Exam 14: The Bureaucracy

When we indicate that an employee's implementation decisions in a bureaucracy are reviewed at ascending levels within the organization, this is describing which of the following core components of bureaucracies?

Why was the Hatch Act adopted by Congress in 1939?

To encourage more candid disclosure of wrongdoing in federal agencies, what legislation did Congress pass in 1989?

Discuss the reasons for the major growth of the bureaucracy. In your opinion, is it too big? Why or why not?

Which of the following best describes how the major cabinet departments of the federal government were created?

Discuss some ways in which the size of the bureaucracy has changed over the history of the United States.

Consider the statement, "Every organization has a persistent, patterned way of thinking about the central tasks of human relationships within an organization." What element of bureaucracy does this describe?

You work for the organization that is responsible for investigating transportation-related accidents. Despite its authority in these investigations and its members' knowledge of safe transportation practices, this group does not have the power to issue federal regulations. For whom do you work?

Which of the following is true of the Freedom of Information Act?

What did the Whistleblower Protection Act do?

When a president is elected who has a different party affiliation than the current president, the new president staffs the federal government with political supporters and friends. Which of the following does this describe?

What is the relationship between the cabinet departments and the branches of the federal government?

An employee of a government unit, who is quite knowledgeable within their narrow area, and works on specific responsibilities and within a hierarchy of authority is known as which of the following?

Which of the following organizations was created by the Pendleton Act to administer entrance exams for the federal civil service and set standards for promotion based on merit?

As evidenced by bureaucratic failures in handling risk and the resulting Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, what is an inherent drawback in bureaucratic culture?

If you want to see information the federal government has about you, or about certain other subjects, how can you make the government release that information to you?

Describe what it means to be a whistleblower.

Discuss the cabinet-level departments and the roles of the cabinet secretaries.

What legislation, enacted in 1978, encouraged cooperation between political appointees and civil servants, making sure that each was held accountable for decision making, and created the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to oversee both categories of federal employees?

Rather than hire federal workers to make infrastructure repairs to interstate highways, the government contracted with local construction companies in the affected areas to complete the work. This an example of which of the following?