureaucracy addressed in the Constitution?

A)It directly addresses the size and scope of the bureaucracy.
B)It outlines the bureaucratic hierarchy in great detail.
C)It defines the style and procedures of bureaucratic management.
D)It remains virtually silent on the subject of the bureaucracy.

Question 27

Much of the constitutional basis for the bureaucracy lies in

A)Article I.
B)Article II.
C)Article III.
D)the Bill of Rights.

Question 28

Inducements that leaders of a bureaucracy can offer to their employees to spur successful performance are known as

A)perks.
B)incentives.
C)enticements.
D)bribes.

Question 29

In settling on how executive branch officers were selected, the most contentious question facing the delegates was how these people would be ______.

A)selected
B)managed
C)paid
D)removed

Question 30

The American bureaucracy has grown to nearly ______ civilian employees.

A)500,000
B)1 million
C)3 million
D)10 million

Question 31

Which of the following was a problem with placing the bureaucracy in the hands of the legislature?

A)undue delay
B)inadequate information
C)managerial pressure
D)ineffective organization

Question 32

According to Barnard, the job of the leader was to

A)effectively acquire and wield power over the labor force.
B)administer authority over clients and workers alike.
C)secure the cooperation of those within the organization.
D)delegate authority to specialized workers and supervisors.

Question 33

A primary reason for the size of early American bureaucracy was its ______ society.

A)large manufacturing
B)autonomous agrarian
C)dependent and growing
D)independent and declining

Question 34

The secretaries of the different department along with the vice president and the other heads of some major agencies that meet frequently are called the president's ______.

A)advisors
B)commission
C)cabinet
D)staff

Question 35

In order to effectively manage a bureaucracy, both outputs and outcomes must be

A)inherent.
B)planned.
C)visible.
D)included.

Question 36

One major question facing the Constitutional Congress was

A)who should be able to remove an executive?
B)how should executives be evaluated?
C)how should performance be monitored, rewarded, and/or punished
D)what term limits should be placed on executives?

Question 37

When bureaucrats compete to take duties and responsibilities away from one another's departments or keep their opponent from doing so, they are participating in

A)turf wars.
B)executive privilege.
C)hierarchal dissonance.
D)interpersonal relations.

Question 38

In the early years of its history, the American bureaucracy was ______ in comparison to what it turned into.

A)tiny
B)large
C)immeasurable
D)never considered

Question 39

In the bill to create a Department of Foreign Affairs (later Department of State), the Constitution had already established how the secretary would be selected, nominated, and confirmed, but it said nothing about how the secretary would be ______.

A)employed
B)monitored
C)removed
D)paid

Question 40

In the 1926 case of Myers v.United States, which of the following was the most important outcome?

A)Executive-branch officials were granted tenure, making it difficult to remove them.
B)Presidents retained the authority to remove officials in the executive branch.
C)Executive-branch secretaries were placed on year-to-year contracts.
D)Executive-branch secretaries were placed under the civil service administration.

Question 41

Organizations that exist outside the major cabinet departments and whose job is to monitor and regulate specific sectors of the economy are defined as

A)public corporations.
B)independent regulatory agencies.
C)private bureaucracies.
D)clientele agencies.

Question 42

During post-Civil War expansion, large corporations and railroads outgrew the ability of individual states to control and regulate them.This led to an increased federal role through the creation of

A)independent federal agencies.
B)more executive-level departments.
C)expansion of federal regulation to state and local levels.
D)increased federal authority over day-to-day state and local operations.

Question 43

In his inaugural address in 1829, President Jackson railed against

A)a highly unqualified bureaucratic system.
B)the exertion of bureaucratic power over the people.
C)an inability to exercise external control over the bureaucracy.
D)"ownership" of important administrative positions.

Question 44

The Progressive Era witnessed

A)expansion of the federal bureaucracy and attempts to limit it.
B)decline in the federal bureaucracy and attempts to end it.
C)expansion of the federal bureaucracy and attempts to reform it.
D)contraction of the federal bureaucracy and attempts to confine it.

Question 45

Political scientist Theda Skocpol explained America's lack of developing a comprehensive social welfare system in comparison to that of Europe by describing the ______ as hostile to large-scale government intervention and American ______ as defending the benefits of political patronage.

A)state and local bureaucracies | political institutions
B)federal legislature | executive leadership
C)federal courts | political parties
D)political parties | state and local agencies

Question 46

Following a successful election, the opportunity to clean house of one's opponents and install supporters in their place is referred to as the ______ system.

A)patronage
B)merit
C)spoils
D)insider

Question 47

Because individuals were changing with each new presidential administration, the need for ______ became important;otherwise little would get done.

A)standard operating procedures
B)constant supervision
C)merit-based employment
D)bureaucratic tenure

Question 48

Scholars of American political development have highlighted the importance of ______, in which a set of political choices at one time produces a set of outcomes that shapes the possibilities for future politics and public policies.

A)organizational interdependence
B)path dependence
C)agency independence
D)decision centralism

Question 49

Which of the following are examples of federal action(s)that expanded the role of the federal bureaucracy?

A)the Sherman Antitrust Act
B)the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906
C)the Creation of the Department of Commerce and Labor
D)all of these

Question 50

The period from 1890 to 1920 in which the role of the federal bureaucracy in the nation's life expanded along with attempts to take politics out of the bureaucracy itself is described as the ______.

A)Progressive Era
B)Interdependent Era
C)Era of Good Feelings
D)Gilded Age

Question 51

President ______ had desired to work on bureaucratic reforms in his administration but was shot down by an assassin in 1881 who was an unsuccessful office seeker.

A)Benjamin Harrison
B)James Garfield
C)William McKinley
D)Woodrow Wilson

Question 52

An initial consequence to the patronage system was to make the American bureaucracy

A)more impartial, neutral, and driven by standard operating procedures and technical expertise.
B)more independent from the legislature with regard to individual merit and qualifications.
C)less dependent on the president with regard to who is chosen and the position they received.
D)more partisan based, particularly with the appointment of members of the president's party.

Question 53

The focus of reform under the Progressive Era targeted

A)a corrupt, inefficient, and too-political bureaucracy.
B)a concise, effective, and apolitical system of bureaucracy.
C)an inefficient and disorganized system of polarized bureaucracy.
D)a system highly influenced by political parties and lacking authority.

Question 54

Both the Skocpol and Skowronek studies highlight the question of American

A)nationalism.
B)leadership.
C)interventionism.
D)exceptionalism.

Question 55

Which executive agency became the primary target for bureaucratic reforms of President Andrew Johnson in 1829?

A)the Attorney General's Office
B)the Post Office
C)the State Department
D)the War Department

Question 56

In 1913, the Department of Labor was broken in two with Commerce focusing on ______ and Labor focusing on ______.

A)market growth and operations | employer-employee problems and management effectiveness
B)economic growth | employee-employer relations and workplace conditions
C)increasing sales and production | ending or alleviating union actions against employers
D)measuring and improving GDP | assisting businesses with smoothing over labor problems

Question 57

For political scientist Stephen Skowronek, the federal bureaucracy was more

A)fragmented and decentralized than European counterparts.
B)highly centralized in comparison to that in other Western nations.
C)hierarchal in nature when compared to other democratic institutions.
D)open and democratic than other bureaucratic systems around the world.

Question 58

The public demand for a more active federal role and the creation of independent regulatory agencies after the Civil War was spurred by

A)a rise in large corporations such as railroads that outgrew the regulatory authority of the states.
B)the rising size of federal bureaucratic agencies that needed public oversight.
C)an inflation in the scope and authority of state regulatory agencies over corporations.
D)increased industrial capabilities in northern states and a growing agrarian society in the South.

Question 59

As a part of his reforms, Andrew Jackson employed political ______, filling administrative positions as rewards for support rather than solely based on merit.

A)merit
B)patronage
C)consideration
D)qualifications

Question 60

Organizations that act to serve and promote the interests of their clients are known as

A)public corporations.
B)independent regulatory agencies.
C)private bureaucracies.
D)clientele agencies.

Question 61

The CIA is an example of a(n)______ in which agencies otherwise similar to cabinet departments exist outside the cabinet structure and usually have a narrower focus of mission.

A)private informational agency
B)autonomous congressional committee
C)independent executive agency
D)public governmental corporation

Question 62

Postwar economic prosperity allowed the nation to

A)expand its foreign powers without additional funding.
B)fund a large growth in national bureaucracy in defense and social services.
C)fund even greater expansions of the American military complex without public accountability.
D)avoid the bureaucracy through direct funding of military operations.

Question 63

In 1883, Congress passed the ______, commonly referred to as the ______, in order to create the first United States Civil Service Commission.

A)Government Service Regulation Act | Arthur Act
B)Merit System Act | Comstock Act
C)Civil Service Reform Act | Pendleton Act
D)Government Work Authorization Act | Work Authorization Act

Question 64

The advisory system designed by the Department of Homeland Security was often criticized for which of the following?

A)its complexity and lack of public responsiveness
B)its specificity and constant public messaging
C)its vagueness and failure to make threat levels public
D)its ambiguity and its intense focus on public communication

Question 65

When the American people feel that the federal bureaucracy has failed, the president acts as a ______ for public outrage.

A)shaking stick
B)focal point
C)lightning rod
D)point of protest

Question 66

In the days following Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)was criticized for

A)its hierarchal organizational structure, which prohibited it from responding to local conditions.
B)its focus on national concerns and failure to communicate with local officials in a coordinated way.
C)its lack of coordination and planning and a disconnect with problems facing local officials.
D)its bureaucratic structure and inability to adapt to problematic conditions in a responsive manner.

Question 67

While Abraham Lincoln promised an end to federal expansion following the Civil War, after World War II, ______.

A)no such retrenchment occurred, leading to a continued expansion of war powers abroad
B)a similar reduction in federal power was seen in foreign and domestic troop levels
C)American forces remained abroad, leading to a "freeze" in formal and informal hostilities
D)America and its former enemies, Germany and Japan, entered a new era of nonviolent competition

Question 68

President Roosevelt's efforts to combat the crisis of the ______, called the ______, resulted in an unprecedented expansion of the size of the bureaucracy in the federal government.

A)First World War | Secret Expansion
B)Great Recession | Great Society
C)Great Depression | New Deal
D)Second World War | Marshall Plan

Question 69

Cabinet departments are headed by

A)cabinet secretaries.
B)presidential delegates.
C)congressional committee chairs.
D)specialized bureaucratic supervisors.

Question 70

Which of the following would be considered an example of an independent executive agency?

A)the State Department
B)the Federal Bureau of Investigation
C)the Justice Department
D)the Environmental Protection Agency

Question 71

Under Bill Clinton, the one area in which the federal bureaucracy began to see a significant reduction was

A)economic policy.
B)educational policy.
C)social policy.
D)defense policy.

Question 72

The primary administrative units in the federal bureaucracy are

A)state and local bureaucratic administrators.
B)independent regulatory agencies.
C)the 15 cabinet departments.
D)the agencies designated public corporations.

Question 73

Following the election of Ronald Reagan, the federal bureaucracy began to

A)expand in size.
B)maintain its 1980s levels.
C)decline (retrench)in size and scope.
D)become independent of public services.

Question 74

The ______ created the first United States Civil Service Commission to draw up and enforce rules on hiring, promotion, and tenure of office within the civil service.

A)federal civil service
B)merit system
C)spoils system
D)Pendleton Act

Question 75

In 1947, President Harry S.Truman signed into law the ______, which created the National Security Council as well as the Central Intelligence Agency.

A)Marshall Plan
B)National Security Act
C)National Civil Service Act
D)Foreign Intelligence Act

Question 76

Following Hurricane Katrina's landfall, President George W.Bush came under intense scrutiny for his

A)failure to understand local political systems.
B)failure to communicate with states.
C)overall lack of management of the disaster.
D)perceived lack of understanding or concern.

Question 77

The newest cabinet department, also considered one of the most influential, is the Department of ______.

A)Education
B)Homeland Security
C)Agriculture
D)Human Services

Question 78

The system of hiring and promotion based on the results of competitive tests, education, and other qualifications rather than politics and personal consideration was called the ______.

A)merit system
B)civil service system
C)spoils system
D)front lobby system

Question 79

As the head of the executive branch, the president is tasked to ensure that

A)bureaucratic agencies are properly included in the federal hierarchy and the executive chain of command.
B)the apparatus of the executive bureaucracy faithfully executes the laws of the nation.
C)agencies included in the federal bureaucracy can effectively compete with private organizations on an economic basis.
D)bureaucratic agencies do not duplicate government services and are as lean in size as possible.

Question 80

Health care, education, housing, transit, job training, and urban renewal were all targets of President Johnson's ______ programs.

A)Great Society
B)Great Depression
C)Square Deal
D)New Deal