Q1:
The federal bureaucracy is organized into different government organizations, and is typically staffed with individuals elected or appointed to specific positions. There are four main departments within the federal bureaucratic system. These include cabinet departments, independent executive agencies, independent regulatory agencies, and government organizations, such as the United States Postal Service and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, also known as the FDIC. In order to gain employment in the federal bureaucratic system, there are two routes a candidate can utilize in order to gain employment. The first autocratic route is political appointment. In order to gain employment through political appointment, a candidate must be selected for top government positions by the President of the United States. The second bureaucratic route is becoming a civil servant. Civil servants make up the majority of the bureaucracy because it does not involve appointment, only passing a series of hiring processes. In order to become a civil servant, an applicant must complete an application for employment. After an application is made, an applicant must submit to a federal background check. Applicants are then chosen for civil service positions based on their experience and the status of their background check. Once an individual is part of the federal bureaucracy, promotions are based on merit. Merit based promotions replaced the spoils system for promoting employees after the Pendleton Act was passed in 1883. It gave employees the opportunity to be judged based on performance rather than social standing.
The president, the congress, and the court constrain and balance the bureaucracy through bureaucratic reform. In order to balance power within the federal bureaucracy and make the federal bureaucracy responsive to the needs of United States citizens,