Government Unit 7, Chapter 10, Section 1: Background of Bureaucracy Notes
Name:
Date:
Group #1: Definition of Bureaucracy
 Definition #1: A professional corps of __________________________ officials
organized in a _____________________ hierarchy, functioning under impersonal
uniform __________________ and _______________________.
 Definition #2: A _______________________ organization in which offices have
_______________________ missions and employees are
______________________ responsibility based on _______________,
knowledge, and experience.
 Definition #3: An administrative system that divides work into ______________
categories carried out by ______________ departments of __________________
officials
 Bureaucracy literally means _________________________________.
Hierarchal Pyramid of Bureaucracy
 What is the most important duty of the Federal Bureaucracy?
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Group #2: What and Whom are “Bureaucrats?”
Definition of a Bureaucrat
 Most bureaucrats are _____________ collar workers: secretaries, clerks,
lawyers, inspectors and engineers.
 A Bureaucrat is technically a _______________ servant, or a
___________________ employee of the government.
Who are Bureaucrats?
 What percent of bureaucrats are career government employees? _______
 What percent of federal bureaucrats does the President actually appoint
himself? ______________
 Only ____________ live in the D.C. area
 How many bureaucrats work for the Department of Defense? __________
 Of the _______ million bureaucratic employees, ________ million are civil
servants.
 There are ___________ cabinet level departments and over ___________
Independent agencies in the Federal Bureaucracy with three four being the
biggest within the federal bureaucracy: (give me name and # of people)
1.
2.
3.
 Within the Bureaucracy itself, ________ million people are in the military,
________ million at the state level, and the most bureaucrats can be found
at the local level where __________ million people work.
 Looking at the pie chart, what Race/Ethnicity makes up the most
bureaucrats? __________________
 Also looking at the Pie Chart, do more men or women work for the
bureaucracy? (also add the percent) ___________________
 Looking at how Congress spends your money, give me the four
departments, along with their FY09 totals, that spend the most money
within our bureaucracy:
1.
2.
3.
4.
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Group #3: Functions and Structures of the Federal Bureaucracy
Functions of the Federal Bureaucracy Defined
Examples of Federal
Agencies/Departments
Implementation-
Administration-
Regulation-
Structure of the Federal Bureaucracy
1. Cabinet Departments
 There are _________ (#) of cabinet departments
 The Secretary of that department is appointed by the __________________
and approved by the ____________________.
 Each department is a(n) _________________ in that specific policy area
and has its own _______________.
2. Independent Executive Agencies
 Established by __________________, separate _________________
outside the executive branch, and usually have a more _________________
area of responsibility.
 Given specific mandate and perform a ________________ for the executive
branch, not a regulatory one.
 List three Examples of Independent Agencies: ___________________,
______________________, ________________________
3. Independent Regulatory Commissions
 Administrative units that have responsibility for ________________ and
_____________________ specific ____________________ activities
 Operate _____________________ from Congress and the President, even
though the President appoints with Senate consent.
 Each commission has between 5-11 commissioners and once appointed
and seated, cannot be removed without ___________________.
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 List two Independent Regulatory Commissions:
4. Government Corporations (found within Independent Agencies)
 Government owned ____________________ created by Congress, may or
may not be ________________ but they will serve a public need.
 Similar to private organizations in that they can _______________ for their
services but differ in that they receive __________________ funding.
 List two Government Corporations:
Group # 4: Characteristics and Criticisms
There are 8 Characteristics of Bureaucracy:
1. Administration of government through _______________________
2. Consists of ___________________, often highly trained
____________________
3. _____________ specialization
4. _____________________ authority
5. _________________
6. Inclined to follow __________________ or _______________ procedures
7. May stifle ____________________ or innovation
8. __________ tape
There are 6 Criticisms of Bureaucracy (probably a good essay question):
1) __________________
 too many rigid procedures >>> ex: all hiring must be done through OPM
 too many policies with no flexibility for special circumstances
 too many forms to fill out, lines to wait
2) ______________________
 lack of incentive to be productive - no profit motive
3) __________________________________
 bureaucracy is so complicated
 agencies are performing similar and sometimes the same functions
 Dept. of Commerce overlaps with Dept. of Agriculture, GSA overlaps with
Dept. of Interior, etc.
 federalism makes this more complicated, many services are provided at the
state and national level both
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4) __________________________________
 regulations end up having the effect of law.
5) ___________________________________
 privatization would be more effective
6) _________________________________
 ____________________ - reveals the relationship between the Executive
branch, Congress and private interest groups that can lead to decisions which
benefit the private sector at the expense of the government.
Group # 5: Oversight of the Federal Bureaucracy
The President Can:
Congress Can:
The Federal Courts Can:
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