Public Administration
Chapter Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Public Administration is the study of the management and operation of public sector organizations, examining how government policies are formulated, implemented, and evaluated. The course covers key principles such as bureaucracy, organizational theory, public policy processes, and administrative ethics. Students explore the roles and responsibilities of public administrators, the challenges they face in promoting efficiency, transparency, and accountability, and the ways in which public services are delivered to meet the needs of society. Case studies and real-world examples provide insights into issues of governance, leadership, and public sector reform, preparing learners for careers in government agencies and nonprofit organizations.
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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Q1) However diverse the activities of public administrators might seem, research indicates that the activities of these managers can he categorized into 10 roles.Which of the following is NOT such a role?
A)Figurehead
B)Entrepreneur
C)Disturbance handler
D)Arbitrator
E)Liaison
Answer: D
Q2) Official records underestimate the true size of government because they ignore people working for the federal government on contracts and grants.If we include these people, along with uniformed military services and Postal Service workers, the real size of government is about
A) 3 million
B) 5 million
C) 8 million
D) 12 million
E) 25 million
Answer: D
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Chapter 2: The Political-Legal Environment of Administration
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Q1) The <i>Federal Register</i> provides
A)a list of all members of Congress and their committee assignments.
B)all statutes of the nation still in force.
C)rules, directives, executive orders, and regulations.
D)the names and affiliations of all registered Washington-based lobbyists.
E)court interpretations of the Administrative Procedures Act.
Answer: C
Q2) One source of power for a manager derives from the identification of others with him or her, The technical name for this type of power is A)connection.
B)charisma.
C)dependence.
D)transference.
E)referent.
Answer: E
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Intergovernmental Relations
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Q1) Who ruled that state legislatures were supreme over cities and that legislatures could "sweep from existence" all municipal corporations of the state and the corporations could not prevent it?
A)Huey P.Long
B)Sandra Day O'Connor
C)Benjamin Cardozo
D)Louis D.Brandeis
E)John F Dillon
Answer: E
Q2) How do categorical grants differ from block grants?
Answer: not answered
Q3) According to Fisher and Ury, _______________ determine(s) the point at which you are prepared to walk away from the negotiating table.
A) a hard deadline
B) your BATNA
C) a variable sum
D) your NABTA
E) sunk costs
Answer: B
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Administrative Responsibility and Ethics
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Q1) Discuss how control of administrative behavior is achieved through liability laws.
Q2) How might utilitarianism be made a little less theoretical so that the general ideas behind it could be incorporated into practical management decision making?
Q3) Which of the following statements about judicial control is INCORRECT?
A)Arguably, it is the most rapidly expanding control over administration in recent years.
B)Responsibility is always after the fact; that is, all courts can do is alleviate or punish wrongs that have already occurred.
C)The court's power is not limited to federal agencies but extends to state prisons, police, and other institutions.
D)The Supreme Court tends to oppose federal agencies more frequently than they support them.
E)In some cases, parties may circumvent the administrative process and take their grievances directly to court.
Q4) How does Aristotle think one finds happiness?
Q5) Discuss some of the reasons some public officials deceive.
Q6) At a practical level, why is honesty important in a society?
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Chapter 5: Planning
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Q1) According to Osborne and Gaebler, a fundamental question policy planners need to address is which sector-public, private, or third-would most likely produce the desired results.Which of the following tasks do they NOT place within the domain of the public sector?
A)Promotion of community
B)Prevention of exploitation
C)Promotion of social cohesion
D)Enforcement of equality
E)Prevention of discrimination
Q2) How do policies, plans, and programs differ?
Q3) Which of the following is NOT a type of program evaluation?
A)Performance measurement
B)Process (or implementation) evaluation
C)Outcome evaluation
D)Impact evaluation
E)Cost-benefit analysis
Q4) What the forecasting methods are available to public administrators?
Q5) The second step in strategic planning is to align activities, core processes, and resources.What exactly does this mean?
Q6) Discuss the three stages of crisis management.
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Chapter 6: Decision Making
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Q1) Explain the importance of discounting in cost-benefit analysis.
Q2) How does cost-effectiveness analysis differ from cost-benefit analysis?
Q3) Explain how the nominal group technique (NGT) works.
Q4) Assume that you are going to do a cost-benefit analysis for an irrigation project (or some other project that you have an interest in).Identify the major categories of costs and benefits.Provide a specific examples of each.
Q5) A famous study of the location of military bases conducted by Albert Wohlstetter and his associates at Rand illustrates
A)the heuristic value of the systems approach.
B)that many analysts apparently think that, if only enough factual research is done, then somehow a valid generalization will emerge.
C)that Rand has never undertaken a major systems study where satisfactory objectives could be defined.
D)that systems experts have made a great show of addressing totality but have actually dealt with shreds and patches.
E)how method can supplant the problem.
Q6) List a few public sector decisions in which a decision tree might be helpful.Why?
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Organizing
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Q1) Define each of the following principles of organization and then discuss their strengths and weaknesses: division of labor, hierarchy, span of control, and line and staff.
Q2) Which of the following is NOT considered a disadvantage of the team approach?
A) conflicts and dual loyalties
B) over decentralization
C) failure to see the big picture
D) increased administrative overhead
E) increase cost of meetings
Q3) Which of the following features is NOT associated with Weber's ideal of bureaucracy?
A)A division of labor based on functional specialization
B)An ill-defined hierarchy of authority
C)A system of rules covering the rights and duties of employment
D)Impersonality of interpersonal relations
E)Promotion and selection based on technical competence
Q4) How does the team form of organization differ from a mere group of people with a common assignment?
Q5) List the key features of a bureaucracy.
Q6) Briefly explain the seven traits of an effective organization.
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Chapter 8: Leading
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Q1) How might an administrator actually use Maslow's hierarchy of needs?
Q2) What are factors foster group cohesiveness?
Q3) Which of the following management theorist said with more precision than any of his predecessors that different people require different treatment by management?
A) Roethlishberger
B) Mayo
C) Maslow
D) Herzberg
E) McGregor
Q4) Explain the contingency approach to leadership.
Q5) According to the text, which of the following is NOT a stage that groups typically go through as they develop?
A) storming
B) performing
C) norming
D) interacting
E) forming
Q6) What leadership traits do you consider most important.Why?
Q7) What can an administrator learned from Herzberg's satisfiers and dissatisfiers?
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Chapter 9: Implementation
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Q1) The Environmental Protection Agency has constructed the above network for a project and estimated the most likely times in weeks for the various activities.What is the critical path?
A)18 weeks
B)24 weeks
C)26 weeks
D)45 weeks
E)52 weeks
Q2) In the case study "Friendly Fire," how did practical drift occur?
Q3) 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
Q4) What is compliance management?
Q5) Explain how government uses the franchise arrangement to deliver services
Q6) What is privatization?
Q7) What are the lessons of the case study "Friendly Fire" for every organization?
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Chapter 10: Human Resources Management
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Q1) In recruiting and testing, the relationship between one's score on a selection device and one's future job performance is known as
A)predictive power.
B)significance.
C)validity.
D)reliability.
E)effectiveness.
Q2) Murray R.Barrick and Michael K.Mount investigated the relation of these factors to job performance for five occupational groups (professionals, police, managers, sales, and skilled).Results indicated which dimension of personality showed consistent relations with all job performance criteria for all occupational groups?
A)Extraversion
B)Agreeableness
C)Conscientiousness
D) Neuroticism
E) Openness to experience
Q3) Explain the difference between disparate treatment and disparate impact.
Q4) What is an assessment center?
Q5) What are the defenses against charges of discrimination?
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Chapter 11: Public Financial Management
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Q1) Discuss the pros and cons of the following six revenue sources: personal income tax; corporate income tax; property tax; a estate, inheritance, and gift taxes; sales tax; and user charges.Note: this question can be we formulated in a variety of ways.For example: "Discuss the pros and cons of the following two revenue sources ."
Q2) How did the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act changed the federal budget cycle?
Q3) What is the difference between the budget deficit and the national debt? How big a problem is the federal deficit?
Q4) Describe the four basic phases out the federal budget cycle.
Q5) The two major areas of expenditure for state and local governments are
A)police and general administration.
B)police and education.
C)education and welfare.
D)interest on debt and highways.
E)welfare and police.
Q6) Discuss the ways in which policymakers simplify the budget process.
Q7) Explain the importance of cash management to state and local governments.
Q8) Distinguish between the following terms: budget authority, obligations, outlay, and cost.
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Chapter 12: Information Management
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Q1) "Reason and instinct do not represent rival views of leadership." Explain.
Q2) What role should the chief information officer (CIO) play in a government agency?
Q3) According to the text, which of the following is NOT one of the five characteristics of high quality, useful information?
A) complete
B) falsifiable
C) relevant
D) timely
E) economical
Q4) The examples of Virtual City System in Boston, Optical Imaging Project in Miami-Dade County, and smart e-mail serve to illustrate how new technology can contribute to which phase of the information management process? A) acquiring B) processing C) securing D) accessing E) presenting
Q5) Discuss the human biases or weaknesses in interpreting information.
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