Chapter 9- The Bureaucracy Study Guide – Flashcards

definition: Jobs, grants, or special favors that are given as rewards to friends and political allies for their support. The firing of public-office holders of a defeated political party and their replacement with loyalists of the newly elected party. significance: Andrew Jackson used the spoil system, but today we used the merit system.

definition: The system created by the civil service laws by which many appointments to the federal bureaucracy are made. significance: The Pendleton Act, Civil Service Exam, Hatch Act and the federal employees Political Activities Act were apart of the civil service system.

definition: a prime appointment for someone that deserves the job significance: Hillary Clinton received the position of the white House as the political plum.

definition: Regulate some portion of the economy. Independent of direct presidential authority. significance: For example, SEC is used to level the playing field for all and keep it fair, while FEC was implemented for campaign finance.

definition: Governmental units that closely resemble a Cabinet department but have a narrower area of responsibility and are not part of any Cabinet department. significance: For example, the CIA and NASA is an independent executive agency

definition: The relatively stable relationships and patterns of interaction that occur among an agency, interest group and congressional committees or subcommittees. significance: Describes Bureaucracies influence on policymaking.

definition: Complex bureaucratic rules and procedures that must be followed to get something done. significance: One of 5 major problems with bureaucracy. Example, attendance for students in high school and college applications are red tape.

definition: Someone who brings public attention to gross governmental inefficiency or illegal action. They tell the federal authorities what is going on. significance: One of the problems of implementation of policy is bureaucratic inertia. This can be prevented by a whistleblower. They can save jobs.

definition: 1933 liberalization of the Hatch Act. Federal employees are now allowed to run for office in nonpartisan elections and to contribute money to campaigns in partisan elections. significance: Less strict than the Hatch Act.

definition: a set of complex hierarchical departments, agencies, commissions, and their staffs that exists to help a chief executive officer carrying out his or her duties. Bureaucracies may be private organizations of governmental units. significance: Americans often seemingly conflicting views about the federal government and its services were frustrated by complicated rules and the slowness of a particular agencies. The federal bureaucracy often is called the "fourth branch of government" because of the tremendous power that agencies and bureaus can exercise.

definition: the process by which a law or policy is put into operation by the bureaucracy. significance: Congress recognizes that it does not have the time, expertise, or ability to involve itself in every detail of every program; therefore, it sets general guidelines for agency action and leaves it to the agency to work out the details.

definition:the slow pace of large and highly complex organizations (bureaucracies) in accomplishing their tasks. significance: While sometimes organizations suffer from bureaucratic inertia because of workers' low productivity, bureaucratic inertia more often than not results from the many rules, regulations, policies, and procedures that public and governmental organizations legally have to follow.

definition: Reform measure that created the Civil Service Commission to administer a partial merit system. The act classified the federal service by grades, to which appointments were made based on the results of a competitive examination. It made it illegal for federal political appointees to be required to contribute to a particular political party significance: Public reaction to Garfield's death and increasing criticism of the spoils system prompted Congress to pass the Civil Service Reform Act in 1883 (Pendleton Act).

definition: Law enacted in 1939 to prohibit civil servants from taking activists role in partisan campaigns. This act prohibits federal employees from making political contributions, working for a particular party, or campaigning for a particular candidate. significance: Critics argued that it denied millions of federal employees 1st amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and association and discouraged political participation among a group of people who might otherwise be strong political activists. Critics also argue that civil servants should become more involved in campaigns, particularly at the state and local level, to understand better the needs of the citizens they serve.

definition: Rules that govern the operation of a particular government program that have the force of law. significance: The bureaucratic rule makers often acts as lawmakers as well as law enforces when they make rules or draft regulations to implement various congressional statutes.

definition: Businesses established by Congress that perform functions that could be provided by private businesses (such as the U.S. postal service). significance: Unlike other governmental agencies, government corporations charge for their services. The US postal service exist today to ensure delivery of mail throughout the U.S. at cheaper rates than those a private business might charge. ( Amtrak, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and TVA).

definition: the lifting of restrictions on business, industry, and professional activities for which government rules had been established and that bureaucracies had been created to administer. significance: For example, banks were deregulated and it caused recession.

definition: The loose and informal relationships that exist among a large number of actors who work in broad policy areas. significance: In general, issue networks, like iron triangles, include agency officials, members of Congress (and committee staffers), and interest group lobbyist. But, they also include lawyers, consultants, academics, public relations specialists, and sometimes even the courts. Unlike iron triangles, issue networks are constantly changing as members with technical expertise or newly interested parties become involved in issue areas

definition: The system by which federal civil service jobs are classified into grades or levels, to which appointments are made on the basis of performance on competitive examinations. significance: The Pendleton Act, reformed measure that created the Civil Service Commission to administer a partial merit system.