Sammy Quiroz

Chapter 15 Terms - The Federal Bureaucracy

# Term Definition

1 Bureaucracy According to Max Weber, a hierarchical structure of authority that

uses task specialization, operates on the merit principle and behaves
with impersonality. The opinion of the federal bureaucracy is
negative as a whole (except with bureaucrats 1 on 1), but it really
isn’t all bad. The government could not function without the Federal
Bureaucracy.

2 Patronage A system wherein jobs and promotions are awarded for political
reasons rather than for merit or competence. Until 100ish years ago,
people obtained gov’t jobs through the patronage system. (who they
knew, working in campaigns, large donations...)

3 Pendleton Civil Service Act Passed in 1883, an act that created a federal civil service so that hiring
and promotion would be based on merit rather than patronage.

4 Civil Service A system of hiring and promotion based on the merit principle and
the desire to create a nonpartisan government service.

5 Merit Principle The idea that hiring should be based on entrance exams and
promotion ratings to produce administration by people with talent and
skill. People are protected against losing their jobs because of their
political views.

6 Hatch Act A federal law which prohibits government employees from active
participation in partisan politics while on duty or for employees in
sensitive positions (those in national security) at any time. While off
duty, civil service employees may engage in political activities, but
they cannot run for partisan elective offices or solicit contributions
from the public.

7 Office of Personnel Management
The office in charge of hiring for most agencies of the federal
government, using elaborate rules in the process. Director is
appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. They have
rules regarding hiring, promotion, working conditions, and firing.
They submit 3 names of people who are qualified and have scored
well on the test to agencies with open positions. Rules against firing
are criticized because critics think it is too hard to get fired and
incompetent workers are kept around performing trivial tasks instead
of being fired.

8 Cabinet Departments Incoming administrations have to fill top federal jobs within the
bureaucracy. Congress publishes the Plum Book with jobs listed the
require presidential appointment and senate confirmation. There are
about 500 of these top posts (cabinet secretaries, undersecretaries etc).
Presidents [are supposed to] appoint qualified personnel who reflect
the country’s demographic makeup and support the administration’s
agenda. Cabinet department secretary positions are impermanent.
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Positions such as ambassadorships may go to large campaign

contributors. Presidential appointees, although loyal to the
administration, don’t stay long enough to fully succeed in their work,
and their inexperience contributes to their failure. Career civil
servants and senior members of the department know more and have
been there longer; appointees rely on them. Each cabinet department
manages specific policy and has its own budget and staff. Work is
divided into more specialized sectors in the bureaus.

9 Independent Regulatory Commission A government agency with responsibility for making and enforcing
rules to protect the public interest in some sector of the economy and
for judging disputes over these rules. Examples include the Federal
Reserve Board FRB, National Labor Relations Board NLRB, Federal
Communications Commission FCC, FTC, SEC. Each is governed by
5-10 commissioners appointed by pres and approved by Senate.
Regulatory Commission members can’t be fired without “just cause”
because of Humphrey’s Executor v. United States where they argued
that FDR fired a member name Humphrey without reason. Interest
groups think IRCs are extremely important because they impose
restrictions on businesses and consumers. Some commission
members go on to work for the companies they were regulating while
working in the bureaucracy.

10 Government Corporation A government organization that, like business corporations, provides

a service that could be delivered by the private sector and typically
charges for its service. USPS, Amtrak, TVA.

11 Independent Executive Agency The government agencies not accounted for by cabinet departments,
IRCs, and government corporations. Administrators are typically
appointed by the president and serve at the president’s pleasure.
NASA, NSF (National Science Foundation)

12 Policy implementation (process) The stage of policymaking between the establishment of a policy and
the consequences of the policy for the people affected.
Implementation involves translating the goals and objectives of a
policy into an operating, ongoing program. Bureaucracies are
implementers of policy; they develop the procedure and rules for
implementation. Congress will announce the broad goals of policy,
set up an administrative apparatus and leave the bureaucracy to work
out the details of the program. Implementation includes three
elements:
1. Creation of a new agency or assignment of a new
responsibility to an old agency
2. Translation of policy goals into operational rules and
development of guidelines for the program
3. Coordination of resources and personnel to achieve the
intended goals.
Voting Rights Act of 1965, although controversial at the time,w as
implemented successfully because its goals were clear, the majority
of the task was confined to a single department, and a procedure was
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clearly identified.

13 Policy implementation (failure) Reasons policy implementation fails:

1. Program design
If program is poorly designed it can’t be carried out effectively.
2. Lack of clarity
Unclear wording of a section in Title XI created different
interpretations.
3. Lack of resources
4. Administrative Routine
Routine and rules are necessary but when not appropriate to the
situation they can become frustrating “red tape”
5. Administrator's dispositions
Administrative discretion, street-level bureaucrats
6. Fragmentation
When the responsibility for policy is dispersed among too many units
within the bureaucracy.

14 Standard operating procedures (SOPs) These procedures for everyday decision-making enable bureaucrats to
bring efficiency and uniformity to the running of complex
organizations. Uniformity promotes fairness and makes personnel
interchangeable. Standard rules save agencies time.

15 Administrative discretion The authority of administrative actors to select among various

responses to a given problem. Discretion is greatest when routines, or
SOPs don’t fit a case.

16 Street-level bureaucrats Refers to those bureaucrats that are in constant contact with the public
and have considerable administrative discretion. Includes police
officers, welfare workers, and lower-court judges. Example of a
police officer’s administrative discretion: when they stop you they
can choose to give you a warning or a ticket

17 Fragmentation Too many agencies covering a single policy issue. For example, 33
departments and agencies had some responsibility for the issue of
border security in 2002. Hard to coordinate between agencies that
lack a history of trust and cooperation. So is if this is a problem why
not reorganize? Congressional committees don't want to lose
jurisdiction over their agencies if the agencies merge. Interest groups
don’t want to give up the close relationship with “their” agencies.
Agencies themselves don’t want to be submerged within a broader
bureaucratic unit. All groups fight reorganization. Creation of the
Dept of Homeland Security after 9/11 was the biggest reorganization
in half a century.

18 Regulation The use of governmental authority to control or change some practice

in the private sector. Maybe the most controversial role of the
bureaucracy. The Interstate Commerce Commission was the first
federal regulatory agency created by Congress. Came out of Munn v.
Illinois. The appropriate agency may specify how much food coloring
it will permit in a hot dog, how many contaminants it will allow an
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industry to dump into a stream, or how much radiation from a nuclear

reactor is too much. All regulation contains these elements:
1. A grant of power and set of directions from Congress
2. A set of rules and guidelines by the regulatory agency
3. Some means of enforcing compliance with congressional
goals and agency regulations.

19 Deregulation The lifting of government restrictions on business, industry, and

professional activities. Regulation creates problems such as:
● Elevated prices → expensive regulations = expensive
product
● Hurts America’s competitive position abroad → American
products may cost more in the international marketplace
● Regulations fail to work well → some claim they simply
create massive regulatory bureaucracies.
Deregulation isn’t supported by all; it has led to severe environmental
damage.

20 Command-and-control policy The typical system of regulation whereby government tells business
how to reach certain goals, checks that these commands are followed,
and punished offenders

21 Incentive system An alternative to command and control, with marketlike strategies

such as rewards used to manage public policy.

22 President control of the bureaucracy Their tactics include:

● Appoint the right people to head the agency
● Issue executive order
● Alter an agency’s budget
○ OMB
● Reorganize an agency

23 Congress control of the bureaucracy Congress controls some of the agencies such as the Library of
Congress.Congress monitors the federal bureaucracy to make sure its
agencies act properly and is constitutional. Congress has the power to
override regulations that they do not approve of or feels like it distorts
its intent.
Influence the appointment of agency heads,alter an agency’s budget,
hold hearings, rewrite the legislation or make it more detailed.

24 Executive orders Regulations originating with the executive branch. Carry the force of
law and are used to implement statutes, treaties, and provisions of the
Constitution.

25 Iron Triangles Also known as subgovernments, a mutually dependent, mutually

advantageous relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest
groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees. Iron
triangles dominate some areas of domestic policymaking.

26 Issue Networks An alliance of various interest groups and individuals who unite in
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order to promote a common cause or agenda in a way that influences

government policy. Issue networks can be either domestic or
international in scope depending on their collective goal.