Chapter 14

Bureaucracy	According to Max Weber, a hierarchical authority structure that uses task specialization, operates on the merit principle, and behaves with impersonality.
Civil service	A system of hiring and promotion based on the merit principle and the desire to create nonpartisan government service.
Administrative discretion	The authority of administrative actors to select among various responses to a given problem. Discretion is greatest when routines, or standard operating procedures, do not fit a case.
Iron triangles	As known as subgovernments, iron triangles consist of interest groups, government agencies, and congressional committees, or sub committees that have a mutually dependant, mutually advantageous relationship; they dominate some areas of domestic policy making.
Legislative oversight	Congress’s monitoring of the executive branch bureaucracy and its administration of policy performed mainly through committee hearings.
Merit system/principle	The idea that hiring should be based on entrance exams and promotion rates to produce administration by people with talent and skill.
“Red tape”	A colloquial term used to describe the bureaucratic procedures, regulations, and paperwork that can slow down or impede the efficient functioning of government.
Independent executive agencies	The government agencies not accounted for by cabinet departments, their administrators are appointed by the president and serve at the president's pleasure.
Independent regulatory agencies/Commission	A government agency with responsibility for making and enforcing rules to protect the public interest in some sector of the economy, 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.
Pendleton Act	Passed in 1883, an act that created a federal civil service so that hiring and promotion would be based on merit rather than patronage.
Hatch Act	A federal law prohibiting government employees from active participation in partisan politics, while on duty for employees, in sensitive positions at any time.
Spoils System	A system of public employment based on rewarding party loyalists and friends.
Patronage	One of the key inducements used by party machines. A patronage job, promotion, or contract is one that is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone.
Incentive System	An alternative to command-and-control, with market-like strategies such as rewards used to manage public policy.
Policy Implementation	The stage of policy making between the establishment of a policy and the consequences of the policy for the people affected. Implementation involved translating the goal and objectives of a policy into an operating, ongoing program.
Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)	Better known as SOPs, these procedures for everyday decision making enable bureaucrats to bring efficiency and uniformity to the running of complex organizations. Uniformity promotes fairness and makes personnel interchangeable.
Regulation	The use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector.
Deregulation	The lifting of government restrictions on busi-ness, industry, and professional activities.
Command and Control policy/regulation	The typical system of regulation whereby the government tells businesses how to reach certain goals, checks that these commands are followed, and punishes offenders.
Discretionary power	An agency's ability to decide whether or not to take certain courses of action when implementing existing laws.
Rule-making authority	An agency's ability to make rules that affect how programs operate, and to force states and corporations to obey these rules as if they were laws.
Department of Homeland Security	Responsible for ensuring the safety and security of the United States from terrorist attacks and other disasters.
Department of Transportation	Regulates policy development and planning for all forms of transportation.
Department of Veterans Affairs	Administers laws that provide benefits for former members of the armed services and their dependents.
Department of Education	To promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring people's equal access.
Environmental Protection Agency	The largest federal independent regulatory agency, created in 1970 to administer much of U.S. environmental protection policy.
Federal Elections Commission	A six-member bipartisan agency created by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974. The Federal Election Commission administers and enforces campaign finance laws.
Securities and Exchange Commission	US government agency which oversees the operations of the stock markets which trade stocks, bonds, and other types of securities.
Oversight	Oversight is the essential function through which legislators determine whether current laws and appropriations are achieving intended results.
Power of the Purse	The constitutional power of Congress to raise and spend money.
Compliance Monitoring	Activities undertaken by bureaus to establish whether a process or procedure is carried out by corporations in conformance with relevant external requirements, whether set through legislation, regulations, or directions.

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