Gov Chapter 15 Vocab

Front 1

Bureaucracy

Back 1

A hierarchical authority structure that uses task specialization, operates on the merit principal, and behaves with impersonality.

Front 2

Patronage

Back 2

One of the key inducements used by political machines. This job, promotion, or contract is one that is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone.

Front 3

Pendleton Civil Service Act

Back 3

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

Front 4

Civil service

Back 4

A system of hiring and promotion based on the merit principal and the desire to create a nonpartisan government service.

Front 5

Merit principle

Back 5

The idea that hiring should be based on entrance exams in promotion ratings to produce administration by people with talent and skill.

Front 6

Hatch Act

Back 6

The federal law prohibiting government employees from active participation in partisan politics.

Front 7

Office of Personal Management

Back 7

The office in charge of hiring for most agencies of the federal government, using elaborate rules in the process.

Front 8

(GS) General Schedule rating

Back 8

The schedule for federal employees, by which salaries can be keyed to rating and experience.

Front 9

Senior Executive Service

Back 9

An elite cadre of about 9,000 federal government managers, established by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, who are mostly career officials but include some political appointees who do not require Senate confirmation.

Front 10

Independent regulatory commission

Back 10

A government agency responsible for some sector of the economy, making and enforcing rules to protect the public interest. It also judges disputes over these rules.

Front 11

Government corporations

Back 11

A government organization that, like business corporations, provides a service that could be provided by the private sector and typically charges for its services.

Front 12

Independent executive agency

Back 12

The government not accounted for by cabinet departments, independent regulatory commissions, and government corporations. Its administrators are typically appointed by the President and serve at the president's pleasure. NASA is an example.

Front 13

Policy implementation

Back 13

The stage of policymaking between the establishment of a policy and the consequences of the policy for the people whom it affects.

Front 14

Standard operating procedures

Back 14

These procedures are used by bureaucrats to bring uniformity to complex organizations.

Front 15

Street-level bureaucrats

Back 15

Bureaucrats who are in constant contact with the public and have considerable administrative discretion.

Front 16

Regulation

Back 16

The use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector.

Front 17

Deregulation

Back 17

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.

Front 18

Command-and-control policy

Back 18

The typical system of regulation whereby government tells business how to reach certain goals, checks that these commands are followed, and punishes offenders.

Front 19

Executive orders

Back 19

Regulations originating from the executive branch.

Front 20

Iron Triangles

Back 20

A mutually dependent relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees.

Front 21

Bureaucrat

Back 21

A career government employee.

Front 22

Department

Back 22

Usually the largest organization in government with the largest mission; also the highest rank in Federal hierarchy.

Front 23

Independent agency

Back 23

A government entity that is independent of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Front 24

Spoils system

Back 24

A system of public employment based on rewarding party loyalists and friends.

Front 25

Implementation

Back 25

The process of putting a law into practice through bureaucratic rules or spending.

Front 26

Administrative discretion

Back 26

Authority given by Congress to the Federal bureaucracy to use reasonable judgment in implementing the laws.

Front 27

Rule-making process

Back 27

The formal process for making regulations.

Front 28

Uncontrollable spending

Back 28

The portion of the Federal budget that is spent on programs, such as Social Security, that the President and Congress are unwilling to cut.

Front 29

Entitlement programs

Back 29

Programs such as unemployment insurance, disability relief, or disability payments that provide benefits to all eligible citizens.

Front 30

Indexing

Back 30

Providing automatic increases to compensate for inflation.

Front 31

Oversight

Back 31

Legislative or executive review of a particular government program or organization. Can be in response to the crisis of some kind or part of routine review.

Front 32

Central clearance

Back 32

Review of all executive branch testimony, reports, and draft legislation by the Office of Management and Budget to ensure that each communication to Congress is in accordance with the president's program.

Front 33

Incentive system

Back 33

A more effective and efficient policy than command-and-control; marketing strategies are used to manage public policy.