Deck 4: The Political Ecology of Public Administration: the Institutional Context of Public Policy

Question 1

The bulk of the work of the federal government is performed by

A) departments of the executive branch.
B) subcommittees of Congress.
C) the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security.
D) the legislature.
E) None of the above.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT typically an elected office?

A) president
B) mayor
C) governor
D) city manager
E) All of the above are elected officials.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The federal government's core unit is

A) the bureau.
B) an office.
C) an administration.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The president exercises oversight over the departments through

A) the Office of Management and Budget.
B) the General Accountability Office.
C) the Executive Office of the President.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 5

How do independent regulatory commissions or boards differ from other executive departments?

A) They are small policy-making bodies.
B) They exist independently of the rest of the executive branch.
C) Their membership is bipartisan.
D) They can be removed only on the basis of poor or corrupt behavior.
E) All of the above statements about independent regulatory commissions or boards are true.

Question 6

The most direct means at the president's disposal to influence administration is

A) budgeting.
B) executive appointment.
C) presidential veto.
D) reorganization.
E) None of the above.

Question 7

The chief limitation on the president's influence over administrative agencies is

A) Congress can override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority.
B) career civil servants cannot be fired without due process.
C) control of the bureaucracy is shared with Congress and the courts approach.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT a way that Congress influences administrative action?

A) enabling legislation, which includes staffing levels
B) appointments to key Congressional committees
C) budgetary actions
D) appointee confirmation
E) All of the above.

Question 9

Major goals of the National Performance Review included

A) a reorganization of 22 separate agencies into a single cabinet-level department, the Department of Homeland Security.
B) centralization of administrative authority in the office of the president.
C) taking advantage of market forces to produce greater efficiency.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 10

Examples of collaboration between public administrators and citizens includes

A) community policing.
B) recycling initiatives.
C) programs fostering citizen involvement in public schools.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 11

The National Performance Review sought to regulate and centralize government operations to achieve greater efficiency.

Question 12

Recommendations of the Grace Commission resulted in the widespread application of private sector managerial practices to government operations.

Question 13

Contemporary public managers enjoy absolute immunity and may not be sued for damages.

Question 14

Congressional oversight is more likely to be unsystematic, sporadic, episodic, erratic, haphazard, ad hoc, and on a crisis basis.

Question 15

Congress can prevent the adoption of rules that they disagree with through use of the legislative veto.

Question 16

Oversight is a formal process that occurs only in public hearings conducted by congressional committees or in casework on behalf of constituents.

Question 17

The legislature's role is as fundamental and crucial as that of the executive's in overseeing the bureaucracy.

Question 18

Staffing the bureaucracy requires Congressional approval.

Question 19

The Government Accountability Office is an indispensable agency in the president's effort to control the federal bureaucracy.

Question 20

Political appointees cannot choose their own staffs, and this is a potential obstacle to their exercising more control over the bureaucracy.

Question 21

Matching Exercise
Match the concepts in the left-hand column to their counterparts in the right-hand column.
-Governmental reorganization

A) The perceived tendency for legislators to "meddle" in the day-to-day operations of agencies.
B) The expansion of the courts' scope used to review the full range of agency decisions and activities.
C) Presidential appointees promote an agency's position in conflic with the position of the president.
D) The idea that the government and its representatives will not be held liable for damages occurring from their decisions.
E) Interest groups, legislative committees, and agencies work closely together in writing and implementingpolicies.
F) A procedure, which allows the legislature to stop an executive actionthat it, disagrees with.
G) The restructuring of departments and agencies with the intent to streamline and improve administration.
H) A type of evaluation assessing the effectiveness of agency programs and not just the financial activities of agencies as in a financial audit.
I) An initiative to reform the executivl branch along the principles of reinventing government.
J) The legally binding orders given by the president to federal agencies.

Question 22

Matching Exercise
Match the concepts in the left-hand column to their counterparts in the right-hand column.
-Iron triangle

A) The perceived tendency for legislators to "meddle" in the day-to-day operations of agencies.
B) The expansion of the courts' scope used to review the full range of agency decisions and activities.
C) Presidential appointees promote an agency's position in conflic with the position of the president.
D) The idea that the government and its representatives will not be held liable for damages occurring from their decisions.
E) Interest groups, legislative committees, and agencies work closely together in writing and implementingpolicies.
F) A procedure, which allows the legislature to stop an executive actionthat it, disagrees with.
G) The restructuring of departments and agencies with the intent to streamline and improve administration.
H) A type of evaluation assessing the effectiveness of agency programs and not just the financial activities of agencies as in a financial audit.
I) An initiative to reform the executivl branch along the principles of reinventing government.
J) The legally binding orders given by the president to federal agencies.

Question 23

Matching Exercise
Match the concepts in the left-hand column to their counterparts in the right-hand column.
-Executive order

A) The perceived tendency for legislators to "meddle" in the day-to-day operations of agencies.
B) The expansion of the courts' scope used to review the full range of agency decisions and activities.
C) Presidential appointees promote an agency's position in conflic with the position of the president.
D) The idea that the government and its representatives will not be held liable for damages occurring from their decisions.
E) Interest groups, legislative committees, and agencies work closely together in writing and implementingpolicies.
F) A procedure, which allows the legislature to stop an executive actionthat it, disagrees with.
G) The restructuring of departments and agencies with the intent to streamline and improve administration.
H) A type of evaluation assessing the effectiveness of agency programs and not just the financial activities of agencies as in a financial audit.
I) An initiative to reform the executivl branch along the principles of reinventing government.
J) The legally binding orders given by the president to federal agencies.

Question 24

Matching Exercise
Match the concepts in the left-hand column to their counterparts in the right-hand column.
-Co-optation

A) The perceived tendency for legislators to "meddle" in the day-to-day operations of agencies.
B) The expansion of the courts' scope used to review the full range of agency decisions and activities.
C) Presidential appointees promote an agency's position in conflic with the position of the president.
D) The idea that the government and its representatives will not be held liable for damages occurring from their decisions.
E) Interest groups, legislative committees, and agencies work closely together in writing and implementingpolicies.
F) A procedure, which allows the legislature to stop an executive actionthat it, disagrees with.
G) The restructuring of departments and agencies with the intent to streamline and improve administration.
H) A type of evaluation assessing the effectiveness of agency programs and not just the financial activities of agencies as in a financial audit.
I) An initiative to reform the executivl branch along the principles of reinventing government.
J) The legally binding orders given by the president to federal agencies.

Question 25

Matching Exercise
Match the concepts in the left-hand column to their counterparts in the right-hand column.
-Performance audit

A) The perceived tendency for legislators to "meddle" in the day-to-day operations of agencies.
B) The expansion of the courts' scope used to review the full range of agency decisions and activities.
C) Presidential appointees promote an agency's position in conflic with the position of the president.
D) The idea that the government and its representatives will not be held liable for damages occurring from their decisions.
E) Interest groups, legislative committees, and agencies work closely together in writing and implementingpolicies.
F) A procedure, which allows the legislature to stop an executive actionthat it, disagrees with.
G) The restructuring of departments and agencies with the intent to streamline and improve administration.
H) A type of evaluation assessing the effectiveness of agency programs and not just the financial activities of agencies as in a financial audit.
I) An initiative to reform the executivl branch along the principles of reinventing government.
J) The legally binding orders given by the president to federal agencies.

Question 26

Matching Exercise
Match the concepts in the left-hand column to their counterparts in the right-hand column.
-Legislative micromanagement

A) The perceived tendency for legislators to "meddle" in the day-to-day operations of agencies.
B) The expansion of the courts' scope used to review the full range of agency decisions and activities.
C) Presidential appointees promote an agency's position in conflic with the position of the president.
D) The idea that the government and its representatives will not be held liable for damages occurring from their decisions.
E) Interest groups, legislative committees, and agencies work closely together in writing and implementingpolicies.
F) A procedure, which allows the legislature to stop an executive actionthat it, disagrees with.
G) The restructuring of departments and agencies with the intent to streamline and improve administration.
H) A type of evaluation assessing the effectiveness of agency programs and not just the financial activities of agencies as in a financial audit.
I) An initiative to reform the executivl branch along the principles of reinventing government.
J) The legally binding orders given by the president to federal agencies.

Question 27

Matching Exercise
Match the concepts in the left-hand column to their counterparts in the right-hand column.
-Legislative veto

A) The perceived tendency for legislators to "meddle" in the day-to-day operations of agencies.
B) The expansion of the courts' scope used to review the full range of agency decisions and activities.
C) Presidential appointees promote an agency's position in conflic with the position of the president.
D) The idea that the government and its representatives will not be held liable for damages occurring from their decisions.
E) Interest groups, legislative committees, and agencies work closely together in writing and implementingpolicies.
F) A procedure, which allows the legislature to stop an executive actionthat it, disagrees with.
G) The restructuring of departments and agencies with the intent to streamline and improve administration.
H) A type of evaluation assessing the effectiveness of agency programs and not just the financial activities of agencies as in a financial audit.
I) An initiative to reform the executivl branch along the principles of reinventing government.
J) The legally binding orders given by the president to federal agencies.

Question 28

Matching Exercise
Match the concepts in the left-hand column to their counterparts in the right-hand column.
-Judicial activism

A) The perceived tendency for legislators to "meddle" in the day-to-day operations of agencies.
B) The expansion of the courts' scope used to review the full range of agency decisions and activities.
C) Presidential appointees promote an agency's position in conflic with the position of the president.
D) The idea that the government and its representatives will not be held liable for damages occurring from their decisions.
E) Interest groups, legislative committees, and agencies work closely together in writing and implementingpolicies.
F) A procedure, which allows the legislature to stop an executive actionthat it, disagrees with.
G) The restructuring of departments and agencies with the intent to streamline and improve administration.
H) A type of evaluation assessing the effectiveness of agency programs and not just the financial activities of agencies as in a financial audit.
I) An initiative to reform the executivl branch along the principles of reinventing government.
J) The legally binding orders given by the president to federal agencies.

Question 29

Matching Exercise
Match the concepts in the left-hand column to their counterparts in the right-hand column.
-Sovereign immunity

A) The perceived tendency for legislators to "meddle" in the day-to-day operations of agencies.
B) The expansion of the courts' scope used to review the full range of agency decisions and activities.
C) Presidential appointees promote an agency's position in conflic with the position of the president.
D) The idea that the government and its representatives will not be held liable for damages occurring from their decisions.
E) Interest groups, legislative committees, and agencies work closely together in writing and implementingpolicies.
F) A procedure, which allows the legislature to stop an executive actionthat it, disagrees with.
G) The restructuring of departments and agencies with the intent to streamline and improve administration.
H) A type of evaluation assessing the effectiveness of agency programs and not just the financial activities of agencies as in a financial audit.
I) An initiative to reform the executivl branch along the principles of reinventing government.
J) The legally binding orders given by the president to federal agencies.

Question 30

Matching Exercise
Match the concepts in the left-hand column to their counterparts in the right-hand column.
-National Performance Review

A) The perceived tendency for legislators to "meddle" in the day-to-day operations of agencies.
B) The expansion of the courts' scope used to review the full range of agency decisions and activities.
C) Presidential appointees promote an agency's position in conflic with the position of the president.
D) The idea that the government and its representatives will not be held liable for damages occurring from their decisions.
E) Interest groups, legislative committees, and agencies work closely together in writing and implementingpolicies.
F) A procedure, which allows the legislature to stop an executive actionthat it, disagrees with.
G) The restructuring of departments and agencies with the intent to streamline and improve administration.
H) A type of evaluation assessing the effectiveness of agency programs and not just the financial activities of agencies as in a financial audit.
I) An initiative to reform the executivl branch along the principles of reinventing government.
J) The legally binding orders given by the president to federal agencies.