Chapter Focus

Section 1 Bureaucratic Organization

Section 2 The Civil Service System

Section 3 The Bureaucracy at Work

Chapter Assessment

• Bureaucratic Organization Describe the functions of the cabinet, independent government agencies, and regulatory commissions.

Chapter Objectives

• The Civil Service System Evaluate the effectiveness of the civil service system.

• The Bureaucracy at Work Summarize the advantages and disadvantages of the federal bureaucracy.

Bureaucratic Organization

Key Terms

bureaucrat, embassy, government corporation, deregulate, procurement

Find Out

• How are independent government agencies different from regulatory commissions?

• What is the general organizational structure of the 15 cabinet level departments?

Bureaucratic Organization

Understanding Concepts

Public Policy How does government bureaucracy serve the executive branch in carrying out the will of the people’s representatives?

Section Objective

Describe the functions of the cabinet, independent government agencies, and regulatory commissions.

The first female Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, speaks English, French, Czech, Russian, and Polish. Her language skills helped her perform well in her previous job as the United States representative to the United Nations, where many different languages are involved in conducting international affairs.

A. The Founders anticipated the need for federal agencies to carry on the daily business of government; currently nearly 3 million civilians work in the federal government.

I. The Cabinet Departments (pages 276–279)

B. The 15 executive departments, headed by cabinet-rank officers, are a major part of the federal bureaucracy.

C. These departments are headed by secretaries and staffed with assistant secretaries, deputy secretaries, and directors of major units.

I. The Cabinet Departments (pages 276–279)

D. Two of the four departments created by Congress in 1789 are still among the most important: the Departments of State and of the Treasury.

E. The other 13 departments are the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, Justice, Commerce, Labor, Defense, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, and Veterans Affairs.

I. The Cabinet Departments (pages 276–279)

I. The Cabinet Departments (pages 276–279)

Which cabinet office performs the most essential service? Explain.

Answers will vary. Students should describe the service they believe is most essential.

I. The Cabinet Departments (pages 276–279)

A. The federal bureaucracy includes over 100 independent organizations whose heads are appointed by the president.

II. Independent Agencies (pages 279–280)

B. The services of several independent agencies, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, are widely publicized and are as large and well known as cabinet departments.

C. Some agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency and the General Services Administration provide services directly for the executive branch.

D. Government corporations are independent agencies that directly serve the public, such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the United States Postal Service.

II. Independent Agencies (pages 279–280)

II. Independent Agencies (pages 279–280)

How do government corporations differ from private corporations?

Government corporations may be given monopolistic powers by Congress, and they are funded by public money.

A. are independent of all three branches of government;

III. Regulatory Commissions: (pages 281–283)

B. make rules for businesses and industries that affect the public interest;

C. are often under intense pressures from the groups they regulate and their lobbyists;

D. have become more limited in their powers because critics have complained that they overregulate the economy;

E. were the subject of regulatory reform by the Republican Congress in the mid-1990s.

III. Regulatory Commissions: (pages 281–283)

III. Regulatory Commissions: (pages 281–283)

Do you support or oppose the federal government’s move toward deregulation of industries and businesses? Explain.

Answers will vary. Students should provide logical reasons for their opinions.

1. Main Idea Using a Venn diagram like the one below, analyze how regulatory commissions and independent agencies are alike and how they are different.

Checking for Understanding

Regulatory commissions: make rules for businesses; do not report to the president. Independent commissions: serve the government or the public. Both: part of the bureaucracy.

___ bureaucrat

___ embassy

___ government corporation

___ deregulate

___ procurement

A. an ambassador’s official residence and offices in a foreign country

B. one who works for a department or agency of the federal government

C. to reduce regulations

D. the purchasing of materials

E. a business that the federal government runs

Checking for Understanding

B

A

E

C

D

Match the term with the correct definition.

3. Identify Department of State, Department of the Treasury.

Checking for Understanding

The Department of State is responsible for the overall foreign policy of the United States.

The Department of the Treasury is responsible for managing monetary resources of the United States.

4. How are cabinet departments organized?

Checking for Understanding

A secretary heads each department. The second in command is the deputy or undersecretary, then assistant secretaries. Under these top officials are the directors of the departments’ major units and their assistants.

5. Making Inferences Why is it important that regulatory commissions be free from political pressures?

Critical Thinking

It is important that the regulatory commissions be free from political pressures so that they can be impartial about policies, subject to fewer influences, and regulate what they were created to control.

Public Policy Imagine that you are on a presidential commission looking into the establishment of a new executive department. Decide on an important issue facing the country today. Think of a new executive department to deal with this issue. Present your suggestion, with reasons, as an oral presentation to the commission.