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Chapter 15: The Bureaucracy

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Chapter 15: The Bureaucracy

7 problems · 0 figures

15-1 §15.1 source ↗

During George Washington’s administration, there were ________ cabinet positions.
  1. a.
    four
  2. b.
    five
  3. c.
    six
  4. d.
    seven

Answer

A. four

15-3 §15.1 source ↗

Two recent periods of large-scale bureaucratic expansion were ________.
  1. a.
    the 1930s and the 1960s
  2. b.
    the 1920s and the 1980s
  3. c.
    the 1910s and the 1990s
  4. d.
    the 1930s and the 1950s

Answer

A. the 1930s and the 1960s

15-5 §15.2 source ↗

The Civil Service Commission was created by the ________.
  1. a.
    Pendleton Act of 1883
  2. b.
    Lloyd–La Follette Act of 1912
  3. c.
    Hatch Act of 1939
  4. d.
    Political Activities Act of 1939

Answer

A. Pendleton Act of 1883

15-7 §15.2 source ↗

Briefly explain the benefits and drawbacks of a merit system.

Answer

A benefit of the merit system is that it helps to ensure the most qualified applicants are given the position. A drawback is that the bureaucracy is less responsive to the will of elected leaders than under patronage.

15-9 §15.3 source ↗

Which of the following models of bureaucracy best accounts for the way bureaucracies tend to push Congress for more funding each year?
  1. a.
    the Weberian model
  2. b.
    the acquisitive model
  3. c.
    the monopolistic model
  4. d.
    the ideal model

Answer

B. the acquisitive model

15-11 §15.3 source ↗

Briefly explain why government might create a government corporation.

Answer

Congress tends to create government corporations to perform services that respond to market forces but are too important to the public to be allowed to fail.

15-13 §15.4 source ↗

When reformers speak of bureaucratic privatization, they mean all the following processes except ________.
  1. a.
    divestiture
  2. b.
    government grants
  3. c.
    whistleblowing
  4. d.
    third-party financing

Answer

C. whistleblowing

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Problems and answers are adapted from American Government 4e by Glen Krutz and Sylvie Waskiewicz, OpenStax, and are used under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence. Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/american-government-4e/pages/1-introduction. Illustrations: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. This adaptation is released under the same licence, is non-commercial, and is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by OpenStax or Rice University.