Karina Edouard
Chapter: 14 & 15
Chapter 15
Key Terms:
Patronage system: Also known as the spoils system when individuals were hired based on political reasons rather than merit or competence.
In 1883, the Pendleton Act was passed and put an end to patronage by creating the civil service, which allowed for hiring and promotion only to be done by means of merit and competence.
The Office of Personnel Management’s director is appointed by the President and later confirmed by the Senate. The OPM abides by strict rules and regulations pertaining to hiring, promotion, firing, and working conditions.
General Schedule: rating ranging from GS 1 to GS 18. This rating will help determine one’s salary. The highest positions held within the civil service system, roughly about 9000 members, are referred to as the Senior Executive Service.
Hatch Act, passed in 1939 and amended in 1993, prohibits civil service employees from actively participating in partisan politics while on duty. If an employee is off duty, they are allowed to engage in political activity, however they are not allowed to run for partisan elective office positions or accept contributions from the public.
Weberian Model is illustrated as the “classic” and “rational” conception of a bureaucracy. Within a bureaucracy, according to Max Weber, there are four elements: hierarchical authority structure, task specialization, merit principle, and impersonality.
Acquisitive Bureaucracy: operates on the basis of self-preservation. Bureaucracies are seen as private corporations, only trying to maximize their budgets and expand their powers. Their primary objective is to “sell” their agency’s “product”. They forcefully try to maximize funding for their agency from the national budget.
Garbage Can Model can be seen as ambling and groping. It is the idea that within an agency, there is a loose collection of ideas floating around.
Cabinet Department: A secretary chosen by the president and approved by the Senate heads each of the fourteen cabinet departments. Each department has a unique mission and is organized somewhat differently. The real work of a department is done in the bureaus, which divide the work into more specialized areas. Example: Department of Justice
Independent Regulatory Agency: government agency responsible from sectors in the economy. This agency makes, judges disputes and reinforces rules. These rules protect the public interest. Example: FRB ( the Federal Reserve Board)
Independent Executive Agency: make up the remaining parts of the government that do not consist of cabinet departments, regulatory commissions, and not government corporations. Administrators are appointed by the president. Example: General Service Administration
Government Corporation: a government organization that functions like a business. They provide services that can be found in private sectors, and usually charge for their services. Example: TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)
Presidents may use executive orders to agencies. These orders are the equivalent to law and are used to implement statutes, treaties, and provisions of the Constitution.
An iron triangle is formed when agencies, groups, and committees depend on one another to get certain tasks done or are in frequent contact with one another.
Summaries:
A. Some Bureaucratic Myths and Realities
The most prevalent MYTHS about bureaucracy are that 1) Americans dislike bureaucrats, 2) Bureaucracies are growing bigger each year, 3) Most federal bureaucrats work in Washington, D.C., and 4) Bureaucracies are ineffective, inefficient, and always mired in red tape. A plurality of all federal civilian employees works for just a few federal agencies.
B. What is Implementation?
Bureaucracies are essentially implementers of policy. They develop procedures and rules for implementing policy goals and manage the routines of government. Public policies are rarely self-executing. Congress typically announces the goals of a policy in broad terms, sets up an administrative apparatus, and leaves the bureaucracy the task of working out the details of the program. Policy implementation is the stage of policymaking between the establishment of a policy and the consequences of the policy for the people whom it affects. Implementation includes three elements: 1) creation of a new agency or assignment of responsibility to an old agency, 2) translation of policy goals into operational rules of thumb, and 3) coordination of resources and personnel to achieve the goals.
Best Example: The 1965 Voting Rights Act represents a successful case of implementation because its goal was clear (to register large numbers of African-American voters); its implementation was straightforward (sending out people to register them); and the authority of the implementers was clear (they had the support of the attorney general and even U.S. marshals) and concentrated in the Justice Department, which was disposed to implementing the law vigorously.
C. Regulation in the Economy and in Everyday Life
Government regulation is the use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector. Everyday life is the subject of bureaucratic regulation. Almost all bureaucratic agencies are in the regulatory business.
D. How to President’s try to impose policy preferences?
Presidents try to impose their policy preferences on agencies by 1) appointing the right people to head the agency; 2) issuing executive orders; 3) tinkering with an agency’s budget; and 4) reorganizing an agency. Congress can take measures to oversee the bureaucracy, such as, 1) influencing the appointment of agency heads; 2) tinkering with an agency’s budget; 3) holding hearings; and 4) rewriting the legislation or making it more detailed.
Multiple Choice:
1. According to the sociologist Max Weber, a bureaucracy depends on all of the following elements EXCEPT?
A. A hierarchical authority structure
B. Task generalization
C. Extensive rules
D. Impersonality
2. Title such as “counsel”, “assistant to the president”, “chief of staff”, “press secretary” are given to people who work in
A. Top cabinet positions
B. Independent executive agencies
C. Government corporation
D. The White House Office
E. The Executive Office of the President
3. The most important reason that most president do not treat their cabinets as advisory bodies is that cabinet secretaries
A. Are generally appointed from the opposition party
B. Seek to defend and promote their departments in meetings with the president
C. Generally dislike one another because most have ambitions to be president
D. Have everyday access to the president during one-on-one meetings
E. Do not have much power over decisions that their agency heads make
4. In what way is the bureaucracy of the federal government different from most other large bureaucracies
A. It has more task specialization
B. Its rules are more extensive
C. It has clearer goals
D. It is administered more personally
E. It reports to two authorities: the president and Congress
5. The major power to create, organize, and disband federal agencies is given to
A. The president
B. The Director of the Office of Management and the Budget
C. Congress
D. The cabinet secretaries
E. The Supreme Court
6. Which of the following is not a power of Congress to control the bureaucracy
A. Rewriting legislation
B. Conducting hearings to oversee the enforcement of laws
C. Firing the heads of agencies
D. Approving funds for bureaucratic programs
E. Redistributing bureau responsibilities
7. Which of the following is an example of a federal independent agency
A. Securities and Exchange Commission
B. Federal Trade Commission
C. National Relations Board
D. National Aeronautic and Space Administration
E. Federal Aviation Administration
8. The main obstacle to the successful implementation of the policy prohibiting sex discrimination in intercollegiate athletics was
A. public opinion concerning the appropriateness of all sports for participation by women.
B. opposition by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
C. the exemption of "revenue-producing" sports.
D. the lack of clarity and vague policy goals stated in Title IX.
9. The Supreme Court case of Munn v. Illinois (1877)
A. upheld the constitutionality of the Interstate Commerce Commission.
B. set the precedent for deregulation.
C. declared that regulation was not within the realm of state powers.
D. upheld the right of government to regulate the business operations of a firm.
10. Deregulation is responsible, at least in part, for each of the following EXCEPT [Hint]
A. competitive airline fares.
B. the proliferation of government agencies.
C. environmental damage.
D. an expensive bailout of the savings and loan industry.
FRQ: 6 Points
1. The federal bureaucracy as part of the executive branch exercises substantial independence in implementing governmental policies and programs. Most workers in the federal bureaucracy are civil-service employees who are organized under a merit system.
(a) Describe one key characteristic of the merit system.
(b) For each of the following, describe one factor that contributes to bureaucratic independence.
• The structure of the federal bureaucracy
• The complexity of public policy problems
(c) For each of the following, explain one Constitutional provision that it can use to check the bureaucracy.
• Congress
• The courts
• Interest groups
Answer Key
Multiple Choice
1. Answer B: According to Max Web, a bureaucracy depends on task specialization allows for experts to perform technical jobs instead of less experienced workers. By doing so, rules are implemented.
2. Answer D: Titles as such as usually associated with the White House Office, similar to how members of the cabinet are referred to as secretaries.
3. Answer B: If cabinets were treated like advisory bodies, nothing would get done and there would be an increase in red tape because they would only seek the best interests for their department.
4. Answer C: The bureaucracy of the government is broken down into specific departments that excel in specialization, compared to other larger bureaucracies that operate under one body.
5. Answer C: Congress is given the power to create, organize, and disband federal agencies in an attempt to check bureaucracies from becoming to powerful.
6. Answer C: The president is given the right to fire agency heads, however it is not a common action.
7. Answer D: The National Aeronautic and Space Administration is its own body and does not deal with the same functions as government corporations, regulatory agencies, and cabinet departments.
8. Answer D: Often times Congress will pass legislation leaving one provision vague in order to extend control over more upcoming issues.
9. Answer D: In the case of Munn v. Illinois, the main issues was whether or not the government had the right to regulate the business operations of a firm. In the end, the decision was upheld.
10. Answer B: Government agencies are not subject to the same regulations as other businesses and firms.
Answer Key:
1. (B).
2. (D).
3. (B).
4. ( C).
5. ( C).
6. ( C).
7. (D).
8. 8. D
9. 9. D
10. 10. B
FRQ
Part (a): 1 point
One point is earned for a description of a characteristic of the merit system. Answers may include:
• Hiring or promotion based on merit/experience/qualifications
• Hiring based on testing
Part (b): 2 points
One point is earned for each of two descriptions of factors contributing to bureaucratic independence. Answers may include:
• Structure of the bureaucracy
o Large
o Specialized units/expertise
o Tenure protections/hard to fire
o Based on merit
o Independent agencies/independent regulatory commissions
• Complexity of public policy problems
o Specialized units/expertise
o Delegated authority — because Congress and the president cannot handle everything, they delegate authority to the bureaucracy
o Discretionary authority — because legislation lacks details, the bureaucracy can fill in the gaps
Part (c): 3 points
One point is earned for each of three explanations of a constitutional provision that can check the bureaucracy. Answers may include:
• Congress
o Appropriations — can reward or punish agency
o Legislation — can pass legislation affecting the bureaucracy
o Rejection of presidential appointments to the bureaucracy
o Impeachment of executive officials
• Courts
o Court rulings that limit bureaucratic practices
o Judicial review — can declare bureaucratic actions unconstitutional
o Injunctions against federal agencies