Comparative Public Administration Solved Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Comparative Public Administration explores the similarities and differences in government structures, administrative systems, and policy processes across various countries and cultures. The course delves into theories and methodologies that underpin the comparative study of public administration, examining factors such as political, economic, and social influences on administrative practices. Students analyze case studies from both developed and developing nations, addressing issues like bureaucratic reform, governance, decentralization, and public sector innovation. By understanding global variations in administrative systems, students gain insights into best practices, challenges, and the transferability of public management techniques across different contexts.
Recommended Textbook
Managing the Public Sector 9th Edition by Grover Starling
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Chapter 1: The Nature of Public Administration
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Sample Questions
Q1) How would you answer the not-so-simple question, How big is government?
Answer: The size of government can be measured in a few different ways. One common way is to look at government spending as a percentage of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). This gives an indication of how much of the country's economic activity is being directed or influenced by the government. Another way to measure the size of government is by looking at the number of government employees or the amount of regulation and bureaucracy in place.
It's important to note that different countries have different levels of government involvement in their economies and societies. For example, some countries have large welfare states with extensive social programs, while others have more minimal government involvement and rely more on the private sector for social services.
So, when answering the question of how big government is, it's important to consider these different factors and not just focus on one measure. Additionally, it's important to consider the effectiveness and efficiency of government spending and regulation, as simply looking at the size of government may not give a complete picture of its impact.
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Chapter 2: The Political-Legal Environment of Administration
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Sample Questions
Q1) Two barriers to judicial review are
A) restrictive rules and interventions
B) subpoena power and sovereign immunity
C) lower-level staff and the 11th Amendment
D) standing and ripeness
E) White House staff and the rule of reason
Answer: D
Q2) One of the more enduring sources of bureaucratic power is the phenomenon of
A)subsystem politics or iron triangles.
B)issue networks.
C)legislative entente.
D)federalism.
E)political action committees (PACs).
Answer: A
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Chapter 3: Intergovernmental Relations
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Sample Questions
Q1) During the 1980s, changing national priorities, tax cuts, and mounting deficits drove federal policy makers to cut funds going to the states and localities.Compounding the money problems was the problem of
A)double-digit inflation.
B)competitive federalism.
C)arrondissements.
D)interstate compacts.
E)unfunded mandates.
Answer: E
Q2) Nixon's __________________ were part of a strategy to give more policymaking discretion and responsibility to the subnational governments.
A) categorical grants and mandate reform
B) formula grants and project grants
C) revenue sharing and formula grants
D) revenue sharing and block grants
E) block grants and mandate reform
Answer: D
Q3) How do categorical grants differ from block grants?
Answer: not answered
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Administrative Responsibility and Ethics
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Sample Questions
Q1) Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the following four approaches to ethics: the utilitarian ethic, obligation to formal principles, the rights ethic, and the ethics of Aristotle.Note: this question can be reformulated in a variety of ways.For example: "Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of two of the following three approaches ."
Q2) The text uses the contemporary US Border Patrol to illustrate which of the following concepts?
A) professional codes
B) citizen participation
C) importance of judicial control
D) representative bureaucracy
E) use of inspectors general
Q3) Why should an administrator study ethics?
Q4) What men and women would choose if they saw clearly, thought rationally, and acted disinterestedly and benevolently defines
A)rational choice or public choice.
B)codes of conduct.
C)utilitarianism.
D)general will.
E)public interest.
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Chapter 5: Planning
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Sample Questions
Q1) Clarke's law is an argument against which forecasting technique?
A)Cross-impact analysis
B)Extrapolation
C)Expert opinion
D)Delphi
E)Scenarios
Q2) The second step in strategic planning is to align activities, core processes, and resources.What exactly does this mean?
Q3) Explain the difference between performance measurement and program evaluation.
Q4) What the forecasting methods are available to public administrators?
Q5) Strategic management became especially important in the federal government
A)after 1993.
B)during the administration of Theodore Roosevelt.
C)after the Watergate scandal.
D)in the 1950s.
E)with the election of George W Bush as president.
Q6) List and briefly explained the four types of program evaluation found in the federal government.
Q8) How do policies, plans, and programs differ? Page 7
Q7) Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the rational planning model.
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Page 8
Chapter 6: Decision Making
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain the importance of discounting in cost-benefit analysis.
Q2) A public manager faces the following set of conditions: problem is relatively uncertain and complex and has potential for conflict; problem and its solution have important personal and organizational consequences; there are significant but not immediate deadline pressures; implementation will require widespread acceptance.Under these conditions, the manager most likely would use
A)nominal group technique (NGT).
B)operations research (OR).
C)multi-objective model.
D)systems analysis.
E)cost-benefit analysis (CBA).
Q3) Using the two tables above and a 12 percent discount rate, what would be the present value of the projects net benefits (that is, benefits minus costs)?
A)$43.5 million
B)$301.8 million
C)$100 million
D)$400 million
E)$71.2 million
Q4) What are the four basic steps in systems analysis?
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Chapter 7: Organizing
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Sample Questions
Q1) Weber identified three types of legitimate authority.What are they and how do they differ?
Q2) According to Keidel, Drucker, and other management experts, which of the following types of organization is particularly well suited to serve as a kind of model for work in the information revolution?
A)Football team
B)Baseball team
C)Basketball team
D)Symphony orchestra
E)Hospital emergency room team
Q3) What are some of the reasons that governments reorganize?
Q4) Organizational design involves making decisions about four fundamental principles of organization.Which of the following is NOT one of those for principles?
A) division of labor
B) hierarchy
C) span of control
D) unity of direction
E) line and staff
Q5) List the key features of a bureaucracy.
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Chapter 8: Leading
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Q1) According to experts, which of the following statements about committee meetings is LEAST correct?
A) The convener should draw up an agenda and circulated it in advance.
B) The most effect groups have a balance among members of intelligence, on the one hand, and social ability, on the other.
C) Ideally meetings should begin with a short speech.
D) Voting for a formal ratification is not the best way to determine consensus.
E) One reason to have meeting is to disseminate information.
Q2) Which of the following is NOT one of Reddin's four basic leadership styles?
A) supporting B) coaching
C) motivating
D) delegating
E) directing
Q3) What makes for effect each communication by a leader? Can you give recent examples of effective and ineffective communication by prominent political leaders?
Q4) Explained the significance of the Hawthorne studies.
Q5) What leadership traits do you consider most important.Why?
Q6) Explain the contingency approach to leadership.
Page 11
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Chapter 9: Implementation
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Sample Questions
Q1) In The <i>Challenger Launch Decision</i>, Diane Vaughn suggests a mechanism she calls:
A) the mature team
B) escalation
C) normalization of deviancy
D) shifting the burden
E) limits to success
Q2) What is compliance management?
Q3) How does backward mapping work?
Q4) To make a clear statement about its commitment to quality and accuracy, a police department would most likely use
A) matrix algebra
B) expediters
C) ISO 9000
D) compliance management
E) golden fleece awards
Q5) Why is the distinction between micromanagement and management-by-exception important?
Q6) What is Total Quality Management?
Q7) Explain how government uses the franchise arrangement to deliver services
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Chapter 10: Human Resources Management
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Sample Questions
Q1) The two situations in which sexual harassment is illegal are:
A) radix malorum and adverse surroundings
B) quid pro quo and antagonistic conditions
C) quantum sufficit and adverse surroundings
D) quid pro quo and hostile environment
E) radix malorum and hostile environment
Q2) What did the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 do?
Q3) General William Creech as head of the Tactical Air Command was widely cited as a prime example of
A)a leader who surrounded himself with outstanding people and then delegated as much authority as possible.
B)a "new school" manager.
C)an "old school" manager.
D)a symbolic manager.
E)a knowledge manager.
Q4) Explain the difference between mediation, fact-finding, and arbitration.
Q5) What is an assessment center?
Q6) Discuss the relevance of the "big five" personality dimensions to recruiting and testing
Q7) What is organizational culture and why is it important to administration?
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Chapter 11: Public Financial Management
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Q1) Which of the following authors identified various strategies managers can and do use in the budget process?
A)Mice Rivlin
B)Mancur Olsen
C)Frederick Mosher
D)Aaron Wildavsky
E)J.B.Colbert
Q2) What is debt management?
Q3) Which of the following is NOT generally recognized as one of the pragmatic concepts with which a financial manager in the public sector should be acquainted when developing a tax system?
A) horizontal equity
B) vertical equity
C) tax efficiency
D) tax effectiveness
E) tax overlapping
Q4) What is new performance budgeting, and what are some of the difficulties in making it work?
Q5) Describe the four basic phases out the federal budget cycle.
Q6) What is the capital budget?
Page 14
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Chapter 12: Information Management
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Q1) ________________ are designed for problems in which sets of rules exist to solve problems.
A) expert systems
B) executive information systems
C) decision-support systems
D) human portals
E) formal knowledge management programs
Q2) _______________ is data that are meaningful and that alter the receivers understanding -- the data that managers actually use to interpret and understand events in the organization and the environment.
A) input
B) knowledge
C) information
D) a list of talking points
E) a decision-support system
Q3) Summarize Schein's views on organizational learning.
Q4) What are the characteristics of useful information?
Q5) Compare and contrast the following terms: data, information, and knowledge.
Q6) How can public administrator avoid letting bad public relations destroy good programs?
Page 15
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