Deck 15: The Bureaucracy

Question 1

James Madison argued that the president alone must be able to fire a federal employee because

A) otherwise the president would not be able to control his/her subordinates.
B) the president is the person best qualified to judge job performance.
C) there would be a considerable danger of corruption if Congress participated in the process.
D) this power was clearly implied in the U.S. Constitution.
E) common law and Supreme Court precedent clearly granted the executive this power.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The eightfold increase in the number of federal employees that occurred between 1816 and 1861 was largely the result of

A) abuses of patronage by Congress and the presidency.
B) rapid industrialization.
C) the government's taking on new functions.
D) increased demands on traditional government functions.
E) the emergence of a national economy.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The authors suggest bureaucracy is the outgrowth of

A) federalism.
B) representative democracy.
C) separation of powers.
D) judicial review.
E) executive privilege.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

One can find elements of government by proxy in the administration of

A) Social Security.
B) Medicare.
C) environmental protection.
D) collection of income taxes.
E) all of the above.

Question 5

In the First Congress, it was decided that appointed federal officials would be removable by

A) either the president or the Congress.
B) the president and Congress acting together.
C) the president alone.
D) Congress alone.
E) the Supreme Court.

Question 6

When employed by bureaucrats, state governments, business firms, and nonprofit organizations enhance the principle of

A) replication of resources.
B) redundancy.
C) propinquity.
D) reciprocity.
E) government by proxy.

Question 7

In Great Britain, civil servants are directed explicitly by the ministers in charge of their departments. In the United States, civil servants often must obey both the heads of their agencies and

A) the independent agencies.
B) White House staff.
C) professional groups.
D) lobbies.
E) Congress.

Question 8

When an agency such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) makes an important decision, it is quite likely to be taken to court. This is an example of what is meant by

A) government bureaucracy.
B) impedimentary government.
C) red tape.
D) adversary culture.
E) reciprocal administration.

Question 9

Most federal agencies must share their functions with

A) related state agencies.
B) private corporations.
C) interest groups.
D) congressional staff.
E) White House staff.

Question 10

One would expect the telephone system in France, unlike that in the United States, to be

A) woefully inefficient.
B) owned by the government.
C) part of a multinational corporation.
D) privately owned.
E) free from regulation.

Question 11

The definition of bureaucracy includes all of the following notions except

A) a large organization.
B) authority divided among several managers.
C) complexity of structure.
D) appointed officials.
E) an issue network.

Question 12

Defenders of government by proxy argue that the system

A) is expensive but efficient.
B) produces flexibility.
C) takes advantage of private and nonprofit skills.
D) defends the principle of federalism.
E) B, C, and D

Question 13

Divided authority over the bureaucracy encourages bureaucrats to play one branch of government off against the other and to make heavy use of

A) the court system.
B) the media.
C) executive orders.
D) conference calls.
E) public protests.

Question 14

One complication surrounding the federal bureaucracy is the fact that the Constitution

A) gives the president sole power to make appointments.
B) gives Congress sole power to make appointments.
C) restricts administrative appointments to election years.
D) does not mention departments or bureaus.
E) does none of the above.

Question 15

During most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, appointments to the civil service were based primarily on

A) merit.
B) education.
C) patronage.
D) wealth.
E) experience in government.

Question 16

The text argues that many of the problems of bureaucracy in government arise from its

A) formality.
B) political context.
C) remoteness from everyday life.
D) complexity.
E) transparency.

Question 17

Patronage in the early republic provided the president with all of the following advantages except

A) keeping subordinates supportive of his policies.
B) influencing recalcitrant members of Congress.
C) helping to build up the party organization.
D) holding special-interest lobbyists at bay.
E) providing rewards.

Question 18

The Department of Justice played only an incidental role in crime control until the

A) 1890s.
B) 1920s.
C) 1940s.
D) 1960s.
E) 1980s.

Question 19

The distinctive nature of the U.S. bureaucracy derives from all of the following except

A) the practice of incremental budgeting.
B) the sharing of political authority among institutions.
C) the sharing of functions with state government.
D) an adversary culture and close public scrutiny.
E) the sharing of functions with local government.

Question 20

In the early days of the federal government, the only department that had much power was the

A) Department of the Interior.
B) War Department.
C) Post Office Department.
D) State Department.
E) Treasury Department.

Question 21

The federal government did not begin to regulate the economy in any large way until

A) the Fourteenth Amendment was passed.
B) the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was created.
C) the laissez-faire doctrine was upheld by a majority of the Senate.
D) the commerce clause was amended.
E) the Department of Labor was created.

Question 22

Initially, the prevailing interpretation of the Constitution held that agencies could not exercise regulatory powers

A) in any circumstance.
B) unless authorized by the president.
C) unless Congress first established clear standards.
D) unless a court order was obtained.
E) without written permission from a judge.

Question 23

Periodically, the size of the bureaucracy has grown substantially. These times of growth have generally occurred during

A) depressions.
B) wars.
C) periods of prosperity.
D) recessions.
E) election years.

Question 24

When the text speaks of the discretionary authority of appointed officials, it means their authority to

A) shift federal monies from agency to agency, depending on need.
B) act without specific executive direction.
C) make policies that are not spelled out in advance by laws.
D) spend federal monies, even though they are not officially part of the federal bureaucracy.
E) act on behalf of government officials and represent the government in courts of law.

Question 25

During World War I, President Wilson was authorized by Congress to

A) fix prices.
B) operate the railroads.
C) manage the communications system.
D) control the distribution of food.
E) do all of the above.

Question 26

Between 1816 and 1861, the number of federal employees increased eightfold, in large part because of

A) an increase in the need for government accountants.
B) an increase in the need for Secret Service agents.
C) dramatic increases in new government functions.
D) growth in the Post Office.
E) increases in military staff.

Question 27

In recent years, nearly every federal department has reduced the size of its workforce, the notable exception being

A) Treasury Department.
B) Commerce Department.
C) Justice Department.
D) Labor Department.
E) Transportation Department.

Question 28

Generally, the role of government bureaucracies up to the end of the nineteenth century was to

A) provide benefits for interest groups.
B) solve social problems.
C) regulate unions.
D) protect state and local government.
E) solve economic problems.

Question 29

If you wanted to do away with high federal taxation, you might see a quick solution in the repeal of the

A) Sixteenth Amendment.
B) Nineteenth Amendment.
C) Twenty-first Amendment.
D) Twenty-second Amendment.
E) Twenty-sixth Amendment.

Question 30

A person appointed to a government position after passing an examination is probably joining the

A) excepted service.
B) competitive service.
C) patronage system.
D) Department of State.
E) Department of Justice.

Question 31

The importance of the federal bureaucracy today can be measured in part by the total number of federal employees or, more accurately, by the

A) high proportion of full-time employees on the government payroll.
B) discretionary authority of its appointed officials.
C) number of agencies that now form the federal bureaucracy.
D) number of employees who write the regulations.
E) number of employees who spend the money.

Question 32

Which of the following is not an area in which the power of the bureaucracy has grown dramatically in recent years?

A) Paying subsidies to particular groups
B) Transferring money to state governments
C) Creating regulations for various sectors of society
D) Building nuclear energy sources
E) Transferring money to local governments

Question 33

The text suggests that no president wants to admit that he/she has ______ the bureaucracy.

A) reformed
B) reinvented
C) decreased the size of
D) increased the size of
E) reorganized

Question 34

A dramatic increase in activism by the federal bureaucracy occurred during the twentieth century, largely as a consequence of

A) the growth of patronage and the rise of political parties.
B) the Sixteenth Amendment and the Social Security Act.
C) a desire for limited government and an end to earlier regulatory practices.
D) the Great Depression of the 1930s and World War II.
E) the rise of special-interest groups and unions.

Question 35

The broad factors that best explain the behavior of bureaucratic officials include all of the following except

A) how they are recruited.
B) their personal attributes.
C) the influence of outside forces on them.
D) their party preferences.
E) how they are rewarded.

Question 36

A laissez-faire economy

A) is restrictive but fair.
B) is supported by the general public.
C) is freely competitive.
D) is based on rapid industrialization.
E) mixes industry and agriculture.

Question 37

An important effect of World War II on the federal government was to

A) bring an end to laissez-faire government.
B) greatly increase government revenues from taxation.
C) strip various regulatory agencies of their policy-making functions.
D) introduce the concept of pay-as-you-go government.
E) streamline decision making but restrict the scope of the government's activity.

Question 38

The great watershed in the expansion of government bureaucracy in the United States occurred during the

A) Jacksonian period.
B) Kennedy administration.
C) Spanish-American War.
D) Franklin Roosevelt administration.
E) Civil War.

Question 39

A constitutional limitation on the federal bureaucracy's ability to regulate the economy is that

A) only the president has the constitutional authority to regulate commerce.
B) only Congress has the constitutional authority to regulate commerce.
C) only the Supreme Court has the constitutional authority to regulate commerce.
D) commerce cannot be regulated by the federal government.
E) None of the above

Question 40

The number of civilians working for the federal bureaucracy has not increased much since 1960. This observation fails, however, to account for the

A) enormous decrease in the government work force that occurred between 1986 and 1990.
B) enormous increase in the government work force that occurred between 1965 and 1970.
C) enormous increase in state bureaucracies that occurred during this period.
D) enormous increase in local bureaucracies that occurred during this period.
E) growing number of people who work indirectly for the government.

Question 41

A post office worker or Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent would typically be part of the federal bureaucracy known as

A) the competitive service.
B) Schedule C positions.
C) the merit service.
D) the contingent service.
E) the excepted service.

Question 42

If you worked in a senior position on a successful presidential campaign, and the new president then wished to have your advice while in office, you would most likely be appointed to

A) the competitive service.
B) Congress.
C) a Schedule C position.
D) a federal union.
E) a federal commission.

Question 43

The merit system began with the

A) Sixteenth Amendment.
B) Seventeenth Amendment.
C) civil rights cases of 1873.
D) New Deal of the 1930s.
E) Pendleton Act of 1883.

Question 44

Which of the following statements concerning the Pendleton Act is incorrect?

A) It was passed during a Republican administration.
B) It was, in part, a response to public outrage over abuses of the spoils system.
C) It was, in part, a response to the assassination of President Garfield.
D) It was passed to avoid mass firings of Republicans.
E) It enhanced the power of patronage in federal appointments.

Question 45

Which of the following statements about the firing of federal employees is correct?

A) Only bureaucrats who were blanketed in can be fired.
B) Only employees in the competitive service can be fired.
C) Only employees in the excepted service can be fired.
D) Most bureaucrats cannot be fired.
E) Most bureaucrats can be fired quite easily.

Question 46

Which factor that contributed to the passing of the Pendleton Act?

A) A string of military defeats
B) The assassination of James Garfield
C) A large number of scandals in the post office
D) A large number of scandals in Congress
E) All of the above

Question 47

If one examines the education, gender, race, and social origins of the federal civil service as a whole,

A) it is clear that females are overrepresented.
B) it is clear that there are more minorities than whites.
C) it is clear that no attempt has been made to make it look anything like a cross section of American society.
D) it looks very much like a cross section of American society.
E) it is clear that wealth is a prerequisite for employment.

Question 48

Employees who are "blanketed in" are

A) prohibited from engaging in partisan politics.
B) employed through the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) merit system.
C) ensured patronage jobs, as long as their party wins the presidential election.
D) covered by the merit system, although they are appointed.
E) selected on the basis of patronage but are eventually promoted on the basis of merit.

Question 49

Anyone who is removed from the SES is guaranteed

A) ten years' salary as part of a separation agreement.
B) training for the corporate world.
C) a positive recommendation from superiors.
D) health benefits for up to ten years.
E) a job somewhere in the government.

Question 50

In recent years, the competitive service has become more decentralized and examinations have become less common. Which of the following is suggested by the text as an explanation for these changes?

A) The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) system has become efficient and relevant to the needs of departments.
B) Agencies no longer need more professionally trained employees.
C) Civil rights groups have pressed Washington to make the racial composition of the federal bureaucracy look more like the racial composition of the nation.
D) As the number of applications has fallen, standards have been lowered to generate interest.
E) Budget cuts have encouraged less formal means of processing applications.

Question 51

Which of the following statements about the firing of a bureaucrat is incorrect?

A) The employee must be given a written notice at least thirty days in advance.
B) The written notice must contain a statement of reasons, including specific examples of unacceptable performance.
C) The employee has the right to reply to the charges and can appeal any adverse action to the Merit Systems Protection Board.
D) The employee can appeal the decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board to the U.S. Court of Appeals.
E) None of the above

Question 52

The text suggests the buddy system

A) is often a way that agencies can hire people they know are capable of handling a position.
B) can be a device by which members of Congress reward supporters.
C) can allow the hiring of individuals whose views are congenial to those already in office.
D) will sometimes feature a name-request job.
E) is all of the above.

Question 53

Using the buddy system, an agency can circumvent the usual Office of Personnel Management (OPM) search process by

A) blanketing in a job candidate.
B) issuing a merit dispensation.
C) asking the president to appoint a specific candidate.
D) tailoring a job description to a specific candidate.
E) limiting the scope of a search to a specific region.

Question 54

The fact that agencies usually recruit their own staff, often on a name-request basis, should lead us to expect that these recruits will possess the

A) intelligence of a turnip.
B) legal viewpoints of relevant interest groups.
C) political will to initiate new struggles.
D) necessary expertise to advise political officials.
E) agency point of view.

Question 55

Those federal bureaucrats not appointed on the basis of qualifications designed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) are called

A) civil service employees.
B) life-tenure employees.
C) the excepted service.
D) the competitive service.
E) contingent employees.

Question 56

Which of the following statements concerning the SES is incorrect?

A) Very few of its members are fired.
B) Very few members receive unsatisfactory ratings.
C) It does not give the president much opportunity to make political appointments.
D) Many appointments are selected from outside the civil service.
E) No SES member can be transferred involuntarily.

Question 57

When a civil service job is filled on a name-request basis, this is an example of the

A) spoils system.
B) interservice system.
C) Pendleton Act of 1883.
D) buddy system.
E) revolving inducement system.

Question 58

One advantage of the merit system to presidents is that it

A) protects them from patronage demands.
B) grants them the power of appointment.
C) insulates them from control by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
D) excludes employees in the excepted service.
E) exempts them from bureaucratic procedures that are not outlined in Article II.

Question 59

Which of the following was created in 1978 in an attempt to give the president more flexibility in dealing with high-level bureaucrats?

A) Civil Service Reform Commission
B) Merit System Protection Board
C) Senior Executive Service (SES)
D) Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
E) Presidential Task Management Board (PTMB)

Question 60

When a person is selected by the president to head an agency and to shift its policies in the direction of the president's, the appointee generally finds that

A) agency personnel change direction quickly.
B) career subordinates have very little influence on policy.
C) an agency is immune to presidential politics.
D) subordinates wield considerable power.
E) there is little to prevent him or her from accomplishing the goal.

Question 61

Lawyers working for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are most likely to select cases that

A) are costly to the consumer.
B) are likely to develop new legal precedents.
C) clearly involve criminal malfeasance.
D) are acceptable to the administration.
E) have clear fact patterns and involve big money.

Question 62

If bureaucrats regularly sabotage the actions of political bosses with whom they disagree, one would expect Republicans to be hurt more than Democrats because

A) Republican programs are more vulnerable to sabotage.
B) bureaucrats tend to be liberal.
C) more government money is spent on Republican programs.
D) the federal bureaucracy, at the moment, is overwhelmingly conservative.
E) Republicans rarely take an interest in the complexities of the federal bureaucracy.

Question 63

Under the Privacy Act of 1974, __________ must be kept confidential.

A) telephone conversations
B) government documents
C) court decrees
D) judicial orders
E) Social Security and tax records

Question 64

Which law established the Office of Special Counsel?

A) The Taft-Hartley Act
B) The Civil Service Act
C) The Administrative Procedure Act
D) The Investigative Protections Act
E) The Whistle Blower Protection Act

Question 65

One of the major constraints under which government agencies operate is the

A) obligation of leadership to restructure frequently.
B) power of issue networks to determine agency policy.
C) absence of competing forces in the public sector.
D) presence of a great many highly structured roles.
E) large number of regulations they must adhere to.

Question 66

The culture of an agency is shaped by

A) laws.
B) rules.
C) routines.
D) informal understandings among fellow employees.
E) all of the above.

Question 67

The Freedom of Information Act and the Administrative Procedure Act are examples of

A) governmentwide constraints on bureaucracy.
B) early, unconstitutional attempts to restrain bureaucrats.
C) laws that apply only to Congress.
D) regulations that principally limit executive powers.
E) laws that apply only to congressional staff.

Question 68

Bureaucrats' own values and beliefs are most likely to have the least influence on their work when their duties are

A) loosely defined.
B) highly structured.
C) greatly affected by laws.
D) professional in nature.
E) reviewed by agencies.

Question 69

In a bureaucracy, government sometimes acts inconsistently because

A) constraints ensure that relatively few voices will be heard before a decision is made.
B) what is done to meet one constraint may endanger another constraint.
C) the more constraints must be satisfied, the longer getting things done will take.
D) the best way for employees to stay out of trouble is to let their bosses make the decisions.
E) rules often leave bureaucrats little discretion.

Question 70

Career bureaucrats are more likely than average citizens to

A) hold liberal views.
B) trust government.
C) vote for Democrats.
D) All of the above.
E) hold conservative views.

Question 71

The text suggests that federal bureaucrats do not have _________ with respect to most specific policy questions.

A) much interest
B) any opinion
C) middle-of-the-road views
D) extreme positions
E) informed views

Question 72

If a job within an agency is labeled "NCE," it is

A) a low-paying job.
B) a low-paying but high-prestige job.
C) not constrained by normal rules and procedures.
D) probably the most desired position in the agency.
E) not the type of job that would enhance one's career within that agency.

Question 73

Studies have shown that Republicans and people with conservative views are more likely to be overrepresented in

A) defense agencies.
B) social service agencies.
C) the Environmental Protection Agency.
D) the Food and Drug Administration.
E) the Federal Trade Commission.

Question 74

Bureaucrats with more conservative views are more likely to be found in the

A) Treasury Department
B) Federal Trade Commission
C) Environmental Protection Agency
D) Food and Drug Administration
E) None of the above.

Question 75

A particularly important constraint on bureaucratic power is the need to

A) carry out the policies of the president.
B) check congressional power.
C) obtain agreement from other parts of the bureaucracy.
D) obtain the approval of Congress.
E) restructure agencies with each new administration.

Question 76

Before recommending legal action against a business for illegal practices, an economist with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) might first want to know whether

A) the business firm attended a secret meeting with competitors.
B) the illegality will be easy to prove in court.
C) consumers have borne a heavy cost as a consequence of the practice.
D) Congress sympathizes with the business firm.
E) other legal claims have been filed by government entities.

Question 77

A personal attribute that has been shown to have a clear effect on bureaucratic behavior is

A) socioeconomic background.
B) gender.
C) regional background.
D) professional training.
E) ethnicity.

Question 78

Having a strong agency culture can help an agency by motivating its employees to work hard, but it can also hurt the agency by

A) increasing the number of highly structured roles.
B) making the agency resistant to change.
C) reducing cooperation among employees.
D) encouraging whistle-blowing.
E) promoting individuals who are patently unqualified.

Question 79

The Whistle Blower Protection Act of 1989 is designed to protect

A) agencies that are being undermined by their employees.
B) agencies that are being undermined by Congress.
C) agency heads who fire employees for misconduct.
D) bureaucrats who tell on their bosses.
E) bureaucrats who are not career employees.

Question 80

The typical civil servant is

A) middle aged.
B) white.
C) male.
D) college educated.
E) all of the above.