Texas is described as having a decentralized personnel system. Explain what this means, why it is ...

Ans. to #1

Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Explain that the legislature typically provides only general guidelines for personnel policy and that personnel policies are therefore largely developed and carried out by different agencies.
2. Explain that decentralization means there is variation across agencies in terms of the nature of their personnel plans, including things like grievance procedures and standardized exams for advancement.
3. Note that many local governments (municipal in particular) have more centralized merit personnel systems than does the state government.
4. Explain that decentralization is a function at least in part of the role of the individualistic political subculture and the plural executive.
5. Explain that decentralization means that the merit system is less widespread and less entrenched in Texas than in many other states and the federal government.

Ans. to #2

Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Define policy implementation.
2. Explain how the legislature broadly defines policies and programs and has bureaucratic agencies fill in the details, and how this can involve the creation of new agencies, the development of rules, procedures, and guidelines for programs, and the hiring of or moving of personnel.
3. Explain how policies may have little possibility of success, how programs may be underfunded, how programs can have unintended consequences, how agencies may not have the ability to implement programs, and how interest groups and businesses can undermine policy.
4. Explain co-optation.

Ans. to #3

Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Identify the rationale for provisions against the revolving door as ethical concerns and guarding against co-optation.
2. Identify the rationale for whistle-blower protection as a way to encourage public employees to report mistakes and intentional wrongdoings in their agencies (i.e. corruption and inefficiency).
3. Explain that the efforts have had limited and uncertain success. There is still concern about co-optation, and potential whistle-blowers may be intimidated by fears of retaliation, by intimidation from supervisors, and general difficulties in the process.
4. State and defend a position on strengthening of provisions to control the revolving door and to protect whistle-blowers.

Ans. to #4

Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Define sunset review.
2. Identify when sunset review was established in Texas and explain how the process works, including discussion of the frequency of review, the rotation system for review, the role of the Sunset Advisory Commission, the role of the full legislature, and the timing of decisions and actions.
3. Identify some agencies not subject to review, explain that review has not led to the abolition of many agencies but that transfer of agency functions is more common, and that approval for continuation (often with proposals for some change in organization and operations) is most common. Explain that sunset review has led to growth in lobbying efforts by groups interested in the sunset process.
4. Explain that sunset review hasn't led to reduction in the size of the bureaucracy but may have slowed its growth and that it has promoted the modernization of laws and bureaucratic procedures and improved responsiveness to the public.

Ans. to #5

Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Identify and explain economic regulation, licensing, allocation and quality of natural resources, subsidies, and fairness and competition.
2. Choose one of the forms of regulation and explain its significance to the public, and defend the choice of this form of regulation in an appropriate manner.

Ans. to #6

Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Identify the rules for working with the bureaucracy.
2. Indicate that there is some element of sequentialism in the rules and explain that one may need to become more tenacious or even adversarial in the face of frustration.

Brilliant