Deck 13: The Bureaucracy

Question 1

A large, complex organization in which employees have specific job responsibilities and work within a hierarchy of authority is called which of the following?

A) A cabinet
B) A business
C) A government
D) A bureaucracy
E) A commission

Answer 1

D

Question 2

In 2005, approximately 3.2 million more people began working for the government without increasing the size of the government. How were government departments able to get these additional workers without growing in size?

A) By borrowing workers from other departments
B) By using more volunteers
C) By hiring through private contractors
D) By employing the merit system
E) By using the spoils system

Answer 2

C

Question 3

A researcher found that government has grown significantly since 1970. This researcher is probably studying what level, or levels, of government?

A) Federal only
B) Federal and state
C) State only
D) State and local
E) Federal, state, and local

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Fundamental to the core of the federal bureaucracy is the presumption that the people who hold bureaucratic positions have which of the following?

A) Authority
B) Connections
C) Expertise
D) Loyalty
E) Resources

Question 5

In what way do public bureaucracies differ from private corporations?

A) The public bureaucracy is only accountable to the president, not a board of directors.
B) A private corporation will only be successful by serving the citizens.
C) Public bureaucracies are organized in order to make a profit.
D) They rely on Congress for funding and staffing.
E) Public bureaucracies have a single set of leaders.

Question 6

The head of a government agency tells the staff, "If our budget is not increased, our organization is in a state of decline." What model of bureaucracy does this represent?

A) Acquisitive
B) Monopolistic
C) Simplistic
D) Weberian
E) Keynesian

Question 7

What is the main reason that the number of defense contracted employees went down during the Obama administration?

A) The U.S. role in Iraq was reduced.
B) The Cold War with Russia ended.
C) The United States pulled out of Afghanistan.
D) The United States reduced its presence on the Korean Peninsula.
E) Great Britain left the European Union.

Question 8

When we indicate that an employee's implementation decisions in a bureaucracy are reviewed at ascending levels within the organization, this is describing which of the following core components of bureaucracies?

A) Expertise of bureaucrats
B) Mission statement
C) Hierarchy of authority
D) Policy-making process
E) Appropriations

Question 9

What can be said regarding the structure of a bureaucracy?

A) It is structured horizontally.
B) A bureaucracy is void of any structure.
C) Its design is general, rather than specific.
D) It fails to designate any reporting structure.
E) It is structured hierarchically.

Question 10

Which German sociologist described bureaucracies as highly rational organizations with detailed technical rules based on logical reasoning that enabled large numbers of people to get difficult jobs done efficiently?

A) Franz Oppenheimer
B) Jürgen Habermas
C) Karl Marx
D) Max Weber
E) Theodor W. Adorno

Question 11

An individual working in the federal bureaucracy in 1789 boasted that he worked for the largest department in the federal government. He most likely worked for which department?

A) State
B) War
C) Treasury
D) Justice
E) Interior

Question 12

Which of the following statements is true regarding the service contracts that the federal government has with private employees?

A) The contracted services have been shown to save the government money.
B) It is not clear how many people are working for the government on private contracts.
C) The number of people working on private contracts has gone down over the past two decades.
D) The number of privately contracted employees in the Defense Department increased during the Obama administration.
E) Individuals employed through private contracts provide more security risks than government employees.

Question 13

As an indication of how small the federal government was in 1789, which department had just two employees?

A) State
B) War
C) Treasury
D) Justice
E) Interior

Question 14

What is the relationship between the cabinet departments and the branches of the federal government?

A) They are created by the president and report directly to the president.
B) They are created by Congress but report directly to the president.
C) They are created by the president but report directly to Congress.
D) They are created by Congress and report directly to Congress.
E) They are created by Congress, approved by the Supreme Court, and report directly to the president.

Question 15

Which of the following statements best describes bureaucracy?

A) A bureaucracy is a large organization, structured hierarchically, that carries out specific functions.
B) The bureaucracies work in a cyclical fashion with Congress to create and implement laws.
C) Public bureaucracies serve the federal government.
D) All public bureaucracies report to the president and operate under direction from his office.
E) State bureaucracies provide financial assistance to the national bureaucracy.

Question 16

If a lobbyist in 1798 claimed to be successful in getting over $1 million allocated to a client through the Appropriations Act, that lobbyist most likely would have been working on behalf of which department?

A) State
B) War
C) Treasury
D) Justice
E) Interior

Question 17

Researchers are studying a bureaucracy from the standpoint that it should be an apolitical organization that bases individual advancement on merit rather than political connections. What model are these researchers applying?

A) Acquisitive
B) Merit
C) Monopolistic
D) Spoils
E) Weberian

Question 18

The Securities and Exchange Commission is a unit of the federal government that was established to perform specific functions regarding the regulation of private companies. What is this an example of?

A) A standing committee
B) A cabinet department
C) An administrative agency
D) A contract system
E) A legislative liaison

Question 19

An employee of a government unit, who is quite knowledgeable within their narrow area, and works on specific responsibilities and within a hierarchy of authority is known as which of the following?

A) Leader
B) Laborer
C) Clinician
D) Man in black
E) Bureaucrat

Question 20

In 1870, the Office of the Attorney General, first set up in 1793, was transformed into which of the following to handle the legal business of the nation?

A) The Attorney General
B) Department of the Interior
C) Department of Justice
D) Department of Legal Affairs
E) State Department

Question 21

Most members of the cabinet, who head departments and act as chief advisers to the president on the issues under their jurisdiction, have which of the following titles or positions?

A) Clerk
B) Secretary
C) White House staff
D) Commission appointee
E) Committee member

Question 22

If it were necessary to create a new cabinet-level department today, which of the following has the authority to do that?

A) Congress
B) The president
C) The secretary of state
D) The Executive Office of the President
E) The Supreme Court

Question 23

What type of agency or department of the government can, in theory, make a profit?

A) A business entity
B) A corporate commission
C) A government corporation
D) An independent commission
E) An independent regulatory agency

Question 24

If you were employed in a line organization to work on behalf of the federal government, your employer is which of the following?

A) An independent commission that does not answer to the president
B) An independent regulatory agency
C) An agency that reports directly to the president
D) A state agency that carries out the wishes of the federal government
E) A private company that is concerned about the efficiency of government

Question 25

You apply for a position in the federal government in the only cabinet department that is not headed by a secretary. To which department did you apply?

A) Justice
B) Labor
C) Commerce
D) Homeland Security
E) Treasury

Question 26

What is the major difference between independent regulatory agencies and independent executive agencies?

A) Independent executive agencies only report to Congress.
B) Independent executive agencies are directly controlled by the judicial branch of the federal government.
C) Independent executive agencies are more likely to be included as part of the iron triangle.
D) Independent executive agencies combine some function of all three branches of government.
E) Independent executive agencies are subject to the authority of the president to a greater degree.

Question 27

What is the key set of a president's advisers who are responsible for the areas under their jurisdiction known as?

A) The administration
B) The board of directors
C) The cabinet
D) The commission
E) The committee

Question 28

After the BP oil spill in 2010, the appropriate regulatory agency was accused of becoming too lax on enforcing safety regulations on the drilling rigs for what reason?

A) It lacked the necessary funding.
B) The necessary legislation was stalled in Congress.
C) It favored the oil companies.
D) There were no OSHA standards for the oil industry.
E) Offshore drilling was too important to the economy.

Question 29

During the administration of which of the following presidents did calls for reregulation of many businesses increase?

A) Ronald Reagan
B) Jimmy Carter
C) George H. W. Bush
D) Bill Clinton
E) George W. Bush

Question 30

Which two agencies, while perhaps the most important in fighting terrorism, have remained outside of the DHS?

A) The FBI and the CIA
B) The FBI and FEMA
C) The CIA and FEMA
D) The FBI and Customs and Border Protection
E) FEMA and Customs and Border Protection

Question 31

If you work for the most recent cabinet department to be established by Congress, and your friend works for the first one that was created, which department do you each work for?

A) You work for Homeland Security and your friend works for Agriculture.
B) You work for Agriculture and your friend works for Defense.
C) You work for Justice and your friend works for Homeland Security.
D) You work for Interior and your friend works for Homeland Security.
E) You work for Homeland Security and your friend works for State.

Question 32

What are the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) examples of?

A) Cabinet departments
B) Corporations subject to regulation
C) Government corporations
D) Independent regulatory agencies
E) Independent executive agencies

Question 33

Which of the following is true regarding independent executive agencies?

A) They report directly to the president, but are not part of the federal bureaucracy.
B) They report directly to the president, but are not part of a cabinet department.
C) They report directly to Congress, but are not part of the federal bureaucracy.
D) They report directly to Congress, but are not part of a cabinet department.
E) They report directly to cabinet officers, but are not part of the federal bureaucracy.

Question 34

What cabinet department was created in 2003 in response to the terrorist threat?

A) Department of Homeland Security
B) Federal Emergency Management Agency
C) Customs and Border Protection
D) Department of Defense
E) Department of Justice

Question 35

What does it mean that a part of the bureaucracy has been "captured"?

A) One government agency takes over another agency's function.
B) Government services are provided by private companies.
C) An industry regulated by an agency gains substantial power over the agency.
D) Congress takes the oversight power of an agency away from the president.
E) A business or corporation has undue influence over Congress.

Question 36

There are 15 major service organizations of the federal government which include Treasury, Agriculture, Education, and more. What kind of departments are these?

A) Cabinet
B) Agency
C) Legislative
D) Mandated
E) Constitutional

Question 37

Because Congress felt it was unable to handle the complexities and technicalities required to carry out specific laws in the public interest, what did it establish?

A) Cabinet departments
B) Courts of limited jurisdiction
C) Government corporations
D) Independent executive agencies
E) Independent regulatory agencies

Question 38

What are Amtrak and the U.S. Postal Service examples of?

A) Cabinet departments
B) Corporations subject to regulation
C) Government corporations
D) Independent executive agencies
E) Independent regulatory agencies

Question 39

What do the secretaries who head the departments in the executive branch also make up?

A) The majority whip
B) The president's cabinet
C) The standing committee
D) The Supreme Court
E) The stand-alone independent agencies

Question 40

Which of the following best describes how the major cabinet departments of the federal government were created?

A) Through congressional legislation
B) When the Constitution was initially ratified
C) By constitutional amendments
D) By executive order
E) Through congressional legislation and by constitutional amendments

Question 41

Which of the following led to the largest reorganization of the U.S. government since 1947?

A) Implementation of Roosevelt's New Deal
B) Terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001
C) Election of Donald Trump
D) Economic downfall of 2008
E) Bay of Pigs invasion

Question 42

What is the basis for hiring decisions made  under the civil service system?

A) Patriotism
B) Political beliefs
C) Merit
D) Need
E) Patronage

Question 43

The Civil Service is designed to protect employees from which of the following?

A) Taxes
B) Job loss
C) Partisanship
D) Government oversight
E) Unemployment

Question 44

A dead mouse was thought to be behind the wall of the Oval Office in the White House. The General Services Administration, which takes care of the White House, said it was not its responsibility, as it came from the outside. The Department of the Interior, which takes care of the grounds, said it was not its responsibility, as it was now inside the White House. How was this resolved?

A) The General Services Administration  removed the mouse.
B) The Department of the Interior removed the mouse.
C) The Secret Service was called to remove the mouse.
D) The White House cleaning staff removed the mouse.
E) An interagency task force was created to remove the mouse.

Question 45

A hurricane is expected to hit the Gulf Coast, and catastrophic damage is projected. What agency, department, or branch of the federal government would be expected to take the lead in planning how to react to this storm and help affected areas?

A) Department of Homeland Security
B) Federal Emergency Management Agency
C) Congress
D) Department of Defense
E) Customs and Border Patrol

Question 46

The September 11th terrorist attack revealed what weakness in the federal bureaucracy?

A) No agency was responsible for coordinating antiterrorism efforts.
B) Congress didn't have the oversight authority necessary to combat terrorism.
C) There was not sufficient manpower to combat terrorism.
D) The federal budget didn't have a line item devoted to antiterrorism efforts.
E) The president didn't have the authority to call in the troops against terrorists on American soil.

Question 47

What did the Pendleton Act do?

A) Extend federal civil service protections to the states
B) Reorganize the federal government and exempt a substantial number of government employees from civil service protections
C) Increase the number of government employees selected by the spoils system
D) Establish the principle of employment on the basis of open competitive examinations
E) Establish a merit system during the Civil War

Question 48

The civil service system was created to do which of the following?

A) Ensure equal partisanship in filling government jobs
B) Allow greater congressional control of the bureaucracy
C) Increase presidential control over the bureaucracy
D) Reduce the amount of politics in awarding government jobs
E) Discourage incompetent job applicants from seeking government employment

Question 49

What legislation, enacted in 1978, encouraged cooperation between political appointees and civil servants, making sure that each was held accountable for decision making, and created the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to oversee both categories of federal employees?

A) Administrative Procedures Act
B) Civil Service Reform Act
C) Government in the Sunshine Act
D) Hatch Act
E) Pendleton Act

Question 50

Which of the following organizations was created by the Pendleton Act to administer entrance exams for the federal civil service and set standards for promotion based on merit?

A) The Foreign Service
B) The Federal Trade Commission
C) The Civil Service Commission
D) The U.S. Merit System
E) The Executive Service

Question 51

In what system of employment are employees chosen and promoted based on qualifications and performance?

A) Civil system
B) Merit system
C) Political appointment system
D) Career civil servants system
E) Bureaucratic system

Question 52

What was the purpose of the Pendleton Act of 1883?

A) To provide public funding for presidential campaigns
B) To create the Central Intelligence Agency
C) To create government corporations
D) To establish the Justice Department
E) To reduce patronage by creating a civil service

Question 53

In response to the assassination of President Garfield, Congress passed which of the following acts that established a merit- and performance-based system for federal employment?

A) Merit System Act
B) Pendleton Act
C) Bryce Act
D) Dawes Act
E) Patriot Act

Question 54

Following a lawsuit, a large corporation recently agreed to implement the merit system. What did it agree to do?

A) Base the selection, retention, and promotion of employees on examinations or performance
B) Implement a system of checks intended to prevent discrimination
C) Embrace a culture of complete transparency
D) Follow the system for hiring bureaucrats that was used by Andrew Jackson
E) Consider work experience in lieu of educational qualifications when filling positions

Question 55

A blizzard hit the Midwest, dropping feet of snow in many areas, knocking out power, and stranding residents. What agency or department of the federal government is expected to take the lead in providing assistance to those affected by the storm?

A) Department of Homeland Security
B) Federal Emergency Management Agency
C) Department of the Interior
D) Department of Defense
E) The Secret Service

Question 56

Why was the Hatch Act adopted by Congress in 1939?

A) To encourage federal employees to run for state but not federal government
B) To prevent federal employees from switching political parties
C) To prohibit federal employees from active involvement in political campaigns
D) To increase federal employee participation in running voter registration drives
E) To establish a patronage system during the Great Depression

Question 57

What legislation created the civil service system and placed limits on the spoils system?

A) Postal Service Act of 1792
B) Pendleton Act of 1883
C) Interstate Commerce Act of 1887
D) Political Activities Act of 1939
E) Civil Service Reform Act of 1978

Question 58

Which of the following statements about bureaucracy is true?

A) Bureaucracies of the federal government have grown in scope so that no problem is beyond an agency's authority to solve.
B) The elimination of overlapping jurisdictions within agencies, corporations, and line departments has eradicated confusion when problems or crises arise.
C) Some problems and crises are so severe that they require help from multiple agencies.
D) The federal bureaucracy includes agencies, corporations, and line departments that all share the same mission.
E) Each agency, corporation, or line department has unique jurisdictions that do not overlap with other parts of the federal bureaucracy.

Question 59

The infamous story of the dead mouse in the wall of the Carter White House best illustrates what challenge to the bureaucracy?

A) Overlapping jurisdictions
B) Problems that no agency has the authority to solve
C) Lack of congressional oversight
D) Limited staff
E) Too much reliance on private contractors

Question 60

Which of the following statements about the civil service is accurate?

A) The first limits on the merit system came from the Pendleton Act.
B) The Office of Personnel Management plays a large role in securing civil service employees.
C) Reform of the civil service first began under President Jimmy Carter in 1978.
D) Since 1993, civil service employees are not allowed to participate in voter registration drives.
E) Today, civil service employees may not make donations to political campaigns.

Question 61

In 1966, what legislation established a procedure by which ordinary citizens can request documents and reports from the federal government directly by paying a nominal fee, so long as the documents are not classified?

A) Freedom of Information Act
B) Government in the Sunshine Act
C) Hatch Act
D) Pendleton Act
E) Public Disclosure Act

Question 62

A president awarded a significant number of government jobs to political supporters. That president used what?

A) Nepotism
B) Political capital
C) The spoils system
D) The merit system
E) The Pendleton system

Question 63

A certain agency has a history of mismanagement, corruption, and illegal activity. Employees who expose these practices to others outside the agency would be referred to as which of the following?

A) Moles
B) Scabs
C) Spies
D) Traitors
E) Whistleblowers

Question 64

What is the central feature of the civil service system?

A) Merit-based, nonpolitical employment and promotion
B) The fitting of job openings to agencies' needs
C) The development of elaborate job classifications
D) The separation of political and nonpolitical positions
E) A nonpunitive, competitive promotion system

Question 65

Which of the following first implemented the spoils system of bureaucratic appointments?

A) President John Adams
B) President Franklin Roosevelt
C) President Bill Clinton
D) President Richard Nixon
E) President Andrew Jackson

Question 66

A federal employee who was appointed by the president with the explicit task of carrying out the president's political and partisan agenda would be known as which of the following?

A) A political appointee
B) A merit system appointee
C) A Pendleton Act employee
D) A civil service employee
E) A career civil servant

Question 67

A federal employee who engages in which of the following activities would be in violation of the Hatch Act of 1939?

A) Participating in the political management of campaigns
B) Receiving Social Security benefits
C) Securing a mortgage from a national bank
D) Speaking poorly about past or present administrations
E) Voting in partisan elections

Question 68

Rather than hire federal workers to make infrastructure repairs to interstate highways, the government contracted with local construction companies in the affected areas to complete the work. This an example of which of the following?

A) Deregulating
B) Insourcing
C) Capitalization
D) Privatization
E) Liquidation

Question 69

What did the Whistleblower Protection Act do?

A) Allow whistleblowers to take time off from their jobs if they were concerned with actions of their supervisors
B) Allow the government to prosecute whistleblowers whose accusations have been unfounded
C) Penalize federal bureaucrats who participate in political activities
D) Prohibits reprisals against whistleblowers by their superiors
E) Establish a relatively swift method for firing civil servants

Question 70

Which of the following is true of the Freedom of Information Act?

A) It requires government agencies to notify the media if they are exceeding their budget for the fiscal year.
B) It requires federal agencies to disclose information on file about an individual to that individual upon his or her request.
C) It provides for a statute of limitations on the Government in the Sunshine Act.
D) It requires executive agencies to release information to congressional oversight committees.
E) It was repealed after 9/11.

Question 71

Your friend works in the federal bureaucracy but is not a political appointee. You can therefore assume this individual is which of the following?

A) A legislative liaison
B) A cabinet member
C) A career civil servant
D) A foreign ambassador
E) An elected representative

Question 72

When a president is elected who has a different party affiliation than the current president, the new president staffs the federal government with political supporters and friends. Which of the following does this describe?

A) The civil service
B) The merit system
C) Weber's model of bureaucracy
D) The spoils system
E) Gerrymandering

Question 73

To encourage more candid disclosure of wrongdoing in federal agencies, what legislation did Congress pass in 1989?

A) Securities and Exchange Commission Act
B) Whistleblower Protection Act
C) Administrative Relief Act
D) Pendleton Act
E) Public Disclosure Act

Question 74

A federal employee who was hired through a merit-based system to implement federal programs is expected to be neutral in political affiliations. What would this individual be considered?

A) An AmeriCorps member
B) A political appointee
C) A career civil servant
D) An executive worker
E) A cabinet member

Question 75

A government department has decided to make use of privatization, which means it plans to do which of the following?

A) Replace government services with services provided by private firms
B) Provide federal loan guarantees to private companies
C) Hire private citizens into the civil service
D) Replace federal government services with state or local government services
E) Hire private investigators to search for corruption

Question 76

In 1976, Congress enacted what legislation to increase transparency by requiring that government agencies hold open forums to allow the public to comment on their decisions, regulations, and performance?

A) Freedom of Information Act
B) Government in the Sunshine Act
C) Hatch Act
D) Pendleton Act
E) Public Disclosure Act

Question 77

If you want to see information the federal government has about you, or about certain other subjects, how can you make the government release that information to you?

A) File a request under the Freedom of Information Act
B) File a request under the Bureaucratic Transparency Act
C) File a request under the Bureaucratic Freedom Act
D) File a request under the Informational Transparency Act
E) File a request under the Government in the Sunshine Act

Question 78

A whistleblower is a person who does which of the following?

A) Finds ways to blame others to cover for his or her inadequacies
B) Brings to public attention gross governmental inefficiency or illegal action
C) Is hired in excess of the true labor requirements of an agency
D) Serves in the position of an ombudsman
E) Leaks the contents of a presidential speech to the press before it is given

Question 79

Which of the following did the Government in the Sunshine Act require?

A) That all federal agencies run by committees conduct their business regularly in public session
B) That all federal agencies terminate after five years unless Congress grants the agency an extension
C) That all federal agencies hold at least half of their public meetings outside Washington, D.C.
D) That at least 40% of upper-level positions within an agency be filled by females or ethnic minorities
E) That all federal agency meetings on personnel problems or court proceedings be held in public session

Question 80

A clerical worker for the federal government notices gross negligence in the spending habits of a government agency and the worker feels the need to call this discrepancy to the attention of the media. That clerical worker is an example of which of the following?

A) A whistleblower
B) An ombudsman
C) A legislative page
D) A sunset legislator
E) A fraudulent bureaucrat