Ap Gov Bureaucracy Test Questions – Flashcards

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the hierarchial system of agencies, departments, etc that report to/work under a single chief executive
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bureaucracy
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the firing of the office holders of a defeated party and replacing them with loyalists of the newly elected party
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spoils system
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German sociologist who said that bureaucracies are rational but require rules; hierarchial
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Max Weber
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bureaucracies are _________ing
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shrink
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do americans dislike the bureaucracy?
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no
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are most bureaucrats located in DC?
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no
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bureaucracy divides labor amongst specialized workers
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weber suggestion
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why is it necessary to clear the lines of authority within a bureaucracy?
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argument is a transaction cost
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impersonality; employees get treated based on performance and all clients are served equally
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weber suggestion
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according to Weber, work should be carried out and evaluated according to...to increase productivity
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established rules
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willingly giving up power; Congress risks laws not being implemented properly if it delegates authority to a single exec
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agency loss
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what does the bureaucracy do in terms of the three branches?
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it links and is checked by them
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the model bureaucracy is a __________ _____________
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purposive machine
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members of the bureaucracy are ideally ___________ to facilitate collective action
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interchangable
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state, war, and treasury, plus an attorney general
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original executive departs (only non-postal service fed jobs)
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grew with the growth of the country
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postal service
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POTUS to put the postmaster in the Cabinet; spoils system and rotation in office
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Jackson
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Complex bureaucratic rules and procedures that must be strictly adhered to
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red tape
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used to "balance/fix" the incompetence and corruption that could stem from rotation in office
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red tape
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Jacksonian idea that no one is a career politician; every man serves for one or two terms in gov just to experience it and then leaves to do a regular job
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rotation in office
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brought in thousands of additional federal employees; department of Agriculture created (relation?)
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civil war
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originally (1789+) chosen for their character to make an honest and competent gov
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bureaucratic officers
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sparked ideas of reform of/in the patronage system
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whiskey ring and garfield assasination
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Grant administration; group of officials importing whiskey and using their offices to avoid its taxes, cheating the treasury out of millions
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whiskey ring
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created merit system through open, competitive exams; 10% of people first affected by it, now 90%; created plum book
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pendleton act of 1883
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principal hires agent to work on his/her behalf, often contractual; agent must work in best interest of the principal
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principal-agent relationship
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undermine principal goals when a member of an agency does/knows something unbeknownst to the chief
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hidden actions/information
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first real independent regulatory commission, terminated in 1995; regulated rail roads;
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ICC (interstate commerce commission)
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monitor and direct an economic activity/interest specified by Congress; provide expertise on economic activities to congress & courts
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independent regulatory commission
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created under Teddy Roosevelt (progressive era) to oversee work relations; divided into two sections/cabinets under Wilson
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department of commerce and labor
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1914; gov agency responsible for enforcing principles of a free enterprise system and protecting consumers from unfair business practices
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FTC (federal trade commission)
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created income taxes; provided a major new source of revenue for the federal gov; allowed even more growth of gov
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16th amendment
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inspired people to become career bureaucrats
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civil service system
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led to further growth of the bureaucracy
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progressive era
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created hundreds of new gov agencies to regulate the economy; billions of bureaucracy jobs -> Americans became more reliant on federal gov role in their lives
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new deal
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LBJ program in the 1960's to provide greater social services for the poor and elderly
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war on poverty
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war on poverty-based program that provided for the equal opportunity for employment of blacks/women; waits for complaints to respond
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equal employment and opportunity commission
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war on poverty-based program that regulated housing
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department of housing and urban development
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war on poverty-based program that institutes and coordinates national transportation programs
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department of transportation
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1939 in response to growth of employees from new deal; prevented federal workers from directly involving themselves in working for political candidates
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hatch act
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1993; balanced hatch act by allowing federal employees to participate/run in nonpartisan campaigns (school board eg) and campaign for partisan candidates
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FEPAA (federal employees political activities act)
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in charge of hiring for most federal agencies; rule of three; sponsors PMF
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OPM (office of personnel management)
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3 candidates selected by OPM after exams etc which are then chosen from by boss; CAN be friends
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rule of three
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roughly 9000 at top of the GS system
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senior executive service
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environmental crisis response agency; independent agency focused on responding to natural and other disasters
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FEMA
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coolidge plan to reduce the government by cutting 2% of every department
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two percent club
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what bureaucracies work for (unlike private businesses)
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public good
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aren't driven by reelection (gov) or profit (business)
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bureaucratic agencies
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bureaucratic agencies are responsible to...
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the people
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bush plan: fire low-level federal workers and replace with private business ownership
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privatization
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nixon plan to give power back to the states and reduce national gov involvement in domestic affairs
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new federalism
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federal employment # compared with that of state & local
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way less than
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state employment # is...while local is uber high
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increasing
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it is difficult to fire a bureaucrat after...
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probationary period
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how most bureaucrats get their jobs
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merit
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last 10% of bureaucracy; upper levels
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potus appointees
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are federal bureaucrats CAREER government employees?
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yes
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GS 1-15; competitive exams and rule of three
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low levels
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GS 16-18; senior executive service; resumes and interviews
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mid levels
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appointive policy-making positions; ind regulatory commissioners; low-level nonpolicy patronage positions
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3 appointee positions
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bureaucrats reflect...
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country demographics
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decentralization; increased access
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reason for 10 bureaucratic regions
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spread federal money amongst regional offices
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reason for 10 bureaucratic regions
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federal workforce is getting older (is...)
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graying
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# of cabinet departments, except justice which has an attorney general
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15
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60% of federal workforce
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cabinet departments
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clientele agencies that cater to specific people/interests/goals - nationally and regionally
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cabinet departments
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FDIC, USPS, TVA and amtrak
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examples of gov corporations
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NLRB, Federal Reserve Board, FCC, FDA, ICC, and SEC
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examples of ind regulatory commissions
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businesses established by congress that perform tasks that could be provided by private businesses; established whenever congress sees a need
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gov corporations
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produce revenue and have more flexibility than most federal agencies; usually have lower rates than the private sector
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gov corporations
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agencies created by Congress to regulate a specific economic activity/interest; develop areas of expertise
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ind regulatory commissions
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are an attempt to restrict the influence of POTUS and party on regulations (problem of delegation)
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ind regulatory commissions
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provide continuity of policy because they don't change by POTUS
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ind regulatory commissions
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the quasi-judicial process in which a disagreement between two parties is settled by a bureaucratic agency in a court-ish manner
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administrative adjudication
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use of gov authority to change practice in the private sector; force of law
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regulations
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the legislative-ish process that is similar to that of a legislative act;
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rule making
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bureaucrats' decision on how to implement law/policies (bend the rules)
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administrative discretion
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specifically-designed working groups of many department reps that organize and help in policymaking and implementation
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interagency councils
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temporary informal relationship system between numerous 'actors' in large policy areas; people based interest groups, congressional staffs, universities and think tanks,and in the mass media; regularly discuss and advocate public policies
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issue network
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formal and stable relationship between an agency, interest group, and a congressional committee; communication is still informal though
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iron triangle
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known as 'sub-governments'
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iron triangles
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putting a law or policy into effect
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implementation
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basically almost-Cabinet departments; heads are appointed/removed by POTUS
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ind executive agencies
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social security, NASA, EPA, CIA, GSA, NSF, Peace Corps
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examples of ind executive agencies
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regulates federal property, handling buildings, supplies, and purchasing
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GSA
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created by Nixon after recognizing the public's demand for/of it
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EPA
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does a bureaucratic agency necessarily need a strong leader?
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yes
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title ix of the education act of 1972; "reasonable provisions"
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example of lack of clarity
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perform service rather than regulatory functions
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ind executive agencies
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...may cause the creation of a new agency or give new assignments to an existing one
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implementation of legislation
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translates goals into rules and coordinates people/resources
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implementation
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implementation failure: defective theoretical concept
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program design
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implementation failure: vauge law; leaves imp. up to bureaucracy; may give contradictory orders
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lack of clarity
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implementation failure: eg staff, training, funding, equipment; may also lack authority to carry out their responsibilities
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lack of resources
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standard operating procedures
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SOPs
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bureaucrats who are in constant contact with the public and have considerable administrative discretion
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street-level bureaucrats
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implementation failure: too many agencies covering a single issue
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fragmentation
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45 agencies on immigration; 150 training programs
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example of fragmentation
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congressional committees lose jurisdictions
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reorganization issue (1)
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agencies want to keep their authority
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reorganization issue (2)
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interest groups want to keep their relationships
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reorganization issue (3)
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implementation failure: follow SOPs to avoid decisions; red tape
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admin routines
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implementation failure: some bureaucrats have authority to select among various responses to a given problem
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admin dispositions
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..., agencies must apply and enforce it in court or through administrative procedures
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to make a rule
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1946; most important attempt by Congress to define the nature and process of bureaucratic decision making; gives everyone a chance to participate in rule-making
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Administrative Procedures Act
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public notice of the time, place, and nature of the rule-making proceedings provided in the Federal Register
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APA effect (1)
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interested parties must be given the opportunity to submit written arguments/facts relevant to the rule; basis of the rule stated
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APA effect (2)
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generally 30 days must pass before new rules take effect; sometimes agencies are required to conduct a formal hearing before issuing rules
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APA effect (3)
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...power/directions from congress and guidelines from an agency, and enforce compliance with congressional goals
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regulations have
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affect everyday life
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regulations (bureaucratic agencies)
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...tend to wait for complaints before acting [nonspecific]
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small agencies
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biggest reorganization in 50 years
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homeland security
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coordinate policymaking across a host of gov agencies; policy coordinating committees
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interagency councils
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voting rights act of 1965; justice department sent officials to register people to vote so sheriffs can't deny blacks
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example of successful implementation
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most important ind regulatory commission; regulates the economy itself
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federal reserve board
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eg of sending inspectors out in the field
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OSHA (occupational safety and heatlh admin)
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eg of waiting for people to come to them
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fcc
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lifting restraints on business, industry, and professional activities for which gov rules and bureaucracies had been established to administer
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deregulation
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reagan was strongly in favor of but was really started under Carter; increased until Obeezy
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deregulation
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expensive regulation is passed to customer; hurts america's position abroad against nations (China) with less regulation
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reason for deregulation
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inspectors go out and look for activity; GAO to ensure accountability
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police patrol oversight
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sit around and wait for an emergency to act
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fire alarm oversight
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bureaucracies aren't elected, like...; is undemocratic
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the courts
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court order to prevent implementation
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injunction
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legal action; law suit
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litigation
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someone who finds wrongdoing in a fed or private agency, collects info, and gives it to law enforcement so they can sue; congress protected so that they aren't allowed to lose their jobs and get monetary compensation
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whistle-blower
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POTUS appoints heads with similar policy goals; risk that they'll be more loyal to agency than POTUS
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marry the natives
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POTUS must balance appointees with _______ support
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senate
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POTUS master control instrument; performs central clearance
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OMB
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potus can request congress to _____________
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reorganize
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may change/reduce an agency's budget
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POTUS
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potus __________ uses executive order on the bureaucracy to reduce confrontation; TJ, Coolidge, and Clinton tried to make the bureaucracy more accountable
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rarely
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cannot be stood up against; is the pimp to the bureaucratic agency's hoes
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congress
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reason for administrative oversight not really being a Congress priority
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doesn't help reelection
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can set time limits to easily limit agency's authority; demands mandatory reports; has the sole power to create/abolish agencies
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congress
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the maximum amount of funding of an agency as set by congress
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authorization
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the actual amount of $ given to agency; sometimes less than authorized
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appropriation
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is passive, waits for problems; ensures that agencies adhere to due process rights
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judicial branch
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can be appealed to from district courts
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supreme court
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tends to defer to bureaucrats and gives them leeway; tends to strike down executive agencies more than independant ones
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judicial branch
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