Deck 11: The Bureaucracy

Question 1

A bureaucracy is a complex organization in the sense that

A) no one knows how it operates.
B) authority is divided among several managers.
C) its size is large, but its functions are small.
D) its functions are large, but its size is small.
E) employees are tightly restrained in their decision making.

Answer 1

authority is divided among several managers.

Question 2

Political authority over the bureaucracy is

A) possessed exclusively by the president as chief executive.
B) shared between the president and Congress.
C) difficult to determine in practice.
D) at the local level where the programs actually operate.
E) divided between the cabinet and key leaders in the Senate.

Answer 2

shared between the president and Congress.

Question 3

Whereas European countries exhibit extensive government ownership of key industries, the United States relies primarily on

A) ownership by the states.
B) extremely high taxation.
C) extensive regulation.
D) very little regulation.
E) taxation and media exposure.

Answer 3

extensive regulation.

Question 4

The Pendleton Act

A) established regulations for new businesses.
B) reduced the size of the federal bureaucracy.
C) increased the influence of patronage in federal appointments.
D) created the Civil Service Commission.
E) abolished tests for bureaucratic positions.

Question 5

A major reason the federal government began expanding in size and authority after the Civil War is that

A) southern states had to be supervised to treat the recently freed slaves fairly.
B) U.S. military power was expanding overseas.
C) the nation was expanding into the frontier territories.
D) the rapid pace of industrialization created a national economy that state governments could not manage.
E) reconstruction efforts demanded the tactics of a dictatorial regime.

Question 6

The primary function of governmental agencies created in the late 1800s was

A) service.
B) regulation.
C) policy making.
D) oversight.
E) management.

Question 7

Periodically there have been substantial increases in the size of the bureaucracy. These generally have occurred during

A) Republican presidencies.
B) wars.
C) periods of prosperity.
D) off-year elections.
E) recessions.

Question 8

The basic features of the modern bureaucracy are largely a product of World War II and the

A) 1973 oil crisis.
B) Vietnam War.
C) coal strike of 1946.
D) Depression of the 1930s.
E) Korean War.

Question 9

The Supreme Court's current position on the regulatory power of federal agencies is that

A) only Congress, not agencies, should regulate the economy.
B) an agency can make rules so long as Congress retains a legislative veto over its decisions.
C) Congress can instruct an agency to make the decisions necessary to solve a policy problem.
D) agencies can act independently of Congress under the power of executive privilege.
E) agencies must be independent of Congress in rule making but not implementation of policy.

Question 10

The federal income tax was first authorized by the __________ Amendment.

A) Seventh
B) Tenth
C) Eleventh
D) Fifteenth
E) Sixteenth

Question 11

To say that the federal bureaucracy has grown "thicker" is to say that it has

A) increased its rules and red tape.
B) increased its duplication of offices and agencies.
C) increased the number of midlevel managers.
D) become more confusing and less effective.
E) taken a wider policy agenda while, at the same time, reducing the workforce.

Question 12

Parkinson observed which of the following?

A) Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.
B) Anything that can go wrong, will.
C) Officials rarely work with subordinates for long periods of time.
D) Officials rise to their level of incompetence.
E) Work contracts when time is added.

Question 13

A public official who decides to follow a course of action not specified in the law, but one that could be inferred from it, is most likely to be

A) overstepping his or her authority.
B) violating the law.
C) playing politics.
D) exercising discretion.
E) minimizing partisanship.

Question 14

According to the text, the power of the bureaucracy should be measured in terms of the

A) number of its employees.
B) discretionary authority that appointed officials have.
C) number of managerial levels.
D) amount of money it spends.
E) amount of money it saves.

Question 15

The federal civil-service system was designed to recruit qualified people on the basis of

A) party patronage.
B) merit.
C) socio-economic status.
D) age.
E) seniority.

Question 16

Today, fewer people are hired through the competitive service. One reason for this is that

A) the OPM system became cumbersome.
B) the OPM overstepped its boundaries.
C) the examinations eliminated people who were otherwise qualified.
D) there was less need for professionally trained employees.
E) more people began to refuse to take the exams.

Question 17

Employees hired outside the competitive service are part of the __________ service.

A) titular
B) schedule H
C) excepted
D) name-request
E) buddy-system

Question 18

The typical name-request job features an individual who was identified by

A) a member of Congress repaying a political supporter.
B) the president.
C) a member of the president's cabinet.
D) the bureaucracy itself.
E) state party leaders.

Question 19

The text suggests that the buddy system

A) certainly produced poor employees.
B) results in the hiring of persons who are unknown quantities.
C) results in the hiring of persons who share the policy views of an agency.
D) can enhance respect for the bureaucracy.
E) is political patronage at its worst.

Question 20

The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 was designed to

A) protect federal bureaucrats from arbitrary dismissal.
B) allow the president more flexibility in recruiting for high-level positions in the civil service.
C) reduce the number of civil servants to compensate for the budget deficit.
D) give Congress more control over the hiring and firing of federal bureaucrats.
E) allow the courts a wider range of review of bureaucratic decision making.

Question 21

The text suggests that the SES

A) did not quite work out as its sponsors had hoped.
B) resulted in a substantial number of firings.
C) employed cash bonuses that motivated employees.
D) encouraged many to transfer from one agency to another.
E) was largely successful, except in the case of new employees.

Question 22

Which of the following statements regarding the firing of civil-service employees is correct?

A) Many are fired for misconduct.
B) Many are fired for poor performance.
C) Firings are extraordinarily rare.
D) Firings are more commonplace than they are in the business world.
E) The costs related to firings are low, and the process is relatively fast.

Question 23

The recruitment and retention policies of the civil service work to ensure that most bureaucrats have

A) an agency point of view.
B) a presidential point of view.
C) a congressional point of view.
D) a national-interest point of view.
E) a regional outlook based on experience in industry and commerce.

Question 24

Most government agencies are dominated by people who

A) have grown up in that agency.
B) have experience in other agencies.
C) have worked in private industry as well as government.
D) are not well versed in the procedures of their agencies.
E) received their job through the patronage system.

Question 25

The lower ranks of the federal civil service are filled with

A) liberal-leaning employees.
B) people who are very different from the typical American.
C) upper-class college-educated white men.
D) people who look very much like a cross-section of American society.
E) conservative-leaning employees.

Question 26

The political values of top-level federal bureaucrats tend to be

A) more liberal than the average voter.
B) more conservative than the average voter.
C) dependent on the ideology of the current president so as to receive promotions.
D) spread over the political spectrum because both Democratic and Republican presidents have had opportunities to fill positions in the bureaucracy.
E) neutral in matters related to regulation but conservative in matters related to procedure.

Question 27

Surveys of 200 top-level, nonpolitical federal bureaucrats found that most

A) cared little about partisan politics.
B) rarely voted in elections.
C) had voted for Independent candidates.
D) had voted for Republican candidates.
E) had voted for Democratic candidates.

Question 28

The attitudes of federal bureaucrats are formed less by their social background than by

A) their political party affiliation.
B) the tasks they perform.
C) public opinion.
D) the preferences of the president.
E) the amount of attention they receive in state and local media.

Question 29

If a civil servant is in a complex, loosely defined position, one can expect his or her political and social attitudes to

A) play a minor role in his or her decisions.
B) balance those of his or her colleagues.
C) be frustrated by the position.
D) strongly influence his or her decisions.
E) be neutralized by his or her peers.

Question 30

Which of the following is true of an agency with a sense of mission?

A) It is more difficult to manage.
B) It is highly accountable to the public for its actions.
C) It can be resistant to political direction.
D) It is easy to change.
E) It usually changes frequently in response to congressional directives.

Question 31

The Administrative Procedure Act emphasizes the need for

A) middle-level managers in most federal agencies.
B) increased scrutiny of the buddy system.
C) the application of procedural safeguards to state and local agencies.
D) notification and invited commentary on new rules.
E) less interest-group participation in the decision-making process.

Question 32

The difference between a presidentially oriented and a congressionally oriented agency is that

A) presidential agencies are not required to report to Congress.
B) congressional agencies cannot use a claim of executive privilege.
C) congressional committees are not exposed to outside forces.
D) presidentially oriented agencies usually do not distribute benefits.
E) congressional agencies are reorganized every two years.

Question 33

Generally, government agencies prefer to

A) work hand in hand with other agencies, even if that means relinquishing power.
B) seek superiority over other agencies.
C) remain autonomous and independent of other agencies.
D) be controlled by the president rather than Congress.
E) be controlled by Congress rather than the president.

Question 34

Agencies become "captured" by interest groups because

A) agencies need strong allies in the private sector to lobby on their behalf.
B) agencies often need funds in addition to those appropriated by Congress and rely on private "donations."
C) presidents want it that way to weaken the control of Congress.
D) the salaries of federal bureaucrats are low, and interest-group "gifts" are difficult to trace.
E) agencies are generally staffed with individuals who formerly represented special interests.

Question 35

An "iron triangle" includes

A) an interest group, an agency, and a focus group.
B) the president, Congress, and the Supreme Court.
C) an agency, an interest group, and the Supreme Court.
D) the president, an agency, and a congressional committee.
E) an agency, an interest group, and a congressional committee.

Question 36

The collection of interest groups, think tanks, policy experts, news reporters, and congressional committees that try to influence agencies are called

A) issue networks.
B) iron triangles.
C) policy coalitions.
D) issue coalitions.
E) dialogue conglomerates.

Question 37

No federal money may be spent unless it has first

A) been authorized and appropriated.
B) received "committee clearance."
C) been withdrawn from the Federal Reserve.
D) received approval from the Senate before going to the House of Representatives.
E) received approval from the House of Representatives before going to the Senate.

Question 38

Authorization legislation originates

A) with an individual legislator.
B) in the House Appropriations Committee.
C) in a legislative committee.
D) in an iron triangle.
E) in an issue network.

Question 39

Today, most federal spending is done on the basis of

A) annual authorizations.
B) permanent authorizations.
C) authorizations for a fixed number of years.
D) temporary authorizations.
E) suspended authorizations

Question 40

The real power over an agency's budget is exercised by

A) the Appropriations Committee.
B) the legislative committees.
C) subcommittees.
D) the head of the agency.
E) interest groups.

Question 41

According to the text, the most visible and dramatic form of congressional supervision of an agency is

A) hiring.
B) firing.
C) investigating.
D) budgeting.
E) legislating.

Question 42

The investigative power of Congress

A) is stated explicitly in the Constitution.
B) has been inferred from the power to legislate.
C) was once declared unconstitutional.
D) was once the domain of the courts.
E) is weaker than it once was.

Question 43

Red tape occurs as a result of

A) complex rules that must be followed to get something done.
B) agencies working at cross-purposes with other agencies.
C) two or more agencies doing the same thing.
D) agencies growing without regard to the benefits their programs confer or the costs they entail.
E) disagreement between the courts and administrative agencies regarding policy implementation.

Question 44

When both the Customs Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration attempt to stop the smuggling of drugs into the United States, it is an example of

A) duplication of functions.
B) imperialism.
C) joint venturism.
D) double-teaming.
E) policy acceleration.

Question 45

Bureaucratic imperialism can result when government agencies

A) are given too much money.
B) are run by inept managers.
C) are run by highly political managers.
D) are not given enough money.
E) seek vague goals that are hard to measure.

Question 46

A National Performance Review was conducted to find out which government agencies were especially efficient. This was led by

A) Joe Biden.
B) Dick Cheney.
C) Ronald Reagan.
D) Al Gore.
E) George H. W. Bush

Question 47

A government agency and a corporation are both bureaucracies.

Question 48

In Great Britain, political authority over the bureaucracy is not shared as it is in the United States.

Question 49

A popular concern for personal rights in the United States does not translate into increased scrutiny of government agencies.

Question 50

The responsibilities of government bureaucracies in the United States and the western European democracies are not readily comparable.

Question 51

The Constitution created the cabinet departments.

Question 52

The first Congress approved a bill that gave Congress, not the president, the right to remove public officials.

Question 53

Patronage in the nineteenth century helped the president to govern, although it also contributed to corruption.

Question 54

Most of the growth in the federal bureaucracy previous to 1861 came via the expansion of the post office.

Question 55

Most of the agencies created in the nineteenth century emphasized regulation and enforcement.

Question 56

Prior to 1935, Congress could not grant discretionary authority to executive branch agencies.

Question 57

The Supreme Court today forbids federal agencies from regulating aspects of the economy.

Question 58

Contributing to the growth of the bureaucracy was a change in the agenda and responsibilities of the federal government.

Question 59

The Twenty-second Amendment allowed the federal government to begin taxing income.

Question 60

The "middle manager" problem in bureaucracy is the byproduct of the desire to cope with rules.

Question 61

The text notes that over the last several decades the Department of Agriculture has gained employees while the number of farms and farm employees has declined.

Question 62

The tendency of government agencies is to be short-lived. They come and go somewhat quickly.

Question 63

C. Northcoate Parkinson argued that officials tend to make work for each other.

Question 64

The observation that the size of the bureaucracy is about the same as it was during World War II is both correct and misleading.

Question 65

Congress has not delegated discretionary authority to administrative agencies in the area of devising regulations.

Question 66

Delegation of authority to agencies did not become commonplace until the 1930s. .

Question 67

"Schedule C" jobs are the lower-ranking ones within the federal bureaucracy.

Question 68

NEA jobs are given to low-ranking members of the regular competitive civil service.

Question 69

The buddy system produces incompetent employees.

Question 70

The Senior Executive Service (SES) was created to provide the president with more flexibility in hiring and firing.

Question 71

Those removed from the Senior Executive Service are guaranteed a job somewhere else in government.

Question 72

A significant number of federal bureaucrats are regularly fired for misconduct and poor performance.

Question 73

According to a survey, the bureaucracy is even more liberal than the media.

Question 74

The text describes the Federal Trade Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency as "activist" agencies.

Question 75

Traditional agencies such as the Department of Agriculture tend to have more liberal employees than do activist agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency.

Question 76

Those holding foreign-service jobs in the State Department tend to be more conservative.

Question 77

Civil servants who perform routine tasks are greatly influenced by their own personal attitudes.

Question 78

Every federal agency has a sense of mission.

Question 79

A sense of mission tends to encourage change and the acceptance of political direction in an agency.

Question 80

Most of the files and records of agencies cannot be inspected by members of the public.