What Do You Know About Federal Bureaucracy? Trivia Quiz
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- 1.In addition to a hierarchical authority structure, Max Weber argued that a bureaucracy involves all of the following EXCEPT
- A.
Extensive rules
- B.
An incentive system
- C.
Task specialization
- D.
The merit principle
- E.
A hierarchical authority structure
- 2.As a whole, the permanent federal bureaucracy is
- A.
Less diverse in terms of the type of jobs than the private sector
- B.
Dominated by white males
- C.
More broadly representative of the American people than the rest of the federal government
- D.
Composed of an American elite
- E.
Now employing 15 percent of the American work force
- 3.Which individual helped end the spoils system?
- A.
Abraham Lincoln
- B.
Andrew Jackson
- C.
Andrew Johnson
- D.
Charles Guiteau
- E.
Jimmy Carter
- 4.Patronage is a hiring and promotion system based on
- A.
Knowing the right people
- B.
Civil service exams
- C.
Talent and skill
- D.
The Pendleton Act
- E.
The merit principle
- 5.____ systems are designed to hire and promote members of the bureaucracy on the basis of merit and to create a nonpartisan government service.
- A.
Patronage
- B.
Civil service
- C.
Hatch
- D.
Civilian
- E.
Military
- 6.The Hatch Act, passed in 1940,
- A.
Established the patronage system for federal employment
- B.
Prohibited the president from firing the heads of independent executive agencies
- C.
Prohibits federal civil service employees from active participation in partisan politics
- D.
Required the publication of the plum book
- E.
Established the federal civil service
- 7.According to Government in America, which of the following is a legitimate criticism of the federal civil service?
- A.
Firing incompetents is extremely difficult
- B.
Workers are not protected against political firings
- C.
It does not operate on the merit principle
- D.
Too many federal civil servants are actively involved in partisan politics
- 8.Which of the following is NOT true about presidential appointees to bureaucracies?
- A.
They often do not know their own agency subordinates very well, much less people in other agencies.
- B.
They must be recommended by the Office of Personnel Management's "rule of three.”
- C.
As political appointees, they are often unaccustomed to the administrative routines, budget cycles, and legal complexities of their agencies or departments.
- D.
They tend to spend fewer years in their positions than those in the civil service.
- 9.Which cabinet department is charged with overseeing the nation's national resources?
- A.
Homeland Security
- B.
Environmental Protection Agency
- C.
Defense
- D.
State
- E.
Interior
- 10.There are ____ cabinet departments headed by a secretary chosen by the president and approved by the Senate.
- A.
5
- B.
10
- C.
15
- D.
20
- 11.What is known as the “granddaddy” of the government corporations?
- A.
The Tennessee Valley Authority
- B.
The U.S. Postal Service
- C.
Amtrak
- D.
General Services Administration
- E.
National Science Foundation
- 12.The General Services Administration and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration are examples of
- A.
Government corporations
- B.
Independent regulatory agencies
- C.
Cabinet departments
- D.
Independent executive agencies
- 13.Independent regulatory agencies have
- A.
Complete independence from the president, but their policymakers are appointed by Congress
- B.
Powerful rule-making, dispute-settling, and enforcement authority.
- C.
No formal ties to either the president or the Congress
- D.
Governing commissions composed of long-time federal Civil Service employees
- 14.Government corporations
- A.
Operate an airline, manufacture steel, and provide health insurance
- B.
Provide services and charge for them
- C.
Tend to be captured by interest groups
- D.
Are independent regulatory agencies
- E.
Sell stock and pay dividends
- 15.Once a policy decision has been made, such as by passing a legislative act or issuing an executive order, the bureaucracy is responsible for
- A.
Its ratification
- B.
Its implementation
- C.
Funding it
- D.
Judging its merits
- 16.Those civil service employees who are in constant contact with the public (often a hostile one) and have considerable discretion are known as
- A.
Street-level bureaucrats
- B.
Routinizers
- C.
General Schedule foot soldiers
- D.
The Senior Executive Service
- E.
Civil servants
- 17.The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was successful for all of the following reasons EXCEPT
- A.
Its goal was clear
- B.
Its implementation was straightforward
- C.
The authority of the implementers was plain
- D.
It was universally supported
- 18.The _____ is the president’s own final authority on any agency’s budget.
- A.
Congressional Budget Office
- B.
Department of Treasury
- C.
Securities and Exchange Commission
- D.
Office of Management and Budget
- E.
Office of the Vice President
- 19.A major problem for presidents and Congress in controlling bureaucracies is the existence of
- A.
The plum book
- B.
Supreme Court rulings curbing the scope of their oversight
- C.
"iron triangles.”
- D.
Standard operating procedures
- E.
The incentive system
- 20.An "iron triangle" consists of
- A.
Representatives of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the government
- B.
The president, the head of a relevant congressional committee, and the head of any regulatory agency
- C.
A bureaucratic agency, an interest group, and a congressional committee or subcommittee
- D.
The metal stamp used to certify that the president has approved a new regulation and it now takes legal effect
- E.
Those favoring regulation X, those opposing regulation X, and the regulatory agency in charge of overseeing X
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