AP U.S. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
CHAPTER 11
THE FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY TODAY
Directions: Choose the best answer.
1.
A public official who decides to follow a course of action not specified in the law, but one that
could be inferred from it, is most likely to be
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
2.
When the text speaks of the discretionary authority of appointed officials, it means their authority
to
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
3.
excepted service.
competitive service.
patronage system.
buddy system.
name order system.
The old OPM system was
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
5.
shift federal monies from agency to agency, depending on need.
act without consideration of the legal consequences.
make policies that are not spelled out in advance by laws.
spend federal monies, even though they are not officially part of the federal bureaucracy.
act in accordance with congressional statutes and judicial interpretations.
If a person is appointed to a government position after passing an examination, he or she is
probably joining the
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
4.
overstepping his or her authority.
violating the law.
playing politics.
exercising discretion.
minimizing partisanship.
cumbersome.
not relevant to the complex needs of departments.
unable to rank expertise on the basis of examinations.
criticized by civil rights groups.
all of the above
Using the buddy system, an agency can circumvent the usual OPM search process by
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
blanketing in a job candidate.
issuing a merit dispensation.
asking the president to appoint a specific candidate.
issuing a name request.
duplicating positions.
6.
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 was designed to
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
7.
Which of the following was created in 1978 in an attempt to give the president more flexibility in
dealing with high-level bureaucrats?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
8.
delaying action.
withholding information.
following the rules with literal exactness.
appealing to senators or representatives.
all of the above
High-ranking bureaucrats tend to be all of the following except
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
11.
an agency point of view.
a presidential point of view.
a congressional point of view.
a national-interest point of view.
a regional outlook, based on experience in industry and commerce.
Subordinates can sabotage and make life miserable for a political superior by
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
10.
the Civil Service Review Commission
the Merit System Protection Board
the Senior Executive Service
the Office of Personnel Management
the Flexible Merit Committee
The recruitment and retention policies of the civil service work to ensure that most bureaucrats
have
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
9.
protect federal bureaucrats from arbitrary dismissal.
allow the president more flexibility in recruiting for high-level positions in the civil service.
reduce the number of civil servants to compensate for the budget deficit.
give Congress more control over the hiring and firing of federal bureaucrats.
allow the courts a wider range of review of bureaucratic decision making.
middle-aged.
white.
male.
college educated.
conservative.
The political values of top-level federal bureaucrats tend to be
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
more liberal than the average voter.
more conservative than the average voter.
dependent on the ideology of the current president so as to receive promotions.
spread over the political spectrum since both Democratic and Republican presidents have
had opportunities to fill positions in the bureaucracy.
neutral in matters related to regulation, but conservative in matters related to procedure.
12.
Surveys of two hundred top-level, nonpolitical federal bureaucrats found most
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
13.
High-ranking bureaucrats with liberal attitudes are more likely to be found in the
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
14.
play a minor role in his or her decisions.
balance those of his or her colleagues.
be frustrated by the position.
strongly influence his or her decisions.
be neutralized by his or her peers.
A personal attribute that has been shown to have a clear effect on bureaucratic behavior is
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
17.
their political party affiliation.
the tasks that they perform.
public opinion.
the preferences of the president.
the amount of attention they receive in state and local media.
If a civil servant is in a complex, loosely defined position, one can expect his or her political and
social attitudes to
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
16.
Federal Trade Commission.
Department of Commerce.
Department of Defense.
Department of Agriculture
B and D
The attitudes of federal bureaucrats are formed less by their social background than by
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
15.
cared little about partisan politics.
rarely voted in elections.
had voted for Independent candidates.
had voted for Republican candidates,
had voted for Democratic candidates.
socioeconomic background.
sex.
regional background.
professional training.
age.
Which of the following is true of an agency with a sense of mission?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
It is more difficult to manage.
It is highly accountable to the public for its actions.
It can be resistant to direction from the president or Congress.
It is easy to change.
It usually changes frequently, in response to congressional directives.
18.
A particularly important constraint on bureaucratic power is the need to
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
19.
The difference between a presidentially oriented and congressionally oriented agency is that
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
20.
work hand in hand with other agencies, even if that means relinquishing power.
seek superiority over other agencies.
remain autonomous and independent of other agencies.
be controlled by the president rather than Congress.
be controlled by Congress rather than the president.
Agencies become "captured" by interest groups because
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
23.
a presidentially oriented agency.
a congressionally oriented agency.
neither a presidentially nor a congressionally oriented agency.
both a presidentially and a congressionally oriented agency.
a presidentially oriented agency before the allocation and a congressionally oriented
agency afterward.
Generally, government agencies prefer to
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
22.
presidential agencies are not required to report to Congress.
congressional agencies cannot use a claim of executive privilege.
congressional committees are not exposed to outside forces.
presidentially oriented agencies usually do not distribute benefits.
congressional agencies are reorganized every two years.
The Transportation Department allocates money for transportation in many places in the United
States. It is therefore classified as
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
21.
carry out the policies of the president.
check congressional power.
obtain agreement from other parts of the bureaucracy.
obtain the approval of Congress.
follow the demands of constituencies.
agencies need strong allies in the private sector to lobby on their behalf.
agencies often need funds in addition to those appropriated by Congress and rely on
private “donations.”
presidents want it that way to weaken the control of Congress.
the salaries of federal bureaucrats are low and interest group "gifts" are difficult to trace.
agencies are generally staffed with individuals who formerly represented special interests.
The collection of interest groups, think tanks, policy experts, news reporters, and
congressional committees that try to influence agencies are called
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
issue networks.
iron triangles.
policy coalitions.
issue coalitions.
dialogue conglomerates.