Deck 9: Managing Human Capital in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors

Question 1

Congress encouraged state and local governments to adopt merit systems by passing the

A) Civil Service Act of 1883
B) Social Security Act Amendments of 1939
C) Civil Service Act of 1991
D) Homeland Security Act of 2001

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The primary duty of public human capital managers is

A) performance measurement
B) processing grievances
C) recruiting and hiring
D) collective bargaining

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The reduction of job classifications into general categories of job "families" is known as

A) pay pals
B) performance assessment
C) collective bargaining
D) broadbanding

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following is not a pay system for federal civilian employees?

A) General Schedule
B) Uniform Position Classification and Compensation
C) Postal Field Service System
D) Federal Pay Wage System

Question 5

______________________ refers to the evaluation of an employee's actual achievements and productivity in their job.

A) Performance rating
B) Broadbanding
C) Goldfish bowl bargaining
D) Merit pay

Question 6

The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 created the _____________________, which advises the president and coordinates federal personnel programs.

A) General Accounting Office
B) Civil Service Commission
C) Congressional Budgeting Office
D) Office of Personnel Management

Question 7

Several states, including Florida and Georgia, have gutted their civil service systems and instituted personnel systems in which individuals can be hired, promoted, transferred, demoted, and fired at the instigation of their supervisor. This is referred to as

A) pay as you go employment
B) performance employment
C) at will employment
D) reform employment

Question 8

The U.S. Supreme Court has applied the doctrine of disparate impact using

A) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
B) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
C) Title VI of the Social Security Amendments of 1939
D) Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Question 9

___________________ posits that employees should be paid the same rate of pay for performing similar types and levels of work.

A) Comparable worth
B) Affirmative action
C) Disparate impact
D) Sovereignty

Question 10

The main method that unions and governments use to resolve issues is

A) compulsory arbitration
B) labor strikes
C) privatization
D) collective bargaining

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT a challenge to public performance appraisal?

A) poor employee performance
B) inadequate documentation
C) unambiguous job descriptions
D) rater bias

Question 12

The federal government continues to employ high quality personnel despite a shrinking public sector labor pool.

Question 13

The Civil Service System relies on personal relationships and individual attributes to make personnel decisions.

Question 14

Most states prohibit public sector workers from striking to resolve labor negotiations.

Question 15

Politically appointed administrators generally have more government experience than career civil servants.

Question 16

Affirmative action programs are both legal and constitutional as long as they contain quotas.

Question 17

In order to qualify as sexual harassment, a supervisor must demand sexual favors from a subordinate.

Question 18

The only law that protects whistle-blowers at the local, state, and federal levels is the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989.

Question 19

Review the principles features of the civil service system of human capital management. What are the positive and negative aspects of this particular system?

Question 20

Identify the primary features of the collective system of human capital management in the public sector. How popular is this system at the federal, state, and local levels of government?

Question 21

Discuss the political executive system and its primary features at the federal level. Contrast these features with those at the state and local levels.

Question 22

Describe the professional public administration system. What makes it unique?

Question 23

Compare and contrast the features of the civil service system and the collective system. What conflicts may emerge from the fundamental differences between the two systems?

Question 24

Compare and contrast the features of the political executive system and the professional public administration system. Can these two systems co-exist easily within the same government agency or structure?

Question 25

Differentiate between merit pay and pay-for-performance plans.

Question 26

Trace the development of federal affirmative action policies through the efforts of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. How has the concept of "protected class" been expanded over time?

Question 27

How do Supreme Court decisions on test validity challenge the general premise of the merit system?