Magruder's American Government: 6. The Executive Branch at Work, Sections 1–3

A bureaucracy is a large, complex administrative structure that handles the everyday business of an organization.

Each bureaucrat, each person who works for the organization, has certain defined duties and responsibilities.

Without an administration—the government’s many administrators and agencies—even the best policies would amount to just so many words and phrases.

The name department is reserved for agencies of Cabinet rank.

The most commonly used titles for units in the executive branch include agency, administration, commission, corporation, authority, bureau, service, office, branch, and division.

The name commission is usually given to agencies charged with the regulation of business activities, such as the Federal Communications Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The federal budget is a very detailed estimate of receipts and expenditures, an anticipation of federal income and outgo, during the next fiscal year.

A fiscal year is the 12-month period used by government and business for record keeping, budgeting, and other financial management purposes.

The Domestic Policy Council advises the chief executive on all matters relating to the nation's domestic affairs—that is, all matters not directly connected to the realm of foreign affairs.

Much of the work of the Federal Government is done by the 15 executive departments.

Often called the Cabinet departments; they employ nearly two-thirds of the Federal Government’s civilian workforce.

Each department is headed by a secretary, except for the Department of Justice, whose work is directed by the attorney general.

An under secretary or deputy secretary and several assistant secretaries aid the secretary in his or her multidimensional role.

Most of the civilians who work for the Federal Government are members of the civil service. That is, they are career employees who were hired, and who are paid and promoted, in accord with acts of Congress administered by an independent agency, the Office of Personnel Management.

For most of the first century following the adoption of the Constitution, federal employees were hired according to the patronage system.

That practice, often called the spoils system, was expanded by President Andrew Jackson. In fact, the phrase comes from a comment made by Senator William Learned Marcy of New York in 1832, as he defended President Jackson's appointment of an ambassador. Speaking from the floor of the Senate, Marcy declared: “To the victor belongs the spoils of the enemy.”

From 1940 to 1973, however, the draft—also called conscription, or compulsory military service—was a major source of military manpower.

The independent regulatory commissions stand out among the independent agencies because they are largely beyond the reach of presidential direction and control. There are 12 of these agencies today, each created to regulate—monitor, police—important aspects of the nation’s economy.

The typical government corporation is set up much like a corporation in the private sector. It is run by a board of directors, with a general manager who directs the corporation’s operations according to the policies laid down by the board. Most government corporations produce income that is plowed back into the agency’s programs.