Deck 28: The Administration

Question 1

Which of the following examples would NOT be considered a state agency??

A) a recreation centre that offers discounts to government employees
B) an organization that ensures mining operations follow environmental protection guidelines
C) a company whose employees receive their paychecks from the municipal government
D) a private English language program that receives federal funding to teach English to recent immigrants.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which phrase best describes the American spoils system?

A) tenure in the civil service
B) a merit civil service
C) large-scale changes in upper-level civil servants when new governments are elected
D) the appointment of all civil servants by an incoming government

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following proposals would Ted Gaebler and Guy Peters be most likely to approve of?

A) Consult front-line public service employees for ideas about how to improve service counter layouts.
B) Revise and then enforce the rule books and policy manuals for public service departments.
C) Encourage teamwork and brainstorming as a means of solving problems in various public service departments.
D) Allow minor policy adjustments at the lower levels of public service.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What did the Civil Service Act of 1918 establish?

A) Civil servants would no longer be hired according to the principle of patronage.
B) Civil servants would no longer be hired according to the principle of merit.
C) Civil servants would no longer be hired but rather elected.
D) Civil servants would change with every new government.

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT a reasonable means of reducing the power of the public bureaucracy?

A) establishing an ombudsman
B) depending more on the personal staff in the Prime Minister's Office
C) basing employment on political patronage
D) depending more on the cabinet staff in the Privy Council Office

Question 6

Which of the following incentives might entice an employee to work for the public service instead of private industry?

A) higher pay
B) competitive environment
C) stability
D) creative freedoms

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a modern state bureaucracy?

A) specialization
B) political patronage
C) merit recruitment
D) political neutrality

Question 8

What option is NOT part of the concept of new public management?

A) using the market as a new paradigm for assessing efficiency in the public sector
B) reforms in the public service that entail providing services without public deficits
C) strategic management, emphasis on quality, and process re-engineering
D) the work of the auditor general

Question 9

Which of the following options best summarizes what bureaucracy can offer society?

A) employment
B) ingenuity
C) inspiration
D) continuity

Question 10

What is the function of regulatory agencies?

A) to manage Crown corporations
B) to attempt to impose public policy on the market without resorting to public ownership
C) to ensure proper management of private and Crown corporations
D) to establish the rules of international trade

Question 11

What is the role of the ombudsman?

A) reviewing public expenditures
B) dealing with legislative complaints against the executive
C) dealing with executive complaints against the legislative
D) dealing with complaints from individual citizens against the bureaucracy

Question 12

In Canada,which method is used to fill positions in the administration?

A) patronage
B) merit recruitment
C) family connections
D) personal favour

Question 13

A woman goes to a public service agency because of a problem with her employment insurance payment.She is especially concerned because her rent is due in a week.What should she NOT expect from the bureaucracy?

A) for her file to be bumped ahead in line due to her extenuating circumstances
B) to be treated fairly and equally
C) to be given the right to speak with an ombudsman if she is treated unfairly
D) for her file to be dealt with in an orderly, standardized way

Question 14

Which term refers to business enterprises owned and operated by the government?

A) regulatory agencies
B) Crown commissions
C) Crown corporations
D) ombudsmen

Question 15

Which term refers to state agencies that monitor and control certain activities and impose public policies on private enterprise?

A) PMO
B) PCO
C) auditor general
D) regulatory agencies

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT a Canadian Crown corporation?

A) VIA Rail
B) Canada Post
C) National Coal Board
D) Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Question 17

Which of the following explanations best sums up the role of regulatory agencies?

A) design effective regulations for private companies
B) design effective regulations for public companies
C) make sure private companies follow the rules
D) make sure public companies follow the rules

Question 18

What is an important distinction in the way the U.S.and Canadian executives choose high ranking public administrators?

A) In the U.S., they are chosen strictly on merit.
B) Canada relies solely on the spoils system.
C) Only in the U.S. are they appointed by the executive.
D) U.S. appointments are frankly and openly politicized.

Question 19

Which governmental body's expenditures are reviewed by the auditor general?

A) the public service
B) the House of Commons
C) the Governor General
D) the Senate

Question 20

In Canada,what title is given to a career civil servant who runs her department and issues instructions down the chain of command?

A) permanent secretary
B) minister
C) deputy minister
D) auditor general

Question 21

While many people criticize budget cuts to the public service,why might cuts,or the threat of cuts,be necessary?

A) to keep public service employees in check
B) to satisfy voters
C) to serve the same function that market competition would in the private sphere
D) to enforce hierarchical authority on deputy ministers

Question 22

The political control of the bureaucracy in the private sector contrasts with the competitive balance of bureaucracies in the public sector.

Question 23

A Crown corporation attends to the needs of the monarchy.

Question 24

The Canadian model of administrative control assumes that there is a clear distinction between politics and administration.

Question 25

The word bureaucracy is synonymous with the word administration.

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT one of the management practices characteristic of the New Public Management reforms,as suggested by Michael Paquin?

A) strategic management
B) emphasis on quality
C) process re-engineering
D) authoritative hierarchy and responsibility

Question 27

What is the British equivalent of a deputy minister?

A) permanent secretary
B) junior minister
C) vice-minister
D) secretary of state

Question 28

The permanent secretary refers to the special assistant to the office of the prime minister of Canada.

Question 29

Which of the following is a characteristic of the Canadian model of public administration?

A) political ambitions
B) political neutrality
C) freedom to buy and sell Crown corporations at will
D) very small but efficient workforce

Question 30

Which principle of traditional bureaucracy is compromised by the American method of appointing officials?

A) neutrality
B) expertise
C) honesty
D) hierarchical control

Question 31

Regulatory agencies are state agencies that monitor and control certain activities and impose public policies on private enterprise.

Question 32

The American spoils system is a frank and open politicization of the upper levels of the bureaucracy.

Question 33

Political patronage is considered a normal characteristic of bureaucracy.

Question 34

The concept of new public management refers to a set of reforms in which the market is the paradigm for assessing efficiency.

Question 35

Deputy ministers are career civil servants who have reached the apex of the bureaucracy.

Question 36

The American model of administration assumes that there is NOT a clear distinction between politics and administration.

Question 37

Governments are not the only organizations that have bureaucracies.

Question 38

The bureaucracy has two fundamental roles in the governmental process: to advise the political executive and to administer the laws and policies enacted by the assembly.

Question 39

Merit recruitment is considered a normal characteristic of bureaucracy.

Question 40

The bureaucracy is a hierarchy.

Question 41

In Canada,a public enterprise is also known as a __________ corporation.Furthermore,state agencies that monitor and control certain activities and impose public policies on private enterprise,are known as __________ agencies.

Question 42

The role of the______________ is to deal with complaints from individual citizens against the bureaucracy.

Question 43

The role of the ____________ is to review the expenditures of the public service.

Question 44

The bureaucracy has two fundamental roles in the governmental process: it ____________ the political executive,and it __________ the laws and policies enacted by the assembly.

Question 45

Explain the pros and cons of the American "spoils system." In your opinion,is the "spoils system" more beneficial to the public service than the merit system? Why,or why not?

Question 46

The concept of ___________ recruitment refers to filling public service positions by means of competitive examination.The opposite is recruitment by ___________,which means that jobs are distributed according to kinship,friendship,or personal favour.

Question 47

Identify some of the possible problems with bureaucracies in modern liberal democracies.How can the public service be reformed?

Question 48

Is there too much power vested in the public service?

Question 49

Decentralization,accountability,and evaluating civil service performance are integral parts of the reforms known as ____________.

Question 50

Compare public bureaucracies in Canada,the United States,and Britain.

Question 51

In Canada,a career civil servant who runs her department and issues instructions down the chain of command is known as the _____________.The British equivalent is the _____________.

Question 52

Compare and contrast the underlying principles of public and private bureaucracies and their tendency towards growth.

Question 53

Identify and explain the characteristics of the administrative apparatus in modern states.What are the advantages of a bureaucracy?

Question 54

How can we measure success in public service?

Question 55

Describe the various kinds of bureaucracies that Canadian governments have created at the federal and provincial levels.

Question 56

Discuss the principles of New Public Management (NPM).In your opinion,is this a good direction for the public service? Why,or why not?