Deck 13: The Executive Branch

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

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

Answer 2

A

Question 3

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.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

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 5

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 6

What inconsistency is revealed in polls taken of Americans?

A) A majority of Americans want more government and major cuts to military spending.
B) A majority of Americans want more government and major cuts to social spending.
C) A majority of Americans want less government and major increases to Social Security.
D) A majority of Americans want less government and major increases to military spending.
E) A majority of Americans want less government but support almost every specific government program.

Question 7

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 8

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 9

A bureaucrat who believes that his or her organization has no competitors and there is therefore no reason to make bureaucracy more efficient subscribes to which model of bureaucracy?

A) Acquisitive
B) Monopolistic
C) Weberian
D) Public
E) Private

Question 10

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 11

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 12

Which of the following best describes a bureaucracy?

A) A large organization, structured hierarchically, that carries out specific functions
B) Any organization that has major problems when attempting to accomplish its goals
C) A group of people who work to enforce policies in a way that prevents quick results
D) Any large branch of a government that has power to interpret laws
E) Government organizations, but not corporate or university organizations

Question 13

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 14

A bureaucrat who constantly tries to expand his or her budget as a way to demonstrate power is best explained by which model of bureaucracy?

A) Acquisitive
B) Monopolistic
C) Weberian
D) Public
E) Private

Question 15

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 16

You are studying an organization and trying to determine whether it is a public bureaucracy or a private one. Which of the following features would tell you that it is a public, or government, bureaucracy rather than a private one?

A) It is not organized to make a profit.
B) It has a single set of leaders.
C) It is not organized hierarchically.
D) It is not intended to serve the citizenry.
E) It presents an opportunity for career advancement.

Question 17

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 18

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 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

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 22

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 23

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 24

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 25

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 26

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 27

The Social Security Administration, Small Business Administration, and the Smithsonian Institution are examples of what type of organization within the executive branch?

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

Question 28

Which of the following is accurate regarding the organization of the executive branch?

A) An independent executive agency is not part of a cabinet department but still reports directly to the president, while a cabinet department exists outside the major departments and is tasked with making and implementing rules within a specific area.
B) An independent executive agency is not part of a cabinet department but still reports directly to the president, while a government corporation exists outside the major departments and is tasked with making and implementing rules within a specific area.
C) An independent executive agency is not part of a cabinet department but still reports directly to the president, while an independent regulatory agency exists outside the major departments and is tasked with making and implementing rules within a specific area.
D) A government corporation is not part of a cabinet department but still reports directly to the president, while an independent executive agency exists outside the major departments and is tasked with making and implementing rules within a specific area.
E) A government corporation is not part of a cabinet department but still reports directly to the president, while an independent regulatory agency exists outside the major departments and is tasked with making and implementing rules within a specific area.

Question 29

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 30

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 31

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 32

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 33

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 34

You are trying to classify the various organizations that operate within the executive branch. How can you identify an independent regulatory agency?

A) It exists within a major cabinet department and is responsible for creating rules and regulations within a specific policy area.
B) It exists within a major cabinet department and is responsible for creating rules and regulations across a variety of policy areas.
C) It exists outside of a major cabinet department and is responsible for creating rules and regulations within a specific policy area.
D) It exists outside of a major cabinet department and is responsible for creating rules and regulations across a variety of policy areas.
E) It exists within a major cabinet department and is responsible for creating rules and regulations subject to the approval of the Senate.

Question 35

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 36

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 37

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 38

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 39

While it exists within the executive branch, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), to some extent, combines the powers and functions of all three branches of government, in that it makes, enforces, and resolves disputes over the rules. The ICC is an example of what type of organization?

A) Cabinet department
B) Independent executive agency
C) Independent regulatory agency
D) Independent legislative agency
E) Government corporation

Question 40

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 41

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 42

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 43

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 44

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 45

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 46

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

Question 47

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 48

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 49

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 50

Why is it difficult to change the bureaucracy?

A) Most presidents do not aspire to making major changes.
B) A lengthy appeals process makes it hard to fire civil servants.
C) It is not clear to whom bureaucrats report.
D) The bureaucracy makes its own rules, leading to self-protection.
E) Each president replaces the entire bureaucratic staff, leading to a lack of experience.

Question 51

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 52

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 53

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 54

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 55

Which of the following is an example of privatization?

A) The federal government contracts with a private firm to operate a youth detention center.
B) A private business receives funding from the government to buy fair-trade products.
C) The government requires a hospital to purchase liability insurance through a government agency.
D) A public library receives a grant from the government to update its civics book collection.
E) A private business is able to reduce its overall spending by outsourcing some production to a government agency.

Question 56

Based on past experience, in what situation would you expect privatization of government services to be most successful?

A) When the economy is strong
B) When the economy is weak
C) At the local level
D) At the federal level
E) When Congress and the presidency are controlled by different political parties

Question 57

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 58

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 59

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 60

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 61

Discuss ways in which political participation and affiliation of federal employees has changed under the spoils system, the Hatch Act, and the 1993 Federal Employees Political Activities Act.

Question 62

What are the rules that guide the operation of government programs called?

A) Regulations
B) Mandates
C) Ordinances
D) Advisories
E) Referenda

Question 63

Consider a situation in which Congress is not pleased with the direction taken by a federal agency. How can Congress punish or otherwise exert control over that agency?

A) By cutting its budget
B) By deflecting interest to another issue
C) By confirming a nominee to a top agency post
D) By implementing one of the agency's programs
E) By asking for a pocket veto

Question 64

Describe the difference between a political appointee and a civil servant. Discuss how these two types of employees obtain their jobs.

Question 65

Explain why presidents find the bureaucracy is not always as responsive as they might like.

Question 66

Provide a detailed discussion of how the Pendleton Act changed the nature of civil service employees.

Question 67

The official published record of all executive branch rules, regulations, and orders is referred to as which of the following?

A) The Administrative Register
B) The Congressional Record
C) The Executive Record
D) The Federal Register
E) The Official Record

Question 68

Explain the concept of bureaucracy and why bureaucracies are necessary.

Question 69

Identify the different types of governmental organizations, and describe the features and functions of each.

Question 70

Discuss the history of attempts to reform the process of how individuals get positions in the federal bureaucracy.

Question 71

Which of the following would make up the three-way alliance known as an iron triangle?

A) Economic interests, citizen activists, and government interest groups
B) Lobbyists, interest groups, and court cases used to promote government action to help the interest of these groups
C) Interest groups, legislators, and members of the bureaucracy working to promote and protect their mutual interests
D) Political parties, interest groups, and voters who want their candidates to win
E) Citizens who have contacted members of Congress, presidential advisors, and members of the federal bureaucracy

Question 72

When the government sets limits on ingredients found in prescription medications or on factory emissions, this would be an example of which of the following?

A) A referendum
B) Deregulation
C) Gerrymandering
D) Regulation
E) An initiative

Question 73

Discuss the cabinet-level departments and the roles of the cabinet secretaries.

Question 74

Discuss some ways in which the size of the bureaucracy has changed over the history of the United States.

Question 75

Which of the following is responsible for oversight of the national bureaucracy?

A) Presidential staff
B) Congress
C) Supreme Court
D) Electoral College
E) Central Intelligence Agency

Question 76

Which of the following best explains why bureaucratic agencies often decide for themselves how to carry out the wishes of Congress?

A) Legislation is often too vague to effectively guide the bureaucracy.
B) Presidents want to use the bureaucracy to circumvent Congress.
C) They are enabled to do so by the legislation itself.
D) Legislation is often too vague to effectively guide the bureaucracy and presidents want to use the bureaucracy to circumvent Congress.
E) Legislation is often too vague to effectively guide the bureaucracy and they are enabled to do so by the legislation itself.

Question 77

Putting specific policies into operation is known as which of the following?

A) Policy development
B) The policy process
C) Incrementalism
D) Implementation
E) Bureaucratization

Question 78

Describe the evolution of the civil service with particular emphasis on legislation that implemented reforms in government employment policies.

Question 79

Members of Congress disagree with the operations of a particular department within the federal bureaucracy and want to force changes. What means do they have to exercise some control over that department?

A) Authority to select high-level bureaucrats
B) Authority to extend or limit appropriations
C) Authority to fire bureaucrats for not executing policy passed by Congress
D) Power to find agency actions unconstitutional
E) Power to appoint agency heads

Question 80

Discuss the reasons for the major growth of the bureaucracy. In your opinion, is it too big? Why or why not?