POLITICAL SCIENCE EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH ANSWERS
Bureaucracy - ANSWER-A large organization that is structures hierarchically to carry
out specific functions.
Cabinet Department - ANSWER-One of the fifteen major departments of the executive
branch.
Line Organization - ANSWER-In the federal government an administrative unit that is
directly accountable to the president.
Independent Executive Agency - ANSWER-A federal agency that is not part of a cabinet
department but reports directly to the president.
Independent Regulatory Agency - ANSWER-An agency outside the major executive
departments charged with making and implementing rules and regulations within a
specific area.
Capture - ANSWER-The act by which an industry being regulated by a government
agency gains direct or indirect control over agency personnel and decision makers.
Government Corporation - ANSWER-An agency of government that administers a
quasi-business enterprise. These corporations are used when government activities are
primarily commercial.
Spoils System - ANSWER-The awarding of government jobs to political supporters and
friends.
Merit System - ANSWER-The selection, retention, and promotion of government
employees on the basis of competitive examinations.
Pendleton Act (Civil Service Reform Act) - ANSWER-An act that established the
principle of federal government employment based on merit and created the Civil
Service Commission to administer the personnel service.
Civil Service Commission - ANSWER-The initial central personnel agency of the
national government created in 1883.
Government in the Sunshine Act - ANSWER-A law that requires all committee-directed
federal agencies to conduct their business regularly in public session.
WITH ANSWERS
Bureaucracy - ANSWER-A large organization that is structures hierarchically to carry
out specific functions.
Cabinet Department - ANSWER-One of the fifteen major departments of the executive
branch.
Line Organization - ANSWER-In the federal government an administrative unit that is
directly accountable to the president.
Independent Executive Agency - ANSWER-A federal agency that is not part of a cabinet
department but reports directly to the president.
Independent Regulatory Agency - ANSWER-An agency outside the major executive
departments charged with making and implementing rules and regulations within a
specific area.
Capture - ANSWER-The act by which an industry being regulated by a government
agency gains direct or indirect control over agency personnel and decision makers.
Government Corporation - ANSWER-An agency of government that administers a
quasi-business enterprise. These corporations are used when government activities are
primarily commercial.
Spoils System - ANSWER-The awarding of government jobs to political supporters and
friends.
Merit System - ANSWER-The selection, retention, and promotion of government
employees on the basis of competitive examinations.
Pendleton Act (Civil Service Reform Act) - ANSWER-An act that established the
principle of federal government employment based on merit and created the Civil
Service Commission to administer the personnel service.
Civil Service Commission - ANSWER-The initial central personnel agency of the
national government created in 1883.
Government in the Sunshine Act - ANSWER-A law that requires all committee-directed
federal agencies to conduct their business regularly in public session.
