AP US Government - Chapter 14 | Quizlet

Bureaucracy

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

Patronage

A patronage job, promotion, or contract that is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone

Pendleton Civil Service Act

1883: An act that created a federal civil service so that hiring and promotion would be based on merit rather than patronage

Civil service

Hiring and promotions based on merit principle and the desire to create a nonpartisan government service

Merit principle

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

Hatch Act

Prohibits government employees from active participation in partisan politics while on duty or for employees in sensitive positions at any time

Office of Personnel Management

Office in charge of hiring for most agencies of the federal government, using elaborate rules in the process

General Schedule rating

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

Senior Executive Service

An elite cadre of about 9,000 federal government managers at the top of the civil service system

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

Government corporations

A government organization that, like business corporations, provides a service that could be delivered by the private sector and typically charges for its services (Ex: US Postal Service)

Independent executive agencies

The government agencies not accounted for by cabinet departments, independent regulatory commissions by the president and serve at the president's pleasure (Ex: NASA)

Policy implementation

The stage of policy-making 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

Standard operating procedures

Better known as SOPs, these procedures for everyday decision making enable bureaucrats to bring efficiency and uniformity to the running of complex organizations

Administrative discretion

The authority of administrative actors to select among various responses to a given problem

Street-level bureaucrat

A phrase referring to those bureaucrats who are in constant contact with the public and have considerable administrative discretion

Regulation

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

Deregulation

The lifting of government restrictions on business, industry, and professional activities

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 punishes offenders

Incentive system

An alternative to command-and-control, with marketlike strategies such as rewards used to manage public policy

Executive orders

Regulations originating with the executive branch (a way for the president to control the bureaucracy)

Iron triangles

Also known as subgovernments, a mutually dependent, mutually advantageous relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees