Deck 9: The Bureaucracy

Question 1

Bureaucracy is characterized by all of the following EXCEPT this:

A) merit-based advancement
B) hierarchy
C) worker specialization
D) explicit rules
E) flexible goals

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The practice in which successful party candidates reward supporters with jobs or favors is known as ______.

A) patronage
B) pandering
C) pay-for-play
D) lobbying
E) nepotism

Answer 2

A

Question 3

All of the following statements concerning the formation of the federal bureaucracy are true EXCEPT this one:

A) It was created piecemeal over time.
B) The greatest period of growth of the bureaucracy was in the 1800s.
C) Some of the agencies were created to serve essential government functions.
D) Some of the agencies were created in response to changing national needs.
E) Some of the agencies were created in response to the demands of clientele groups.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The goal of the Pendleton Act and the Hatch Act was to ______.

A) increase presidential control over the executive branch of government
B) reduce political influence over federal government employees
C) increase political participation by federal government employees
D) increase congressional control over federal government employees
E) increase party influence over federal government employees

Question 5

The lower levels of the bureaucracy are held accountable through ______.

A) rules
B) close supervision
C) public scrutiny
D) party bosses
E) scrutiny by the news media

Question 6

Bureaucracy is useful for all of the following tasks EXCEPT ______.

A) tasks that require a great deal of coordination
B) tasks that require a great deal of planning
C) tasks that require a great deal of expertise
D) tasks that can be handled on an ad hoc basis
E) tasks that require a great deal of routine work

Question 7

The value of explicit rules in bureaucratic institutions is that they ______.

A) facilitate individually tailored treatment of citizens
B) allow for flexibility
C) encourage creativity
D) create standardization and predictability
E) reduce uniformity of behavior

Question 8

According to the textbook,bureaucracies are often the only meeting ground for citizens and politics because they ______.

A) must maintain public support in order to succeed
B) are often the only contact citizens have with government
C) were set up to check the executive branch and protect citizens' rights
D) often make law through bureaucratic legislation
E) dominate decision making in the federal government

Question 9

At the highest levels,the bureaucracy is responsible to ______.

A) only one supervisor
B) Congress
C) the department heads
D) several bosses who may have conflicting goals
E) no one

Question 10

Groups of citizens whose interests are affected by an agency and who work to influence its policies are called ______.

A) grassroots organizations
B) clientele groups
C) constituencies
D) political parties
E) public interest groups

Question 11

The ultimate purpose of depoliticizing government bureaucracies is to create ______.

A) a spoils system
B) a merit system
C) neutral competence
D) bureaucratese
E) patronage

Question 12

The civil service replaced the ______ as a method of choosing government workers.

A) merit system
B) hereditary inheritance
C) optional service
D) spoils system
E) presidential appointment system

Question 13

The bulk of the federal bureaucracy is ______.

A) not covered by civil service protections
B) concerned with foreign policy matters
C) located in New York City
D) composed of ethnic and racial minorities
E) found in the executive branch

Question 14

The single largest program of the civilian federal bureaucracy today is ______.

A) foreign assistance
B) highway funding
C) agricultural subsidies
D) Social Security
E) welfare

Question 15

The fundamental difference between most private bureaucracies and public bureaucracies pointed out in the text is that ______.

A) most private bureaucracies have the explicit goal of making money, so accountability is straightforward
B) most private bureaucracies are more efficient at serving the public than are public bureaucracies
C) employees of private bureaucracies are less concerned with the pursuit of self-interest
D) employees of public bureaucracies are less likely to be chosen for their competence
E) bureaucracy is a rare form of organization in the private sector, but it is dominant in the public sector

Question 16

The Department of Justice enforces the laws and represents the American government before the U.S.Supreme Court.Therefore,it was created to ______.

A) help the president deal with the Cold War
B) respond to changing national needs
C) respond to the demands of clientele groups
D) serve an essential government function
E) help the president respond to the Great Depression

Question 17

Bureaucracies are ______.

A) found in both the public and private sectors
B) useful only in democratic countries
C) always independent from partisan control
D) located only in governments
E) always less efficient than markets

Question 18

Bureaucracy is preferable to democracy in making decisions when ______.

A) we can afford the time to deliberate
B) we require expertise and dispatch
C) a decision is of minor importance
D) it is essential that a decision be popular
E) a decision is too important to be left to the people

Question 19

A clear chain of command with all employees knowing who their supervisors are as well as whom they are responsible for is an example of a(n)______.

A) issue network
B) merit system
C) hierarchy
D) spoils system
E) iron triangle

Question 20

The fifteen departments that make up the major subdivisions of the federal government also represent ______.

A) government corporations
B) government organizations
C) the president's cabinet
D) the civil service rather than the bureaucracy
E) independent agencies

Question 21

In addition to their power to appoint heads of federal agencies,presidents have additional involvement with the bureaucracy,including the presidential veto,the power to reorganize the bureaucracy,the power of persuasion,and ______.

A) the power to write new civil service exam questions
B) the power to establish quotas regarding gender and race among department heads
C) a key role in the budget process
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 22

When political bureaucratic appointees conflict with career civil servants,______.

A) compromises generally result in strengthened agencies and clearer policies
B) stalemates result very infrequently
C) the political appointees generally win because they have the power to enforce their edicts
D) political appointees can be trusted to give up first because they are more interested in advancing their careers
E) political appointees have the advantage of a higher position of authority, but civil servants can stall to slowly kill policy changes

Question 23

According to the textbook,life within the bureaucracy is ______.

A) quite partisan, but openly political moves are taboo
B) as political as life outside of it
C) dangerous for anyone who has strong political beliefs
D) strictly apolitical
E) not as partisan as "civilians" might think it is

Question 24

The primary justification for the creation of a government corporation is to provide ______.

A) infant industries with some protection
B) revenue for the federal government
C) competition in economic sectors currently dominated by a monopoly
D) jobs for political cronies
E) a service that the private sector is unable to offer

Question 25

Which of the following is an example of a government agency designed to serve a distinct clientele group?

A) State
B) Agriculture
C) Justice
D) Homeland Security
E) Defense

Question 26

Because presidents and their appointees often struggle with entrenched bureaucracies,presidents ______.

A) may want to ask the bureaucrats for advice on whom to appoint to the cabinet
B) should establish clear and specific rules for how to deal with the bureaucracy
C) must fire civil servants from the previous administration immediately upon taking office
D) often prefer to start new agencies rather than deal with the old ones
E) should be willing to compromise because they cannot defeat civil servants

Question 27

The primary source of power for a member of the bureaucracy is ______.

A) job security
B) personal political clout
C) expertise
D) friendship with a powerful member of Congress
E) friendship with the president

Question 28

The bureaucracy engages in the lawmaking process ______.

A) during emergencies in which Congress does not have the time to act
B) because bureaucrats find it easy to overstep their authority as Congress ignores them
C) because the Constitution makes provision for the bureaucracy to make laws as a check on Congress
D) because Congress often passes very general laws that require clarification before they can be enforced
E) only when Congress is not in session

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT an example of a government corporation?

A) Amtrak
B) the U.S. Postal Service
C) the Tennessee Valley Authority
D) Bonneville Power Administration
E) the Food and Drug Administration

Question 30

Congress sets up most regulatory agencies as boards or commissions,with members having fixed terms,in order to ______.

A) ensure that members do not stay in their positions for too long
B) make them independent of political pressure, particularly from the president
C) water down the effects that would be created by having a single head
D) reduce the prestige they would achieve from being directly responsible to the president
E) increase control of the agencies by business

Question 31

Which of the following statements is NOT true concerning independent agencies?

A) Some agency rulings can be challenged in court, but some cannot.
B) There is no clear set of guidelines for when an agency is set up, beyond immediate political circumstances.
C) Independent agencies vary greatly in size.
D) Independent agencies are not housed within cabinet departments.
E) The term independent refers to the fact that such agencies are free of presidential power.

Question 32

The president has the least power over ______.

A) a cabinet department
B) an independent agency
C) any agency with cabinet-level status
D) an independent regulatory agency
E) a bureau in a cabinet department

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT a type of organization within the federal bureaucracy?

A) citizen advisory councils
B) regulatory agencies
C) cabinet-level departments
D) independent agencies
E) government corporations

Question 34

To respond to clientele groups,some departments and agencies were formed to ______.

A) swallow up the profits of particular industries
B) better address America's interests as a nation
C) better represent particular states in Washington, D.C.
D) make America more competitive on the world stage
E) serve and regulate particular organized and unorganized groups

Question 35

Very few ______,African Americans,or Hispanics reach the highest levels of the civil service ladder.

A) people over the age of forty
B) women
C) people from southern states
D) people from northern states
E) people of northern European ancestry

Question 36

The bureaucratic culture includes all of the following EXCEPT this:

A) the development of specialization and expertise in the subject matter of the agency
B) identification with the agency by which the worker is employed
C) commitment to the policy issue of the agency by which the worker is employed
D) adoption of bureaucratic behavior appropriate for the agency
E) a firm commitment to using plain, easy-to-understand language

Question 37

______ refers to bureaucrats' authority to use their own judgment in interpreting and carrying out the laws of Congress.

A) Bureaucratic discretion
B) Administrative regulation
C) Administration imperatives
D) Bureaucratic culture
E) Implied legislation

Question 38

The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 has ______.

A) been a step toward counteracting negative behavior
B) successfully protected those who stepped forward to point out waste and fraud in the bureaucracy
C) offset the pressure to protect programs and budgets
D) reduced substantially the mistakes made by the bureaucracy
E) worked as its supporters had hoped it would

Question 39

The bureaucratic culture has all of the following effects EXCEPT this one:

A) It facilitates ease of movement by individuals from one agency to another during their careers.
B) It holds the bureaucracy together.
C) It creates power through the concentration of expertise.
D) It fosters a commitment to the mission of the agency.
E) It creates divisions of mission and knowledge that makes coordination between agencies difficult.

Question 40

Before it can implement new regulations,a regulatory agency must ______.

A) consult Congress
B) publish the proposed regulations in the Federal Register and hold hearings on them
C) choose between holding hearings on the proposed regulations and publishing them in the Federal Register
D) consult the president
E) publish the proposed regulations in the Federal Register

Question 41

Hierarchy,explicit rules,specialization,and merit are the four characteristics of the traditional model of ______.

A) bureaucracy
B) republic
C) technocracy
D) adhocracy

Question 42

The ultimate purpose of depoliticizing government bureaucracies is to create ______.

A) checks and balances
B) neutral competence
C) leadership opportunities
D) democracies

Question 43

The term iron triangle refers to the ______.

A) phenomenon of members of interest groups, congressional committees, and bureaucratic agencies cooperating for mutual benefit
B) practice of business, labor, and consumer groups maintaining a united front against burdensome bureaucratic regulations
C) alliances made by different parts of the bureaucracy to prevent a presidential reorganization
D) control that presidents, members of Congress, and judges have over the bureaucracy
E) long-standing relationships among senators, representatives, and their constituents

Question 44

The primary effect of sunshine laws has been to open the ______.

A) political appointment process to criticism
B) White House decision-making process to outside review
C) daily efforts of members of Congress to their constituents
D) federal judiciary's proceedings to the people
E) policymaking process to the public

Question 45

The courts generally play a modest role in controlling the bureaucracy for all of the following reasons EXCEPT this one:

A) The courts tend to defer to the bureaucracy unless a clear principle of law is violated.
B) The courts tend to defer to the expertise of the bureaucrats.
C) Congress puts the decisions of some agencies beyond the reach of the courts.
D) The courts do not have the time to review the thousands of decisions made by the bureaucracy.
E) The Constitution does not permit the courts to rule on executive branch decisions.

Question 46

The practice in which successful party candidates reward supporters with jobs or favors is known as ______.

A) patronage
B) handshake deals
C) sponsorship
D) democratic backing

Question 47

All of the following are designed to enhance citizen influence over the bureaucracy EXCEPT this:

A) the Freedom of Information Act
B) citizen advisory councils
C) sunshine laws
D) the Privacy Act
E) the Kenneth Meier Act

Question 48

Prior to the creation of a professional civil service,government jobs were staffed by ______.

A) draft
B) patronage system
C) political appointees
D) lottery

Question 49

Presidents use their appointment power to ______.

A) appoint career civil servants who can manage an agency effectively
B) reward loyal members of Congress
C) gain necessary control over the bureaucracy or unnecessarily politicize the bureaucracy, depending on your perspective
D) reward members of their family
E) appoint career civil servants who agree to abandon their loyalty to their agency in order to serve the president

Question 50

Agencies cultivate and serve powerful supporters because ______.

A) they need to be able to resist pressure from Congress and the president
B) they have no real interest in serving the public, only in gaining power
C) they are usually mandated by Congress to serve such interests
D) the leaders of agencies usually are chosen from among the ranks of such supporters
E) presidents usually wish them to cultivate such supporters

Question 51

Iron triangles accurately depict the relationships among congressional committees,interest groups,and bureaucratic agencies,but the full range of politics is best seen when one looks at ______.

A) issue networks
B) departments
C) the spoils system
D) bureaucratic discretion
E) patronage

Question 52

The civil service replaced the ______ as a method of choosing government workers.

A) lottery
B) patronage system
C) draft
D) spoils system

Question 53

The value of ______ in bureaucratic institutions is that they create standardization and predictability.

A) leaders
B) established methods
C) explicit rules
D) laws

Question 54

President Obama's appointments to the bureaucracy differed from President George W.Bush's appointments in that ______.

A) President Bush's appointments were made with policy expertise in mind
B) the most important criterion in President Obama's appointments appears to have been ideology
C) President Obama's appointments were more likely to be made on the basis of policy expertise
D) President Bush's appointees were chosen to strengthen the agencies in carrying out their traditional functions
E) President Obama's appointees were chosen to diminish the traditional missions of the agencies

Question 55

A close relationship developed between the oil industry and the agency charged with regulating drilling.This relationship is an example of ______.

A) effective regulatory practice
B) safeguarding the public interest
C) agency capture
D) cultivating industry cooperation with regulatory policy
E) information gathering

Question 56

Congress exercises control over the bureaucracy ______.

A) through the actions of the Supreme Court
B) through the actions of the majority party
C) through the close scrutiny given to specific agencies by specific congressional subcommittees
D) more through actions of the Senate than through actions of the House of Representatives
E) more through actions of the House of Representatives than through actions of the Senate

Question 57

A clear chain of command with all employees knowing who their supervisors are as well as whom they are responsible for is an example of a(n)______.

A) hierarchy
B) top-down model
C) team structure
D) chain-of-command

Question 58

The Privacy Act of 1974 ______.

A) prevents the bureaucracy from releasing any information it has about people
B) allows people to refuse to give their Social Security number to anyone who asks for it
C) gives citizens access to records that government agencies have on them
D) forbids the government from gathering information on citizens
E) requires that all information about citizens be stored in the National Archives

Question 59

Citizen advisory councils are established to ______.

A) subject key policy decisions to the consideration of the general public
B) give input to bureaucrats before they make decisions
C) limit presidential control over the bureaucracy
D) provide information to Congress
E) create alternative rules to those proposed by agencies

Question 60

The lower levels of the bureaucracy are held accountable through ______.

A) congressional oversight
B) citizen review
C) the legislative branch
D) rules

Question 61

Bureaucratic agencies are formed for what three reasons?

Question 62

Very few ______,African Americans,or Hispanics reach the highest levels of the civil service ladder.

Question 63

What are the consequences of having a rule-based system in a bureaucracy?

Question 64

What effect did the Pendleton Act and the Hatch Act have on the American federal bureaucracy?

Question 65

What are the key distinctions between the logic of the iron triangle and issue networks?

Question 66

The term iron circles refers to the phenomenon of members of interest groups,congressional committees,and bureaucratic agencies cooperating for mutual benefit.

Question 67

Groups of citizens whose interests are affected by an agency and who work to influence its policies are called ______.

A) clientele groups
B) independent agencies
C) whistle blowers
D) citizen advisory council

Question 68

The Privacy Act of 1974 gives citizens access to records that government agencies have on them.

Question 69

What factors have led to the growth and development of the federal bureaucracy? Are those features of the American political system and society likely to permit a significant reduction in the size of the bureaucracy in the near future?

Question 70

______ exercises control over the bureaucracy through the close scrutiny given to specific agencies by specific congressional subcommittees.

Question 71

The particular context in which internal bureaucratic politics is shaped is called ______,which refers to the accepted values and procedures of an organization.

Question 72

The agencies responsible for restricting the behavior of individuals or businesses are ______.

A) civil service groups
B) lobbyists
C) independent regulatory boards and commissions
D) citizen advisory council

Question 73

______ refers to bureaucrats' authority to use their own judgment in interpreting and carrying out the laws of Congress.

Question 74

What is the relationship between the president and the bureaucracies of the executive branch,of which he is head? What frustrations do presidents face,and what tools can they use to influence the bureaucracy?

Question 75

Bureaucracies have administrative,judicial,and ______ functions.

A) rule-making
B) self-interest
C) accountability
D) voter registration

Question 76

Identify and define the characteristics of a bureaucracy.Discuss the advantages and disadvantages to making and administering policy through a bureaucracy.

Question 77

Citizen advisory councils are established to subject key policy decisions to the consideration of the general public.

Question 78

The primary source of power for a member of the bureaucracy is ______.

Question 79

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of rules in bureaucracies.

Question 80

Compare and contrast spoils-based and merit-based bureaucratic systems.