Chapter 15: The Bureaucracy

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Bureaucracy

an administrative group of nonelected officials charged with carrying out functions connected to a series of policies and programs

Bureaucrats

the civil servants or political appointees who fill non-elected positions in government and make up the bureaucracy

Civil Servants

the individuals who fill the non-elected positions in government and make up the bureaucracy; also known as bureaucrats

Government Corporations

a corporation that fulfills an important public interest and is therefore overseen by government authorities to a much larger degree than private business

Merit System

a system of filing civil service positions by using competitive examinations to value experience and competence over political loyalties

Negotiated Rulemaking

a rulemaking process in which neutral advisors convene a committee of those who have vested interests in the proposed rules and help the committee reach a consensus on them

Patronage

the use of government positions to reward individuals for their political support

Pay Schedule

a chart that shows salary ranges for different levels of positions vertically and for different ranks of seniority horizontally

Privatization

measures that incorporate the market forces of the private sector into the function of government to varying degrees

Public Administration

the implementation of public policy as well as the academic study that prepares civil servants to work in government

Red Tape

the mechanisms, procedures, and rules that must be followed to get something done

Spoils System

a system that rewards political loyalties or party support during elections with bureaucratic appointments after victory

Whistleblower

a person who publicizes misdeeds committed within a bureaucracy or other organization

Weberian Model

is the classic model of bureaucracy; agencies are apolitical, hierarchically organized, and governed by formal procedures.

Acquisitive Model

proposes that bureaucracies are naturally competitive and power-hungry. In this model,
bureaucracies will work to enhance their own status to the detriment of others.

Monopolistic Model

theorizes that it is the absence of competition that provides the greatest insight into how a bureaucracy works.

Cabinet Departments

are major executive offices that are directly accountable to the president.

Independent Executive Agencies

report directly to the president but are assigned far more focused tasks. They are independent of the regulatory authority of any specific department.

Oversight

Congress is empowered to apply this, because it isvthe power to control funding and approve presidential appointments

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

is the most powerful oversight tool

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

The president controls the bureaucracies by appointing the heads of the fifteen Cabinet departments and many independent executive agencies, such as the CIA, FBI,
and EPA. This office also conducts oversight through this.

Divestiture

or full privatization, occurs when government services are transferred, usually through sale, from government bureaucratic control into an entirely market-based private environment

Government Contracts

These are issued to private companies in order for them to provide necessary services is one of the best known forms of privatization.

Third-Party Financing

is a complex form of privatization where the federal government signs an agreement with a private entity so the two can form a special-purpose entity to take ownership of the object being financed