Ch 10. Bureaucracy

Affirmative Action

A set of policies designed to help organizations recruit and promote employees who are members of disadvantaged groups

Bureaucracy

Public agencies and the programs and services they implement and manage

Bureaucrats

Employees of public agencies

Collective Bargaining

A process in which representatives of labor and management meet to negotiate pay and benefits, job responsibilities, and working conditions

Contracting Out

Government hiring of private or nonprofit organizations to deliver public goods or services

Merit System

A system used in public agencies in which employment and promotions are based on qualifications and demonstrated ability; such a system blends very well with the organizational characteristics of bureaucracy

Neutral Competence

The idea that public agencies should be the impartial implementers of democratic decisions

Patronage

The process of giving government jobs to partisan loyalists

Policy Implementation

The process of translating the express wishes of government into action

Professionalization

The rewarding of jobs in a bureaucratic agency based on applicants' specific qualifications and merit

Representative Bureaucracy

The idea that public agencies that reflect the diversity of the communities they serve will be more effective

Rulemaking

The process of translating laws into written instructions on what public agencies will or will not do

Seniority

The length of time a worker has spent in a position

Spoils System

A system under which an electoral winner has the right to decide who works for public agencies.

Street-level Bureaucrat

A lower-level public agency employee who actually takes the actions outlined in law or policy