Mini Unit: The Institutions Of Government (Continued)

Front 1

bureaucracy

Back 1

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

Front 2

Pendelton Civil Service Act

Back 2

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

Front 3

merit principle

Back 3

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

Front 4

Hatch Act

Back 4

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

Front 5

Office of Personnel Management

Back 5

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

Front 6

GS rating

Back 6

A schedule for federal employees, ranging from GS 1 to GS 18, by which salaries can be keyed to rating and experience.

Front 7

Senior Executive Service

Back 7

An elite cadre of about 11,000 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 8

independent regulatory agency

Back 8

A government agency responsible for some sector of the economy, making and enforcing rules supposedly to protect the public interest. It also judges disputes over these rules. The Interstate Commerce Commission is an example. Compare government corporation and independent executive agency.

Front 9

government corporations

Back 9

A government organization that, like business corporations, provides a service that could be provided by the private sector and typically charges for its services. The U.S. Postal Service is an example. Compare independent regulatory agency and independent executive agency.

Front 10

independent executive agency

Back 10

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

Front 11

discretionary authority

Back 11

The power to make a decision where the choice of whether to make a decision is that of the decision maker.

Front 12

street-level bureaucrats

Back 12

A phrase coined by Michael Lipsky, referring to those bureaucrats who are in constant contact with the public and have considerable administrative discretion.

Front 13

regulation

Back 13

The use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector. Regulations pervade the daily lives of people and institutions.

Front 14

deregulation

Back 14

The lifting of restrictions on business, industry, and other professional activities for which government rules had been established and that bureaucracies had been created to administer.

Front 15

command and control policy

Back 15

According to Charles Schultze, the existing system of regulation whereby government tells business how to reach certain goals, checks that these commands are followed, and punishes offenders. Compare incentive system.