The main burden of assuring that the resources of the federal governme

Question

The main burden of assuring that the resources of the federal government are well managed falls on relatively few of the five million men and women whom it employs. Under the department and agency heads there are 8,600 political, career, military, and foreign service executives—the top managers and professional —who exert major influence on the manner in which the rest are directed and utilized. Below their level there are other thousands with assignments of some managerial significance, but we believe that the line of demarcation selected is the best available for our purposes in this attainment.

There is no complete inventory of positions or people in federal service at this level. The lack may be explained by separate agency statutes and personnel systems, diffusion among so many special services, and absence of any central point (short of the President himself) with jurisdiction over all upper-level personnel of the government.

Top Presidential appointees, about 500 of them, bear the brunt of translating the philosophy and aims of the current administration into practical programs. This group includes the secretaries and assistant secretaries of cabinet departments, agency heads and their deputies, heads and members of boards and commissions with fixed terms, and chiefs and directors of major bureaus, divisions, and services. Appointments to many of these politically sensitive positions are made on recommendation by department or agency heads, but all are presumably responsible to Presidential leadership.

One qualification for office at this level is that there be no basic disagreement with Presidential political philosophy, at least so far as administrative judgments and actions are concerned. Apart from the bi-partisan boards and commissions, these men are normally identified with the political party of the President, or are sympathetic to it, although there are exceptions.

There are four distinguishable kinds of top Presidential appointees, including 1. Those whom the President selects at the outset to establish immediate and effective control over the government (e.g., Cabinet secretaries, agency heads, his own White House staff and Executive Office Personnel). 2. Those selected by department and agency heads in order to establish control within their respective organizations (e.g.—assistant secretaries, deputies, assistants to, and major line posts in some bureaus and divisions). 3. High-level appointees who—though often requiring clearance through political or interest group channels, or both—must have known scientific or technical competence (e.g.—the Surgeon General, the Commissioner of Education). 4. Those named to residual positions traditionally filled on a partisan patronage basis. These appointees are primarily regarded as policy makers and overseers of policy execution. In practice, however, they usually have substantial responsibilities in line management, often requiring a thorough knowledge of substantive agency programs.    1 
 1. No complete inventory exists of positions in the three highest levels of government service because

(A) no one has bothered to count them
(B) computers cannot handle all the data
(C) separate agency personnel systems are used
(D) the President has never requested such information
(E) the Classification Act prohibits such a census

2 
 2. Top Presidential appointees have as their central responsibility the

(A) prevention of politically motivated interference with the actions of their agencies
(B) monitoring of government actions on behalf of the President’s own political party
(C) translation of the aims of the administration into practical programs
(D) investigation of charges of corruption within the government
(E) maintenance of adequate controls over the rate of government spending

3 
 3. One exception to the general rule that top Presidential appointees must be in agreement with the President’s political philosophy may be found in

(A) most cabinet-level officers
(B) members of the White House staff
(C) bipartisan boards and commissions
(D) those offices filled on a patronage basis
(E) offices requiring scientific or technical expertise

4 
 4. Applicants for Presidential appointments are usually identified with or are members of

(A) large corporations
(B) the foreign service
(C) government bureaus
(D) academic circles
(E) the President’s political party

RC Butler 2022  -  Practice Two RC Passages Everyday.   
Passage # 103 Date: 11-Mar-2022
 This question is a part of RC Butler 2022 .  Click here for Details

Nikkz99 · Answer

Q1. No complete inventory exists of positions in the three highest levels of government service because

When we go back to the 2nd paragraph of the given passage, we can find the reason behind this question. 
"There is no complete inventory of positions or people in federal service at this level.  The lack may be explained by separate agency statutes and personnel systems , "
 
 (A) no one has bothered to count them  Does it mentioned anywhere in the passage? Not at all. 
 (B) computers cannot handle all the data  Not mentioned anywhere such as it can't handle "all" the data.
 (C) separate agency personnel systems are used   
 (D) the President has never requested such information  This can't really be the reason as its not mentioned in the passage.
 (E) the Classification Act prohibits such a census  Out of context.

So the valid option among the given options would be  Option C

Q2. Top Presidential appointees have as their central responsibility the

Coming to the 3rd paragraph of the passage, it goes as..
Top Presidential appointees, about 500 of them,  bear the brunt of translating the philosophy and aims of the current administration into practical programs. 
which simply means to translating the philosophy and aims of the present adminstration into practical programs.

(A) prevention of politically motivated interference with the actions of their agencies  Not Related.
 (B) monitoring of government actions on behalf of the President’s own political party  Not Really.
  (C) translation of the aims of the administration into practical programs.   
 (D) investigation of charges of corruption within the government  Out of context.
 (E) maintenance of adequate controls over the rate of government spending  Nope!

It's a straightforward question,  Option C  is the right choice.

Q3. One exception to the general rule that top Presidential appointees must be in agreement with the President’s political philosophy may be found in

Answer for this question lies in the paragraph 4 of the given passage. It basically talks about 1 qualification for the office. When we have closer attention towards second half of the paragraph " Apart from the bi-partisan boards and commissions , these men are normally identified with the political party of the President, or are sympathetic to it, although there are  exceptions. "

Also, after going through the final paragraph...

(A) most cabinet-level officers  Falls under 1st kind of top Presidential appointees.
 (B) members of the White House staff  Falls under 1st kind of top Presidential appointees. 
(C) bipartisan boards and commissions. 
 (D) those offices filled on a patronage basis  Falls under 4th kind of top Presidential appointees.
 (E) offices requiring scientific or technical expertise  Falls under 3rd kind of top Presidential appointees.

So the correct choice should be  option C.

Q4. Applicants for Presidential appointments are usually identified with or are members of

In paragraph 4 of the passage, the lines - "these men are  normally identified with the political party of the President , or are sympathetic to it, although there are exceptions."
So, President appointments are usually identified with his/her political party!

(A) large corporations  No mention about it.
 (B) the foreign service  Not really.
(C) government bureaus. This one is close but, doesn't specificy about the "Political Party", yet we can consider that option as of now. 
 (D) academic circles  No, its not "Academic". 
(E) the President’s political party. Spot On!! Since, this option states in specific (about Political Party), this is best choice over option C.

Therefore,  Option E   is the correct choice.

I hope it helps. Good luck for your preparations : )

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The main burden of assuring that the resources of the federal governme

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The main burden of assuring that the resources of the federal governme

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