AP Government: Chapter 9 The Bureaucracy
About this set
Created by:
jboland718 on March 19, 2011
Subjects:
Log in to favorite or report as inappropriate.
Order by
20 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 bureaucracy | A set of complex hierarchical departments, agencies, commissions, and their staff that exist to help a chief executive officer carry out his or her duties. Bureaucracies may be private organizations of governmental units. |
| spoils system | the firing of public-office holders of a defeated political party and their replacement with loyalists of the newly elected party. |
| patronage | Jobs, grants, or other special favors that are given as rewards to friends and political allies for their support. |
| Pendleton Act | Reform measure that created the Civil Service Commission to administer a partial merit system. The act classified the federal service by grades, to which appointments were made based on the results of a competitive examination. It made it illegal for federal political appointees to be required to contribute to a particular political party. |
| civil service system | The system created by civil service laws by which many appointments to the federal bureaucracy are made. |
| merit system | the system by which federal civil service jobs are classified into grades, or levels, to which appointments are made on the basis of performance on competitive examinations. |
| independent regulatory commission | an agency created by Congress that is generally concerned with a specific aspect of the economy. |
| departments | Major administrative units with responsibility for a broad area of government operations. Departmental status usually indicates a permanent national interest in a particular governmental function, such as defense, commerce, or agriculture. |
| government corporation | business established by Congress to perform functions that can be provided by private businesses (such as the U.S. Postal Service). |
| independent executive agency | Governmental unit that closely resembles a Cabinet department but has a narrower are of responsibility (such as the Central Intelligence Agency) and is not part of any Cabinet department |
| Hatch Act | law enacted in 1939 to prohibit civil servants from taking activist roles in partisan campaigns. This act prohibited federal employees from making political contributions, working for a particular party, or campaigning for a particular candidate. |
| Federal Employees Political Activities Act | 1993 liberalization of the Hatch Act. Federal employees are now allowed to run for office in nonpartisan elections and to contribute money to campaigns in partisan elections |
| implementation | the process by which a law or policy is put into operation by the bureaucracy. |
| iron triangles | the relatively stable relationships and patterns of interaction that occur among an agency, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees. |
| issue networks | the loose and informal relationships that exist among a large number of actors who work in broad policy areas. |
| interagency councils | Working groups created to facilitate coordination of policy making and implementation across a host of governmental agencies. |
| administrative discretion | the ability of bureaucrats to make choices concerning the best way to implement congressional intentions. |
| rule making | A quasi-legislative administrative process that has the characteristics of a legislative act. |
| regulations | Rules that govern the operation of a particular government program that have the force of law |
| administrative adjudication | a quasi-judicial process in which a bureaucratic agency settles disputes between two parties in a manner similar to the way courts resolve disputes. |
First Time Here?
Welcome to Quizlet, a fun, free place to study. Try these flashcards, find others to study, or make your own.